Application of effective medium theory for obtaining hydraulic functions on pore networks.

Effective medium theory on pore networks was employed for modeling hydraulic characteristics of porous media. Different flow regimes (flow in completely filled pores, corner and film flow in partially filled pores) and different mechanisms of liquid displacement (piston-type displacement, “snap-off”, cooperative wetting) was taken into account in modeling of single pore behavior at microlevel. Proposed micromodel was then upscaled to obtain macroscopic hydraulic characteristics for typical laboratory silica sands. All calculated hydraulic functions (drainage curve, hydraulic conductivity, main wetting curve, and primary wetting curve) showed good agreement with experimental data.