Visualization of a Surfactant Flood of an Oil-Saturated Porous Medium

Abstract

Abstract This paper discusses the viscous fingering that occurs when water or a surfactant solution displaces oil in a porous medium. Such floods were visualized in an oil-wet porous medium composed of fused plastic particles. The flow structure changed significantly within the range of capillary numbers between 10−4 and 10−3. The addition of surfactant resulted in narrower fingers, which developed in a more dispersive fashion.