Journal article
How viscoelastic effects impact polymer fluid flow in porous media
- 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 shearthinning 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.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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(Preview, Version of record, pdf, 2.8MB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1007/s11242-026-02312-6
Authors
+ UK Research and Innovation
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- Funder identifier:
- https://ror.org/001aqnf71
- Grant:
- APP36940
+ Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
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- Funder identifier:
- https://ror.org/0439y7842
- Grant:
- EP/X034437/1
- EP/X034305/1
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Journal:
- Transport in Porous Media More from this journal
- Volume:
- 153
- Article number:
- 65
- Publication date:
- 2026-05-14
- Acceptance date:
- 2026-04-08
- DOI:
- EISSN:
-
1573-1634
- ISSN:
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0169-3913
- Language:
-
English
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
-
2403558
- Local pid:
-
pubs:2403558
- Deposit date:
-
2026-05-07
- ARK identifier:
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Wang et al.
- Copyright date:
- 2026
- Rights 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.
- Licence:
- CC Attribution (CC BY)
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