Interfacial effects upon the displacement and static stability of interfaces in capillary systems with special application to tertiary oil recovery
The effect of the interfacial viscosities upon two-phase displacement in capillary systems is quantitatively determined. The conditions leading to static stability of interfaces in sinusoidal pore are also presented. An integral mechanical energy balance is used to explain the relative effects of the interfaxial viscosities, interfacial tension, and wetting during displacement in a single, cylindrical capillary. For values of the contact angle >0/sup 0/ and <180/sup 0/, the effect of the interfacial viscosities is to increase the resistance to displacement regardless of the wetting condition. A similar approach is used to determine the relative effects of the interfacial viscosities, interfacial tension, and wetting upon displacement in a capillary whose radius is a sinusoidal function of axial position. The effect of the interfacial viscosities upon the pressure and flow fields generated by the displacement of a gas by a liquid in the channel formed between two parallel plates is determined. A thermodynamic analysis is used to predict stable, static positions of a liquid-liquid interface in a sinusoidal pore as a function of pressure drop. Contact angle hysteresis effects are taken fully into account. Results show that instabilities can lead to spontaneous movement of the common line. An extension of the analysis to two interfaces shows the cooperative effect that one interface has on the stability of another.
- OSTI ID:
- 6252082
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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