Three-Phase Fractional-Flow Theory of Foam-Oil Displacement in Porous Media with Multiple Steady States

Understanding the interplay of foam and non-aqueous phases in porous media is key to improving the design of foam for enhanced oil recovery and remediation of aquifers and soils. A widely used implicit-texture foam model predicts phenomena analogous to cusp catastrophe theory: the surface describing foam apparent viscosity as a function of...

Stability analysis of uniform equilibrium foam states for EOR processes

The use of foam for mobility control is a promising mean to improve sweep efficiency in EOR. Experimental studies discovered that foam exhibits three different states (weak foam, intermediate foam, and strong foam). The intermediate-foam state is found to be unstable in the lab whereas the weak- and strong-foam states are stable. The model of...