Kozeny-Carman theory for modeling of porous granular structures saturation with emulsion during imbibition process.

Abstract

The issue discussed in the current publication is a process of emulsions penetration in the granular media driven by the capillary force. The research work focuses on the study of rate and height of multiphase liquids penetration in a porous bed. Changes of the medium porosity and saturation level occurring as a result of pores obstruction by the droplets of an inner phase, were considered. The surfactant-stabilized emulsions with the different dispersed phase concentrations were investigated applying a classical wicking test. The modified version of Kozeny-Carman theory was proposed in order to describe the observed imbibition process in porous structures composed of spherical grains. This approach allowed to predict transport of emulsions considering an effect of bed saturation and porosity changes. In practice, the introduced concept can be appropriable in the numerous industries and scientific fields to predict the imbibition process of the multiphase liquids in granular structures regarding variation of the investigated bed permeability.