Mixing with complex patterns : from the impact of miscible viscous fingering to the effects of motile bacteria

Flow instabilities arising from differences in temperature, density, or viscosity are commonplace. Viscous fingering is a hydrodynamic instability that occurs when a less viscous fluid displaces a more viscous one. Instead of progressing as a uniform front, the displacing fluid forms fingers that vary in size and shape to form complex patterns. The interface created from these patterns affects mixing between the two fluids, and therefore understanding how these patterns evolve in time is essential in applications such as enhanced oil recovery, bioremediation, and microfluidics. In this Thesis, we experimentally quantify the impact miscible viscous fingering has on mixing. We use a radial Hele-Shaw cell as an analog of radial flows in porous media, and high-resolution fluorescent imaging, to measure the temporal and spatial evolution of the mixing zone. We identify distinct regimes in both the interface length and average thickness of the mixing zone.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctoral

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• Chui, Jane(Jane Yuen Yung)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Ruben Juanes.

• Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses may be protected by copyright. Please reuse MIT thesis content according to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy, which is available through the URL provided.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/129048

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/129048