The effects of permeability heterogeneity on miscible viscous fingering: A three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging analysis

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Abstract
The three-dimensional evolution of the viscous fingering instability has been visualized directly with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Miscible displacement of thin solute bands by aqueous solvent was investigated in packed beds of 30 μm chromatographic particles. Fingering behavior into samples of glycerol and a protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA), with viscosity ratios ranging from 1 to approximately 4, were compared. The three-dimensional morphology and dynamics of fingers were monitored to approximately millimeter spatial resolution using MRI. Linear and nonlinear fingering behavior were observed. Permeability heterogeneities with length scales on the order of the finger wavelength induced complex three-dimensional fingering patterns. Sample and column boundary effects on fingering dynamics were also noted. The differences in fingering behavior observed between albumin and glycerol samples are consistent with the wavelength predictions of linear stability analysis and the large differences in molecular diffusivity.

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