Controlling Viscous Fingering Using Time-Dependent Strategies
- Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Control and stabilization of viscous fingering of immiscible fluids impacts a wide variety of pressure-driven multiphase flows. Here, we report theoretical and experimental results on time-dependent control strategy by manipulating the gap thickness b(t) in a lifting Hele-Shaw cell in the power-law form b(t) = b1t1/7. Experimental results show good quantitative agreement with the predictions of linear stability analysis. Furthermore, by choosing the value of a single time-independent control parameter we can either totally suppress the viscous fingering instability or maintain a series of non-splitting viscous fingers during the fluid displacement process. Besides the gap thickness of a Hele-Shaw cell, in principle, time-dependent control strategies can also be placed on the injection rate, viscosity of the displaced fluid, and interfacial tensions between the two fluids.
- Research Organization:
- Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0008598
- OSTI ID:
- 1390174
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review Letters, Vol. 115, Issue 17; ISSN 0031-9007
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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