Coupled fine-scale modeling of the wettability effects: Deformation and fracturing

Multiphase flow in porous media has been thoroughly studied over the years and its importance is encountered in several areas related to geo-materials. One of the most important parameters that control multiphase flow in any complex geometry is wettability, which is an affinity of a given fluid toward a surface. In this paper, we have quantified the effects of wettability on deformation in porous media, along with other parameters that are involved in this phenomenon. To this end, we conducted numerical simulations on a porous medium by coupling the exchanged forces between the fluid and solid. To include the effect of wettability in the medium, we used the Fictitious Domain methodology and coupled it with volume of fluid through which one can model more than one fluid in the system. To observe the effect of wettability on dynamic processes in the designated porous medium, such as deformation, particle–particle contact stresses, particle velocity, and injection pressure, a series of systematic computations were conducted where wettability is varied through five different contact angles. We found that wettability not only controls the fluid propagation patterns but also affects drag forces exerted on the particles during injection such that larger deformations are induced for particles with lower wettability. Our results are also verified against experimental tests.