Investigation on flow characteristic of viscoelasticity fluids in pore-throat structure

The flow characteristics of viscoelasticity fluids in different pore-throat structures were explored with Re number increasing from 0.399 to 4.15. Flow behaviors of polymer solution with different concentrations were investigated by micro-particle image velocimetry (mu PIV). Three different flow patterns termed as single-peak flow, double-peaks flow and multi-peaks flow were distinguished by 3-D velocity fields. Additionally, we found the pressure drop (Delta P) was linear with flow rate (Q) in single-peak pattern, the slope of Delta P-Q curve deviated from the constant value in double-peaks flow pattern and reached a constant value finally in multi-peaks pattern. Flow patterns map for viscoelasticity fluids in different pore-throat structures was established, which was separated into three areas corresponding to the pressure drop and elastic.