We compare the flow behavior of viscoelastic surfactant (VES) solutions and Newtonian fluids through two different model porous media having similar permeability: (a) a 3D random packed bed and (b) a microchannel with a periodically spaced pillars. The former provides much larger flow resistance at the same apparent shear rate compared to the latter. The flow profile in the 3D packed bed cannot be observed since it is a closed system. However, visualization of the flow profile in the microchannel shows strong spatial and temporal flow instabilities in VES fluids appear above a critical shear rate. The onset of such elastic instabilities correlates to the flow rate where increased flow resistance is observed. The elastic instabilities are attributed to the formation of transient shear induced structures. The experiments provide a detailed insight into the complex interplay between the pore scale geometry and rheology of VES in the creeping flow regime.@en

In this work, we investigate the influence of channel structure and fluid rheology on non-inertial migration of non-Brownian polystyrene beads. Particle migration in this regime can be found in biomedical, chemical, environmental and geological applications. However, the effect of fluid rheology on particle migration in porous media remains to be clearly understood. Here, we isolate the effects of elasticity and shear thinning by comparing a Newtonian fluid, a purely elastic (Boger) fluid, and a shear-thinning elastic fluid. To mimic the complexity of geometries in real-world application, a random porous structure is created through a disordered arrangement of cylindrical pillars in the microchannel. Experiments are repeated in an empty channel and in channels with an ordered arrangement of pillars, and the similarities and differences in the observed particle focusing are analyzed. It is found that elasticity drives the particles away from the channel walls in an empty microchannel. Notably, particle focusing is unaffected by curved streamlines in an ordered porous microchannel and particles stay away from pillars in elastic fluids. Shear-thinning is found to reduce the effect of focusing and a broader region of particle concentration is observed. It is also noteworthy that the rheological characteristics of the fluid are not important for the particle distribution in a randomly arranged pillared microchannel and particles have a uniform distribution for all suspending fluids. Moreover, discussion on the current discrepancy in the literature about the equilibrium positions of the particles in a channel is extended by analyzing the results obtained in the current experiments.@en