On the inclusion of interfacial area in models of two-phase flow in porous media

A complete description of multi-phase porous media systems requires inclusion of interfacial areas as well as phase volumes. Theoretical results indicate that interfacial areas should be related to capillary pressure and to volumetric saturations, and that other constitutive relationships should include interfacial areas in their functional dependencies. Computational pore-scale network models allow for quantification of the proposed constitutive relationships that involve interfacial areas. In addition, a new experimental technique, Photoluminescent Volumetric Imaging (PVI), provides an opportunity to measure interfacial areas, thereby testing both the theory and the computational results. A collaborative research effort involving theoretical analysis, computational models, and PVI-based experiments, is being pursued to investigate the role of interfacial areas in multi-phase porous-media systems.