Dynamic effects on capillary pressure-Saturation relationships for two-phase porous flow: Implications of temperature

Work carried out in the last decade or so suggests that the simulators for multiphase flow in porous media should include an additional term, namely a dynamic coefficient, as a measure of the dynamic effect associated with capillary pressure. In this work, we examine the dependence of the dynamic coefficient on temperature by carrying out quasi-static and dynamic flow simulations for an immiscible perchloroethylenewater system. Simulations have been carried out using a two-phase porous media flow simulator for a range of temperatures between 20 and 80 degrees C. Simulation domains represent 3-D cylindrical setups used by the authors for laboratory-scale investigations of dynamic effects in two-phase flow. Results are presented for two different porous domains, namely the coarse and fine sands, which are then interpreted by examining the correlations between dynamic coefficient(s) and temperature, time period(s) required for attaining irreducible water saturation, and the dynamic aqueous/nonaqueous phase saturation and capillary pressure plots. The simulations presented here maintain continuity from our previous work and address the uncertainties associated with the dependency of dynamic coefficient(s) on temperature, thereby complementing the existing database for the characterization of dynamic coefficients and subsequently enabling the users to carry out computationally economical and reliable modeling studies. (C) 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 58: 19511965, 2012