Scaling Immiscible Flow in Porous Media

Centrifuge modelling is a technique that has proved useful in the study of miscible transport processes through porous media. This report presents a discussion on the feasibility of modelling immiscible flow processes using a geotechnical centrifuge, with particular reference to the phenomena of fingering and residual entrapment. The analysis of scaling for the mechanism of fingering indicates that unstable wetting displacements can be modelled using centrifuge testing techniques. However, scaling analyses for the mechanism of capillary entrapment show that above certain critical Capillary and Bond numbers, the degree of non-aqueous phase liquid entrapment will be lower in a centrifuge model than the corresponding prototype. Nonetheless, it is argued this does not prohibit centrifuge modelling from making a useful contribution towards the study of immiscible flow processes in porous media.