Depleted layer effects in polymer flow through porous media: II. Network calculations

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of surface exclusion in the rheology of polymers in network models of porous media. Here, the results developed for single capillary flow with depleted layers in Part I are incorporated into network calculations. Using input data based on the biopolymer, xanthan, a number of predictions are made on the macroscopic rheological behavior of solutions of this polymer in porous medium flow. It is found that the macroscopic “apparent slip” effect can be quite substantial even for fairly low depleted layer thicknesses compared with average pore size in the network.