How viscoelastic effects impact polymer fluid flow in porous media
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Polymer fluids are widely used in subsurface and geotechnical engineering applications. While the steady shear rheology of polymer fluids is known to be reasonably captured by a Carreau-like shear-thinning model, it is still not fully understood how their elastic rheological characteristics, beyond shear-thinning behavior alone, influence their flow in porous media. In this study, we numerically investigate these effects using direct, pore-scale numerical simulations. By comparing data from simulations using the FENE-P model, which incorporates viscoelastic effects, with data from corresponding simulations using the Carreau model, which captures only shear thinning, we confirm that fluid elasticity can induce recirculation upstream of restrictions, leading to a reduction in polymer fluid conductance in porous media. As this recirculation is controlled by the geometric conditions, we conducted detailed comparisons between a two-dimensional model, a three-dimensional model mimicking microfluidics experiments, and an axisymmetric model, analogous to a constricted capillary tube. We also simulate flow in an ordered packing of uniform spheres to develop an understanding of the implications for flow in a 3D porous material. We find that these flows are regulated by the interplay between shear-thinning and elasticity effects. When the shear-thinning effect is sufficiently strong, the effects of elasticity are suppressed. In subsurface applications, viscoelastic effects are significant due to pore-scale confinement and fluid rheology itself, requiring explicit consideration in modeling, pilot design, and performance forecasting.
Date Issued
2026-06-01
Date Acceptance
2026-04-08
Citation
Transport in Porous Media, 2026, 153 (5)
ISSN
0169-3913
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Journal / Book Title
Transport in Porous Media
Volume
153
Issue
5
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2026 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/42147741
PII: 2312
Subjects
Polymeric fluids
Porous media
Shear thinning rheology
Viscoelasticity
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
Netherlands
Article Number
65
Date Publish Online
2026-05-14