Abstract
We investigate the two-phase flow in a horizontally placed Y-shaped tube with different Young's angle and width in each branch. By using a quasistatic approach, we can determine the specific contact position and the equilibrium contact angle of fluid in each branch based on the minimization problem of the free energy of the system. The wettability condition and the width of the two branches play important roles in the distribution of fluid in each branch. We also consider the effect of gravity. Some fluid in the upper branch will be pulled down due to the competition of the surface energy and the gravitational energy. The result provides some insights on the theory of two-phase flow in porous media. In particular, it highlights that the inhomogeneous wettability distribution affects the direction of the fluid penetrating a given porous medium domain. It also sheds light on the current debate whether relative permeability may be considered as a full tensor rather than a scalar.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1905-1914 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Computers & Mathematics with Applications |
Volume | 68 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2014 |
Bibliographical note
KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01Acknowledged KAUST grant number(s): SA-00040/UK-00016
Acknowledgements: This publication was based on work supported in part by Award No. SA-00040/UK-00016, made by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), the Hong Kong RGC-GRF Grants 605311, 605513.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Modeling and Simulation
- Computational Theory and Mathematics
- Computational Mathematics