An experimental and numerical study of polymer action on relative permeability and capillary pressure

Unsteady state two-phase flow experiments were performed to check the actio n of an adsorbed water-soluble polymer on relative permeability and capilla ry pressure. ii selective reduction of the relative permeability to water w ith respect to relative permeability to oil was observed. Capillary pressur e, measured directly on the core, was increased after polymer injection. Si nce the polymer has little influence on interfacial tension, this trend is interpreted as a reduction of pore size due to polymer adsorption. The vali dity of this assumption was checked by the investigation of a pore-scale nu merical model. Relative permeabilities and capillary pressure were computed for a range of flow rates. Numerical results indicated that the polymer ad sorption model (wall effect) successfully reproduces qualitatively the expe rimental observations.