Linear Stability Analysis of Two-phase, Two-Component Flow in Porous Media

Abstract

Viscous fingering instabilities during fluid displacement in porous media can compromise the efficiency of applications such as enhanced oil recovery, CO2 sequestration, and groundwater remediation. While extensive research exists on linear stability analysis for fully immiscible and fully miscible displacements, the intermediate case of partially miscible flow with limited mass transfer between phases remains largely unexplored. This study extends linear stability analysis to a two-phase, two-component system that accounts for gravity effects, fractional flow, capillary forces, mechanical dispersion, and interphase mass transfer, focusing on the case where a partially miscible gaseous fluid displaces a liquid. We formulate an eigenvalue problem to characterize instability growth rates and cutoff wavenumbers. The resulting ordinary differential equations have discontinuous coefficients at the transition from two-phase to pure-liquid flow, resulting in discontinuous eigenfunction derivatives. We derive jump conditions for the derivatives at this transition, and solve the eigenvalue problem using the matched initial value problem method. Results demonstrate that mass transfer has a pre-dominantly stabilizing effect by reducing viscosity contrast and altering shock properties at the displacement front. This stabilizing influence is particularly pronounced for high viscosity contrasts and dampens gravity-induced instability in upward displacements. Mass transfer most significantly affects the perturbation growth rate, while its effect on the cutoff wavenumber is less pronounced. We identify a critical value for the dimensionless longitudinal dispersion coefficient where both growth rate and cutoff wavenumber are maximized, suggesting complex interactions between capillary forces and mechanical dispersion.