From mixing to displacement of miscible phases in porous media: The role of heterogeneity and inlet pressures

Abstract

Miscible multiphase flow in porous media is a key phenomenon in various industrial and natural processes, such as hydrogen storage and geological carbon sequestration. However, the parameters controlling the patterns of displacement and mixing in these flows are not completely resolved. This study delves into the effects of heterogeneity and inlet pressure on mixing and displacement patterns of low-viscosity miscible phase invasion into a high-viscosity resident phase, that is saturating a porous medium. The findings highlight the substantial influence of inlet pressures and heterogeneity levels in transitioning from uniform to fingering patterns at the pore scale. These phenomena are detectable at the Darcy scale, and their transition from a uniform front to finger formation is effectively marked through a modified Sherwood number. This modified Sherwood number links microscale patterns to physical properties such as velocity distribution, diffusion, and viscosity contrasts. Additionally, the study employs breakthrough curve (BTC) analysis to illustrate the role of higher heterogeneity and inlet pressure in broadening the fluid velocity distribution, leading to the fingering pattern. These research insights provide a nondimensional approach that scales the BTCs, and can serve future models of miscible phase flow in porous media, linking pore-scale dynamics with macroscale Darcy-scale observations.