Nonlinear viscous fingering in miscible displacement with anisotropic dispersion

Abstract

The effect of anisotropic dispersion on nonlinear viscous fingering in miscible displacements is examined. The formulation admits dispersion coefficient-velocity field couplings (i.e., mechanical dispersivities) appropriate to both porous media and Hele–Shaw cells. A Hartley transform-based scheme is used to numerically simulate unstable miscible displacement. Several nonlinear finger interactions were observed. Shielding, spreading, tip splitting, and pairing of viscous fingers were observed here, as well as in isotropic simulations. Multiple coalescence and fading were observed in simulations with weak lateral dispersion, but not for isotropic dispersion. Transversely and longitudinally averaged one-dimensional concentration histories demonstrate the rate at which the mixing zone broadens and the increase in lateral scale as the fingers evolve when no tip splitting occurs. These properties are insensitive to both the dispersion anisotropy and the Peclet number at high Peclet number and long times. This suggests the dominance of finger interaction mechanisms that are essentially independent of details of the concentration fields and governed fundamentally by pressure fields.