Imbibition in a Hele–Shaw cell under a temperature gradient

Abstract

Imbibition in a Hele–Shaw cell under a constant, longitudinal temperature gradient G was analyzed both theoretically and experimentally. A theoretical approach based on a motion equation was developed in this case and a closed-form analytical solution has been obtained. Theory shows that the time evolution of the front is strongly dependent on the way in which the surface tension and the viscosity change as a function of the temperature. Experiments using parallel glass plates and glycerol were made under several gradients and they have fitted well to theoretical profiles.