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Non‐Newtonian flow in porous media
Author(s) -
McKinley R. M.,
Jahns H. O.,
Harris W. W.,
Greenkorn R. A.
Publication year - 1966
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.690120106
Subject(s) - permeability (electromagnetism) , porosity , porous medium , capillary action , newtonian fluid , darcy's law , non newtonian fluid , rheology , mechanics , materials science , geology , thermodynamics , geotechnical engineering , chemistry , composite material , physics , membrane , biochemistry
This paper describes a preliminary study of the linear flow of a non‐Newtonian fluid, a water solution of Dextra (a polysaccharide), in porous media. A modification of Darcy's law, which uses capillary rheology data, is developed to describe non‐Newtonian flow in underground reservoirs. The generalization, in effect, replaces the porous media with a capillary of equivalent radius proportional to the square root of the ratio of permeability to porosity. The constant of proportionality α o should be independent of permeability and porosity for a given type of rock. This has been partially confirmed experimentally. In principle, a capillary rheogram and a single core test permit evaluation of α o . Then non‐Newtonian flow can be predicted in this type of rock regardless of porosity, permeability, or flow rate.