Instabilities in the dissolution of a porous matrix

A reactive fluid dissolving the surrounding rock matrix can trigger an instability in the dissolution front, leading to spontaneous formation of pronounced channels or wormholes. Theoretical investigations of this instability have typically focused on a steadily propagating dissolution front that separates regions of high and low porosity. In this paper we show that this is not the only possible dissolutional instability in porous rocks; there is another instability that operates instantaneously on any initial porosity field, including an entirely uniform one. The relative importance of the two mechanisms depends on the ratio of the porosity increase to the initial porosity. We show that the “inlet” instability is likely to be important in limestone formations where the initial porosity is small and there is the possibility of a large increase in permeability. In quartz‐rich sandstones, where the proportion of easily soluble material (e.g., carbonate cements) is small, the instability in the steady‐state equations is dominant. Key Points There are two qualitatively different instabilities in porous media dissolution One instability develops immediately; the other after a reaction front is formed The relative importance of the mechanisms depends on the increase in porosity