Foam drainage modeling of vertical foam column and validation with experimental results

Abstract

The understanding of the mechanisms behind foam generation and the structure of foam itself form the basis of foam-related experiments for its application in Enhanced Oil Recovery and overcoming gas injection limitations. Novel insights in this paper towards the theory of foam generation can help explain experimental results and lead to improved formulas of the applied substances and concentrations. This study aims to investigate the mechanisms behind foam generation and the structure of foam by specific laboratory experiments and theoretical analyses. The liquid drainage through interconnected Plateau borders was found to be the most critical foam decay mechanism for this particular research. The justification of the foam drainage equation was demonstrated by comparing the numerical solution with the outcome of a few bulk experiments. The discrepancies were described according to the limitations of both the theory and the experimental settings. Foam modelling gives more profound knowledge in more detail of the different stages in foam drainage than experimental data can deliver, which is because of the lack of continuous measurement of foam conductivity for the foam bulk test. Therefore, a comprehension of foam modelling investigation and comparison is required to gain a deeper understanding of foam behaviour.