Foam flow through porous media

Abstract

There are two parts to the interaction of foam with porous media. How the foam interacts with the surface and the flow within the substrate, which is the focus of this review. Flow-through porous media has been investigated experimentally with the main focus in literature being on enhanced oil recovery and remediation. Recently, investigation of the flow of foam through a deformable substrate for dishwashing application has led to the development of mathematical models. It has been proposed that foam flow through pore channels is similar to the behaviour observed within microchannels. Meaning that to investigate the effects these properties have on foam flow it is best to observe them within a model channel then build up to a 3D structure of interlinking channels to resemble porous media. In this review, it is highlighted that a large amount of work is needed in understanding the interaction of foam and/or liquid within porous networks. Methods that can be applied to better represent foam and liquid flow in porous media are discussed within this review, including both using microchannels to simulate individual pores and using these systems to build up to a 3D structure of interlinking pores. In addition, more advanced imaging techniques to observe the flow through porous materials are discussed, including computed tomography scanning nuclear magnetic resentence and confocal microscopy. There is still more work required to fully understand the flow within porous media, including observing the affect of dead-end pores, closed loops and rough channel walls have on the flow.