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Predicting the Effect of Relaxation on Interfacial Area Development in Multiphase Flow
Author(s) -
Meisenheimer Douglas E.,
Wildenschild Dorthe
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/2020wr028770
Subject(s) - imbibition , multiphase flow , wetting , saturation (graph theory) , porous medium , flow (mathematics) , relaxation (psychology) , mass transfer , mechanics , petroleum engineering , materials science , surface tension , computer science , porosity , geotechnical engineering , thermodynamics , geology , mathematics , physics , psychology , social psychology , botany , germination , combinatorics , composite material , biology
A variety of two‐phase flow experiments, currently available in the literature, are compared to study the effect of fluid relaxation on interfacial area generation. Interfacial area is an important parameter that controls mass transfer in many engineered multiphase systems, so it is important to develop accurate predictive tools describing multiphase flow to engineer efficient processes. An empirical predictive relationship was developed describing a specific interfacial area‐wetting saturation relationship that depends on the number of quasi‐equilibrium relaxation points obtained during a drainage or imbibition experiment. The empirical expression was tested and verified using a number of existing datasets. We found that different relationships were needed depending on the fluid properties as well as the porous medium. However, clear trends were observed that can, once a predictive relationship is established for the system, allow us to design multiphase flow systems to produce a desired amount of interfacial area tailored to a particular application.