On the steady motion of two immiscible fluids in an undulating porous reservoir

Abstract

We describe steady two-dimensional flows of two immiscible fluids through an undulating porous medium of constant thickness, with impermeable or slightly permeable boundaries. Flows in the same or opposite directions are called, respectively, direct or counter flows. Three special classes of flow are determined:

• (1) The pressure dominated case occurs for high direct flows and has the interface approximately a constant vertical distance from the impermeable boundaries.

• (2) The gravity dominated case occurs for low direct flows and has the interface very close to the lower (upper) boundary for downward (upward) sloping boundaries except at crossovers.

• (3) Counter flows require the interface to decrease in the direction of flow of the lower fluid.

Numerical examples illustrate the three classifications above. For incompressible flows the interface and pressure equations uncouple. A stability analysis shows that the direction of integration of the differential equation for the interface must be opposite to the flow direction for direct flows; for counter flows the direction of integration depends on whether the interface is above or below a critical height. Direct flows through cyclic geometries are asymptotically cyclic upstream. If the reservoir is ‘leaky’, asymptotically self-similar flows result when the (small) permeability ratio is scaled to the dynamical flow parameters.