Paper Number
FI13                         My Program 

Session
Flow-Induced Instabilities and Non-Newtonian Fluids

Title
The flow thickens: Predicting macroscopic flow resistance of viscoelastic fluid flow in porous media

Presentation Date and Time
October 14, 2024 (Monday) 4:05

Track / Room
Track 5 / Room 405

Authors (Click on name to view author profile)

  1. Chen, Emily Y. (Princeton University, Chemical & Biological Engineering)
  2. Haward, Simon J. (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate Univers, Micro,Bio,Nanofluidics Unit)
  3. Shen, Amy Q. (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate Univers, Micro,Bio,Nanofluidics Unit)
  4. Datta, Sujit S. (Princeton University, Chemical & Biological Engineering)

Author and Affiliation Lines (in printed abstract book)
Emily Y. Chen1, Simon J. Haward2, Amy Q. Shen2 and Sujit S. Datta1
1Chemical & Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544; 2Micro,Bio,Nanofluidics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate Univers, Onna-son, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan

Speaker / Presenter 
Chen, Emily Y.

Keywords
flow-induced instabilities; non-Newtonian fluids; polymer solutions

Text of Abstract
Flows of viscoelastic polymer solutions in porous media are ubiquitous in industrial and environmental applications. Despite their shear thinning nature in bulk rheology, these fluids can exhibit anomalous flow thickening above a threshold flow rate in porous media, marked by a drastic increase in flow resistance. The precise mechanisms for flow thickening have remained a puzzle since the first reports in the 1960s. Previous studies have suggested mechanisms including extensional viscosity, added viscous dissipation associated with elastic instabilities, and chemical adsorption or pore clogging; however, direct quantification of these mechanisms remains lacking. Here, we show that a mechanical power balance incorporating the added viscous dissipation arising from the onset of an elastic flow instability coupled with resistance from extensional viscosity can capture the macroscopic flow resistance of polymer solution flow in 2-D and 3-D ordered porous media. Our model directly links pore-scale flow fields obtained using confocal microscopy to the macroscopic flow resistance. Further, we find that stagnation point-driven extensional flows can be well-captured by a resistance-per-stagnation point in ordered geometries. Our work thus improves understanding into the physical mechanisms generating flow thickening and provides guidelines towards controlling macroscopic flow resistance in applications.