Viscoelastic effects on residual oil distribution in flows through pillared microchannels

De, Shauvik; Krishnan, Parvathy; Schaaf, J. van der; Kuipers, J.A.M.; Peters, E.A.J.F.; Padding, JT Johan

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2017.09.069

Cited by 52 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Combining such flow visualization to measurements of the overall pressure drop provides a way to directly link flow structure to macroscopic flow resistance. Such measurements show a dramatic increase in macroscopic flow resistance—mimicking the increase in η app observed in bulk porous media—at the onset of unstable flow (Figure i) . Simulations in model porous geometries can also capture the onset of flow fluctuations and the associated increase in flow resistance .…”

Section: Unstable Flow Of Polymer Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…Recent work suggests a key role played by flow instabilities in enhancing fluid recovery. Indeed, microfluidic experiments have shown that unstable flow is often characterized by a dramatic increase in η app , as described in Section —leading to a concomitant increase in Ca . This idea has been directly verified using oil globules trapped in a microfluidic porous medium: injecting polymer solutions can increase the apparent Ca by nearly an order of magnitude, thereby increasing oil recovery ( Figure a,b) .…”

Section: Improved Fluid Recovery From Porous Mediamentioning

confidence: 69%

Section: Improved Fluid Recovery From Porous Mediamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pore‐Scale Flow Characterization of Polymer Solutions in Microfluidic Porous Media

Browne

Shih

Datta

2019

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103

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Polymer solutions are frequently used in enhanced oil recovery and groundwater remediation to improve the recovery of trapped nonaqueous fluids. However, applications are limited by an incomplete understanding of the flow in porous media. The tortuous pore structure imposes both shear and extension, which elongates polymers; moreover, the flow is often at large Weissenberg numbers, Wi, at which polymer elasticity in turn strongly alters the flow. This dynamic elongation can even produce flow instabilities with strong spatial and temporal fluctuations despite the low Reynolds number, Re. Unfortunately, macroscopic approaches are limited in their ability to characterize the pore‐scale flow. Thus, understanding how polymer conformations, flow dynamics, and pore geometry together determine these nontrivial flow patterns and impact macroscopic transport remains an outstanding challenge. This review describes how microfluidic tools can shed light on the physics underlying the flow of polymer solutions in porous media at high Wi and low Re. Specifically, microfluidic studies elucidate how steady and unsteady flow behavior depends on pore geometry and solution properties, and how polymer‐induced effects impact nonaqueous fluid recovery. This work thus provides new insights for polymer dynamics, non‐Newtonian fluid mechanics, and applications such as enhanced oil recovery and groundwater remediation.

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Section: Unstable Flow Of Polymer Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 66%

Section: Improved Fluid Recovery From Porous Mediamentioning

confidence: 69%

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Pore‐Scale Flow Characterization of Polymer Solutions in Microfluidic Porous Media

Browne

Shih

Datta

2019

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103

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“…transport of proppant particles used in fracturing fluids and for flow around elements of microporous structures (frequently modelled by microfluidic post arrays) and in which elastic instabilities have been shown to play an important role. [46][47][48][49] However, a drawback of most microfluidic cylinder experiments to date is that, due to typically employed fabrication techniques (such as soft lithography or micromilling), their geometries have been restricted to low aspect ratios (a o 1) and to high blockage ratios (typically b Z 0.5). [50][51][52][53][54][55] The low aspect ratio means the flow field is strongly inhomogeneous along the cylinder axial direction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flow of wormlike micellar solutions around microfluidic cylinders with high aspect ratio and low blockage ratio

et al. 2019

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“…Normal stresses due to shear should not be ignored as their contribution may be of the same magnitude as stresses due to extension [19]. De et al [22] numerically and experimentally studied the contribution of shear and extensional flows to the increased normal stresses of viscoelastic polymer solutions in a porous media, while Haward et al [14] investigated this contribution experimentally in a cross-slot device and they both found a large contribution of viscoelastic normal stresses in shear flow at high flow rates where elastic turbulence exists [23,24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Signature of elastic turbulence of viscoelastic fluid flow in a single pore throat

Ekanem

Berg

et al. 2020

Phys. Rev. E

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When a viscoelastic fluid, such as an aqueous polymer solution, flows through a porous medium, the fluid undergoes a repetitive expansion and contraction as it passes from one pore to the next. Above a critical flow rate, the interaction between the viscoelastic nature of the polymer and the pore configuration results in spatial and temporal flow instabilities reminiscent of turbulentlike behavior, even though the Reynolds number Re 1. To investigate whether this is caused by many repeated pore body-pore throat sequences, or simply a consequence of the converging (diverging) nature present in a single pore throat, we performed experiments using anionic hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) in a microfluidic flow geometry representing a single pore throat. This allows the viscoelastic fluid to be characterized at increasing flow rates using microparticle image velocimetry in combination with pressure drop measurements. The key finding is that the effect, popularly known as "elastic turbulence," occurs already in a single pore throat geometry. The critical Deborah number at which the transition in rheological flow behavior from pseudoplastic (shear thinning) to dilatant (shear thickening) strongly depends on the ionic strength, the type of cation in the anionic HPAM solution, and the nature of pore configuration. The transition towards the elastic turbulence regime was found to directly correlate with an increase in normal stresses. The topology parameter, Q f , computed from the velocity distribution, suggests that the "shear thickening" regime, where much of the elastic turbulence occurs in a single pore throat, is a consequence of viscoelastic normal stresses that cause a complex flow field. This flow field consists of extensional, shear, and rotational features around the constriction, as well as upstream and downstream of the constriction. Furthermore, this elastic turbulence regime, has high-pressure fluctuations, with a power-law decay exponent of up to |−2.1| which is higher than the Kolmogorov value for turbulence of |−5/3|.

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Viscoelastic effects on residual oil distribution in flows through pillared microchannels

Cited by 52 publications

References 60 publications

Pore‐Scale Flow Characterization of Polymer Solutions in Microfluidic Porous Media

Pore‐Scale Flow Characterization of Polymer Solutions in Microfluidic Porous Media

Flow of wormlike micellar solutions around microfluidic cylinders with high aspect ratio and low blockage ratio

Signature of elastic turbulence of viscoelastic fluid flow in a single pore throat

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