Pore-scale model for fluid injection andin situgelation in porous media

We examine immiscible fluid displacement in a porous material for the case where a polymerization reaction occurs at the interface between two fluid phases. A three-dimensional sphere-based network model is used to study the process. An in situ reaction may affect the pore morphology, interfacial forces, or viscous forces, thereby altering the pressure distribution and displacement pattern. The amount and manner in which the displacement pattern is affected depends on competing rates of reaction versus convection. The model shows that at high-capillary-number displacements, a narrow range of reaction rates affects the displacement process, below which no effect is seen and above which the flow stops. As the capillary number decreases, this range widens but at the expense of the overall hydraulic conductivity. This phenomenon is explained using microscopic displacement patterns. An operating window can be drawn showing the flow and reaction domain in which one would expect an interfacial reaction of this type to affect fluid displacement.