Mechanistic modeling of fingering, nonmonotonicity, fragmentation, and pulsation within gravity/buoyant destabilized two‐phase/unsaturated flow

Abstract

Fingering, nonmonotonicity, fragmentation, and pulsation within gravity/buoyant destabilized two‐phase/unsaturated flow systems has been widely observed with examples in homogeneous to heterogeneous porous media, in single fractures to fracture networks, and for both wetting and nonwetting invasion. To model this phenomena, we consider a mechanistic approach based on forms of modified invasion percolation (MIP) that include gravity, the influence of the local interfacial curvature along the phase‐phase interface, and the simultaneous invasion and reinvasion of both wetting and nonwetting fluids. We present example simulations and compare them to experimental data for three very different situations: (1) downward gravity‐driven fingering of water into a dry, homogeneous, water‐wettable, porous medium; (2) upward buoyancy‐driven migration of gas within a water saturated, heterogeneous, water‐wettable, porous medium; and (3) downward gravity‐driven fingering of water into a dry, water‐wettable, rough‐walled fracture.