Experimental study on viscous fingering in Hele-Shaw cell under acoustic impact

Abstract Viscous fingering shaped as curvature of the fluid displacement fronts are usually formed in porous media and Hele-Shaw cell when a liquid with a high viscosity is displaced by a liquid with a lower viscosity. Such interfacial instability is undesirable in many displacement processes, and mainly in oil production. We present the results of physical modeling of the displacement of viscous oil by air in Hele-Shaw cell. As a method of suppressing undesirable interphase instability, the effect of elastic vibrations on the process is proposed. The experiment was performed in stationary conditions and under acoustic action on the displacement process. In the absence of superimposed vibrations, the growth rate of viscous finger is 2.15 times higher than the speed of liquid flow at the cell border. The imposition of acoustic oscillations can both accelerate and slow down the growth rate of viscous fingers depending on their frequency. The paper discusses the peculiarities of the development of viscous fingering. The results are compared with the calculated data.