Development of a Mechanistic Foam Simulator: The Population Balance and Generation by Snap-Off

Abstract

Summary: The mobility of a foam depends heavily on its texture, which is the distribution of bubble sizes in the dispersion. To incorporate this variable in a mechanistic simulator, the usual conservation equations are coupled with balances on the densities of flowing and stationary bubbles in the foam. This approach to modeling foam flow is illustrated with a simulation of a displacement in which foam is generated in situ by capillary snap-off.