Non-Washburn imbibition: Modelling results and emerging issues (INVITED)

Abstract eng:
As discovered experimentally two decades ago, the wetting front propagating through some porous media can exhibit two very different regimes distinctly visible in the log-log plot: the front covers two thirds of its eventual propagation distance in just a few minutes and then it takes many hours for it to advance over the remaining third. The first of these regimes is well described by any of the Washburn-type models, with the differences between them being insignificant on the log-log plot, whilst the second one is different both quantitatively and qualitatively. A new approach to the modelling of the dynamics of wetting fronts in porous media is formulated which makes it possible to describe simultaneously both regimes as well as the transition between them. A fundamental issue with Darcy’s law for essentially 2D flows is brought to light and a new class of models required to address it is discussed.

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