Abstract
We present a numerical study of viscous fingering occurring during the displacement of a high viscosity fluid by low viscosity fluid in a circular Hele-Shaw cell. This study assumes that the fluids are miscible and considers the effects of inertial forces on fingering morphology, mixing, and displacement efficiency. This study shows that inertia has stabilizing effects on the fingering instability and improves the displacement efficiency at a high log-mobility-viscosity ratio between displacing and displaced fluids. Under certain conditions, inertia slightly reduces the finger-split phenomenon and the mixing between the two fluids.
Highlights
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) is one of the first responses to the increasing global demand for energy
We investigate the dynamics of the fingering phenomenon in the case of miscible fluids within a circular Hele-Shaw cell
The present study includes the effects of inertia on finger morphology, displacement efficiency, and fluid mixing
Summary
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) is one of the first responses to the increasing global demand for energy. The Hele-Shaw cell is a canonical setup used to comprehend fingering instability occurring during fluid displacement in porous media. It has been found that the finger width is the result of a balance between viscous and inertial forces and that the finger width can increase with increasing inertia or flow speed [32] To rationalize their observations, the authors in [32] conducted numerical simulations using a modification of Darcy’s law which includes inertia. To consider inertial effects in porous media, Forchheimer included an empirical parameter β in Darcy’s equation [35]. There are very few theoretical models taking into account inertial effects in the problem of fluid displacement in Hele-Shaw cells. The present study includes the effects of inertia on finger morphology, displacement efficiency, and fluid mixing.
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