מרצה:  Dr Yaniv Edery

Postdoc at Harvard University

Abstract
Two phase flow in porous media: New dynamics for an old problem
We use confocol microscopy to visualize thin film formation between a trapped immiscible phase with surfactant to a flowing immiscible phase in three dimensional porous medium. We find that viscous drag forces on the thin film can destabilize capillary forces in drainage and imbibition, a process known as Haines jumps. Moreover, we show that viscous forces inhomogenously deplete surfactant leading to variations in interfacial tension and localizing capillary destabilization. Our results suggest that even in steady state flow with no variations of pressure the trapped phase can be mobilized by the interplay of viscous to capillary forces.