Mechanistic study on foam lamellae flow characteristics in tubes. (May 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Du, D.; Zhang, J.; Sun, S.; Zhang, N.; Wang, D.; Li, Y.
• Is Part Of: Materials research innovations. Volume 19(2015)Supplement 5
• Page Start: S5-526
• Page End: S5-529
• Publication Date: 2015-05
• Subjects: Mechanistic study -- Foam lamellae -- Flow characteristics -- Tubes -- Two phase; Materials -- Research -- Periodicals; Matériaux -- Recherche -- Périodiques; 620.1105
• DOI: 10.1179/1432891714Z.0000000001145
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1432-8917

Abstract

Abstract : For understanding foam propagation behaviour in porous media, experimental investigations were carried out concerning lamellae foam flow characteristics in a vertical tube. Foam is treated as a two-phase fluid, and the governing non-dimensional parameters were obtained through theoretical analysis. Two types of foams, CO2 and N2 foams, were studied and clear linear relationships between non-dimensional parameters of Δ pd / σ and (3 μU / σ ) 2/3 were observed. With different threshold values, the experimentally obtained mechanistic models for both foams predict much higher flow resistance compared with present popular models. Experimental results reveal the fact that a startup pressure is necessarily needed for mobilising the foam lamellae, and therefore indicate that the Herschel–Bulkley model instead of the power-law model could be better in revealing the mechanism of flowing foams in porous media in large scale.