Pore-scale imbibition experiments in dry and prewetted porous media

Two-phase imbibition behavior of immiscible fluids was studied in dry and prewetted porous media using a laser-induced fluorescence technique. Imbibition was first investigated in two-dimensional (2-D) systems under conditions comparable to those for a study of drainage [Ovdat H, Berkowitz B. Pore-scale study of drainage displacement under combined capillary and gravity effects in index-matched porous media. Water Resources Research 2006;42:W06411. doi:10.1029/2005WR004553] in the capillary-dominated regime. The effect of initial wetting saturation (IWS) was then explored in 2-D and 3-D porous media under the combined effect of gravity, capillary and viscous forces, within and outside the capillary-dominated regime. Parameters that describe maximum vertical advance, volumetric fraction, total surface area and specific surface area of the invading fluid were used to quantify the behavior. Comparison of 2-D drainage and imbibition patterns demonstrates significant qualitative differences under analogous viscosity ratio, buoyancy number, and capillary number values. However, quantitative analyses show strong pore-scale similarities between these patterns. Invasion structures in 3-D, prewetted (IWS ≈ 8% of the pore volume) porous media are ramified, with lateral branching and regions containing trapped residual fluid. These structures are qualitatively and quantitatively different from the compact, branchless structures that develop in dry (IWS = 0) porous media.