Mechanisms of Foam Flow in Porous
Media: Apparent Viscosity in
Smooth Capillaries
G.J. Hirasaki, SPE, Shell Development Co.
J .B. Lawson, SPE, Shell Development Co.
Abstract
The apparent viscosity of foam flowing through smooth
capillaries was measured experimentally, and a mathe-
matical model was developed. Foam texture (a measure
of bubble volume) is a key parameter in determining the
following properties of foam flowing through a capillary:
(1) whether the foam exists as bulk foam or as a chain
of bubbles where each pair of bubbles is separated by an
individual lamella, (2) the number of lamellae per unit
length of the capillary, and (3) the radius of curvature of
the gas-liquid interface. The apparent viscosity is the sum
of three contributions: (1) that from slugs of liquid be-
tween bubbles, (2) the resistance to deformation of the
interface of a bubble passing through a capillary, and
(3) the surface tension gradient that results when surface
active material is swept from the front of a bubble and
accumulates at the back of it. The sensitivity of both
measured and calculated apparent viscosity is presented
as a function of bubble size, capillary radius, ratio of bub-
ble radius to capillary radius, velocity, quality, and sur-
face tension gradient.
Introduction
An early conceptual model for the relative permeability
of two-phase flow was the bundle of capillary tubes model.
In this model, the wetting phase flowed in the smaller
capillaries and the nonwetting phase flowed in the larger
capillaries. The relationship between the flow rate and
pressure drop in a capillary was described by the Hagen-
Poiseuille law.
The flow of a discontinuous nonwetting phase, such as
a foam, cannot be described by the Hagen-Poiseuille law.
The purpose of this investigation was to determine the
relationship between flow rate and pressure drop for the
flow of foam through a capillary. This relationship is
described by an apparent viscosity that is required to
modify the Hagen-Poiseuille law for the flow of foam.
Our previous observations of flow of foam lamellae in
transparent porous models showed that lamellae move
from pore to pore by translation. Breaking and re-forming
oflamellae were rare; so was bubble coalescence. These
observations suggest that the apparent viscosity of foam
or lamellae in uniform, smooth capillaries is related to
and, indeed, is one component of the mobility of foam
in porous media.
A reasonable conceptual model of a natural porous
medium is a bundle of interconnected capillaries of dif-
Copyright 1985 Society of Petroleum Engineers
176
ferent sizes and containing constrictions. All capillary sec-
tions, or pores, near to one another have the same
capillary pressure. Thus, phase saturations may differ
from pore to pore, but the radii of curvature of the gas/liq-
uid interfaces are equal. When flow in such an array of
capillaries is modeled, resistance to flow in parallel chan-
nels of both the same and different sizes is conceived to
be in parallel. Flow in smooth, uniform pore sections is
in series with flow through constrictions. The component
of resistance owing to smooth, uniform pore sections is
approximated by resistance to flow in smooth, uniform
capillaries.
Measurements and theory presented here show that the
most important variable affecting foam viscosity in
uniform, smooth capillaries is foam texture (bubble size).
Foam of finer texture has more lamellae per unit length
and, as a result, greater resistance to flow. This is true
both for flow of bulk foam and series of lamellae.
The principal factors affecting apparent viscosity of
foam in uniform capillaries are dynamic changes at
gas/liquid interfaces. These are illustrated in Fig. 1.
1. Slugs of liquid between gas bubbles resist flow.
2. Viscous and capillary forces result in interfaces that
are deformed against the restoring force of surface ten-
sion. The extent of this deformation and the resulting bub-
ble shape partially determine apparent viscosity as a
function of flow rate.
3. Another factor determining apparent viscosity as a
function of velocity is expansion of the interface at the
leading end of a bubble, accompanied by compression at
the trailing end. This sweeping action causes surface ac-
tive material to be depleted at the front and to accumulate
at the back of the bubble. The result is a surface tension
gradient that resists flow.
Scaling of Foam Texture and Capillary Radius
Since foam texture is a measure of the average volume
or equivalent radius of its bubbles, one would expect that
an important scale factor is the ratio of this equivalent
radius to the equivalent radius of a porous medium or the
radius of a capillary. This ratio can be expressed either
as the wetted perimeter per unit area of the solid or as
the number of lamellae per unit length of capillary. These
quantities are denoted as n L and are referred to as the
number of equivalent lamellae per unit length. This con-
cept is illustrated in Fig. 2.
Bulk Foam. It is assumed that bulk foam flows as plug
flow with slip at the wall. If this is the case, then the
SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL
 S lUGS OF lIQU I D FOAM TEX TURE

)( x
BULK FOAM
LARGE CAPILLARY, R »rs

INTERFACE DEFORMATION

C--) SURFACE TENSION GRADI ENT

~c__--+_); I NDIVIDUAL LAMELLAE

Fig. 1-Mechanisms affecting apparent viscosity in smooth SMALL CAPILLARY, R < < rs
capillaries.

f\ r

resistance is a function of the wette;:! perimeter of the

lamella touching the capillary wall. The conditions for
plug flow have been analyzed by Princen. 1 The valida-
tion of this assumption is discussed in the section on Com-
parison with Prior Work.
If the capillary radius, R, is large compared to the
equivalent radius of the bubbles, r B, then the number of
equivalent lamellae per unit length can be estimated by
the same approach used in estimating the hydraulic radius
of a packed bed. The wetted perimeter is the sum of the
lengths of the lamellae in contact with the capillary wall.
The contacted area is the area of the capillary wall.
wetted perimeter
nL=-----------------
contacted area of solid
area of lamellae
volume of foam
(area per sphere)(volume of gas)
= Ih -------------------------
(volume per sphere)(total volume)
47rrgr
=lh------
(%) 7rrff
=(~)r/rB' for RB> ?r . ................. (1)
Individual Lamellae. If the capillary radius is small com-
pared to the equivalent radius of the bubbles, then the
lamellae exist individually, each lamella separating two
bubbles of gas. From geometric relationships, the number
\/ " J
Fig. 2-Lamellae configurations in large and small capillaries.
of lamellae per unit length can be expressed in terms of
the capillary radius and the equivalent bubble radius.
number of bubbles
nL=
length of capillary
(vol gas/vol foam)(vol foam/length)
(vol of gas per bubble)
r7rR2
(%) 7rrff
=(%)rR 2/rff, for RB < <rB' ............. (2)
Transition Between Bulk Foam and Individual
Lamellae. As stated, Eq. 1 applies when capillary radii
are much greater than the equivalent bubble radius and
Eq. 2 when capillary radii are much less than the
equivalent bubble radius. In the first case the foam exists
as bulk foam, but in the latter case individual lamellae
are separated by bubbles. Neither equation may be valid
when R::::: r B. However, a continuous model is desired to
bridge this transition. Therefore, the transition between

APRIL 1985 177

 J.o.-~=-------------,----------,

)
LAMELLAE I fOAM
-l~
La I
I
.8 I
R I
r

6
LT =1/n L
4 • .5 --.2~~.4-~.6-c-,-~.8-~lO---:1~.2-~L4~-L~6-~L~8-------:"2.0
O
1L

R Ir.
Fig. 4-Regions of interfacial curvature in smooth capillaries.

R ship between the variables V L and V G is as follows.

VL 47r(I-7r/4)Rr?
................. ' .. (4a)
Fig. 3-Bubble configurations when the bubbles are VG (%)7rri
separated and when they are touching.

. ........................... (4b)
these two cases is estimated by determining when the two
expressions for nL are equal. This is found to be when
R=.firB. Thus, the expression for nL is as follows. This equation can be solved for the radius of curvature.

%)rR 2/r i , R~.firB individual lamellae ~=[ 1 ~] %(rB)%, re~R . ... (5)
nL = ( (%)r/rB, R";? .firB bulk foam. R 3(1-7r/4) r R

............................. (3)
Bulk Foam. When the capillary radius is large compared
In the experiments for which R< .firB, the number to the equivalent bubble radius, the configurations of Fig.
of lamellae per unit length, n L, was measured and r B was 3 are not appropriate. When R> .firB, it is assumed
calculated. In the experiments in which lamellae were in- that the bubbles are pentagonal dodecahedrons. The
terconnected (i.e., bulk foam), the value of rB was following expression for the radius of curvature is derived
estimated from a similar experiment in a capillary tube in Appendix A.
of smaller radius where individual lamellae could be
counted. (1-r)%
1.782 'I
re. r 3

Radius of Curvature of Plateau Borders -=mm ............... (6a)

rB [ 1.0
The radius of curvature of the the gas/liquid interface,
r e' is an important variable because it is a factor in the
expression for the thickness of the liquid film wetting the This expression results in the radius of curvature being
solid and, thus, is a factor in the resistance to flow. equal to the bubble radius at a critical quality of 0.742.
However, it is known that a rhombohedral packing of
spheres results in a critical quality of 0.741. Thus, the
Individual Lamellae. Fig. 3 illustrates both when bub- numerical constant in Eq. 6a is adjusted to correspond
bles are separated by slugs of liquid and when bubbles to this critical quality as follows.
are touching. When the bubbles are separated, the radius
of curvature of the interface is just equal to the lesser of (1-r)%
the capillary radius, R, and the bubble radius, rB. When 1.788 I/, ,r>0.741
the bubbles are touching, the radius of curvature, r e, is re r
less than the capillary radius and is a function of the rB =[ 1.0, r<0.741. .......... (6b)
capillary radius, R, the equivalent radius of the bubble,
r B, and the quality, r.
Assume that the radius of curvature is small compared The various regions of radius of curvature correspond-
to the capillary radius (i.e., the Plateau border is small ing to the models are shown in Fig. 4. There is a discon-
compared to capillary radius) and that the volume of liq- tinuity in the radius of curvature at R= ..hrB, which
uid in the thin films is negligible compared to the volume corresponds to the transition from individual lamellae to
of liquid in the Plateau border. In this case, the relation- bulk foam in the capillary.

178 SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL

Length of Thin Film and Liquid Slugs
The length of the thin liquid film on the capillary wall,
L B , is a variable in the resistance to flow. In Fig. 3 this
length is shown to be less than the length of the bubble.
Only the length of the thin film is used in the calculation
of the drag caused by the surface tension gradient because
the theory was derived for a film of constant thickness.
The same expression is used for the case of bulk foam
in the capillaries.
Bubbles Not Touching. When the bubbles are not
touching, the static radius of curvature is equal to the
capillary radius. The lengths, LB and Ls, can be derived
by expressing the volume fraction of gas in terms of the
variables.
L T = l/nL, .............................. (7b)
and
LB =rlnL -%R. . ......................... (7c)
The length of the liquid slugs, Ls, can be derived in
a similar manner.
and
I-r
Ls=---2f~ . ......................... (8b)
nL
Bubbles Touching. When the bubbles are touching, the
radius of curvature is less than the capillary radius and
must be calculated as described in the previous section.
and
Ls=O. . ................................ (9c)
Viscosity Contribution of Liquid Slugs
The contribution of the liquid slugs to the apparent viscosi-
ty corresponds to the fraction of the capillary length oc-
cupied by the liquid slugs as follows.
",i~j, =~sILT .......................... (lOa)
=",LSnL' .......................... (lOb)
APRIL 1985
Pressure Drop With Constant Surface Tension
Bretherton 2 has derived an expression for the dynamic
pressure drop of an isolated bubble with constant surface
tension in a smooth capillary tube. In this section, his
results will be modified to take into account the radius
of curvature of the bubbles when they are touching, as
shown in Fig. 2 and the bottom of Fig. 3. He used a
numerical solution to match the thin film solution with
the thick film solution at the ends of the bubble and
assumed that the thick film has a curvature equal to the
static value. This resulting matched solution for the shape
of the interface was used to estimate the film thickness
where the thick film solution becomes tangent to the
capillary wall. This film thickness was used to reduce the
radius of curvature for dynamic conditions. The difference
in curvature between the dynamic and static interfaces was
used to estimate the dynamic pressure drop.
The work of Bretherton 2 analyzed a single bubble in
a capillary tube. The work presented here extends Brether-
ton's results to a chain of bubbles that are separated by
lamellae. A lamella consists of a thin film and a plateau
border. The plateau border is similar to the liquid ahead
of and behind an isolated bubble except that the radius
of curvature of the meniscus can be less than the capillary
radius.
Bretherton's analysis has been refined to include the ef-
fects of the disjoining pressure and short bubbles by Tel-
etzke. 3,4 The work of Bretherton was clarified and
extended to higher capillary numbers by Park and
Homsy.5
We can modify Bretherton' s work to take into account
the two radii of curvature when the bubbles are touching,
Rand r e' The resultant thickness of the interface where
the thick film solution is tangent to the capillary is equal
to (PR)e (3",U/u)2hre, and the factor (PR)e, equal to
1.79, is the coefficient determined by matching the thin
film solution with the thick film solution by numerical in-
tegration. 2 The pressure drop across the front interface
is as follows.
........................... (lIb)
The first term in Eq. lIb is the static pressure drop, and
the second term is the dynamic pressure drop across the
front meniscus. A similar analysis for the rear meniscus
results in the following expression for the total dynamic
pressure drop .
.:lPdynamic =2.26(ulr e)(3",U/u) 213 [(r c1R)2 + 1]. . (l2)
179
The apparent viscosity in a tube with this model is de- is sufficiently small, the mass flux to the interface, j, can
rived from Poiseuille flow as follows. be expressed as a linear function of I' ' .

n AnR2
shape _ _ L_'-'I'
__
j=Q(C o ' I')-P(I') ...................... (16a)
JAapp - 8U ....................... (13a)
:::=: -aI", ............................. (16b)
where

Surface Tension Gradient

a=(;; -:i)ro ........................ (17)

When surface active material is present, the surface ten-

If the two expressions for the flux are equated, then the
sion at the front of the bubble can be expected to be greater
departure from equilibrium in terms of the surface velocity
than the surface tension at the back of the bubble because
gradient is
the interface is expanding at the front and is contracting
at the back. This difference in surface tension will result
in a surface traction that resists flow. - I'o du s
OUf analysis for the effect of the surface tension gra-
r'=---- .......................... (18)
a dx
dient makes the same lubrication theory approximations
made by Bretherton, except that now there is a nonzero
Substituting Eq. 18 into Eq. 14b results in the following
traction at the interface.
expression for the surface traction in terms of the surface
The surface excess concentration of the surface active
velocity.
material is expressed as I' = I'0 +I' " where I'0 is the
value when the surface is equilibrium with the bulk fluid
- 2
and I' ' is the departure from equilibrium. It is assumed durodu s
that the surface tension can be expressed as a linear func- Ts= dI'
~ dx
2
.....••................. (19)
tion of the surface excess concentration over the range
of values encountered along the interface. The surface From the normal component of the surface momentum
traction, T s, at the interface then can be related to the sur- balance, the pressure in the liquid relative to the pressure
face tension gradient from the tangential component of in the bubble can be expressed as a function of the mean
the momentum balance on the interface. Neglecting curva- curvature of the interface. If the slope of the interface is
ture and surface viscosity we have: assumed to be small compared to unity and this expres-
sion is differentiated, the result is 2
Ts = -doldx ............................ (14a)
op d 3Yl
-+u--=o
3
. ......................... (20)
ox dx
......................... (14b)
The variable, Y 1 , denotes the value of Y at the interface
(i.e., the film thickness).
The coordinates are chosen such that x is parallel to the The lubrication theory approximation for the momen-
capillary axis and is positive in the direction of flow and tum balance results in the following equation. 2
Y is perpendicular to the capillary wall. The origin of the
x axis is the front of the bubble. 02U 1 op
The surface excess concentration is related to the sur- -- -- . ........................... (21)
oy2 P. ox
face velocity gradient if it is assumed that surface diffu-
sion is negligible and adsorption-desorption is the rate
limiting step in the mass transfer to the surface, as de- If the coordinates are defined to move with the bubble,
scribed by Levich. 6 The depletion of the surface active the boundary conditions are as follows.
material from the film is neglected. This assumption is
discussed in Appendix D. The flux to the interface must u=-U, y=o, ....................... (22a)
satisfy material conservation at the interface.
ou
Y=Yl' ...................... (22b)
j=vs·(I'u s ) ............................ (ISa) oy

- du s and
:::=:ro - . ............................. (ISb)
·dx
us=u(Yd=O, x=O, -LB . ................ (22c)

This flux also is equal to the net rate of adsorption and The boundary condition, Eq. 22c, implies that the coor-
desorption. Let Q and P be the rates of adsorption and dinate system is stationary with respect to the front and
desorption, respectively. If the departure from equilibrium back of the bubble.

180 SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL

 The overall material balance over the fIlm results in this and
equation:
-1 1 du
N s =-----=---
ro 1
................. (27b)
-q- =
27rR 0
fl udy .......................... (23a) (P)c Jl dr arc

The dimensionless differential equations can be ex-

=-Ub . ........................... (23b) pressed as follows.

The variable b is the thickness of the fIlm far from the

ends of the bubble. Eq. 23b results from applying the in-
tegral across the fIlm far from the ends of the bubble
where the fIlm is stationary with respect to the wall.
The preceding relations are now combined into two and
differential equations. The steps are described in
Appendix B.

When N s =0, the equations are the same as those of

Bretherton. 2
(Yl -b) Eqs. 28a and 28b are a set of third- and second-order,
• 3 =0 ............................ (24a) quasilinear ordinary differential equations. Direct
Yl numerical solutions of the differential equations are not
useful because they will not yield expressions for the ap-
d 3 Yl
-- -------s 2 du r 0 1 d2u parent viscosity of a foam in a capillary. Perturbation ex-
pansions may result in asymptotic series expressions for
3
dx 2
u dr. a Yl dx the solutions. In calculations required for the expressions
for fIlm thickness and interfacial velocity, all but one or
2Jl(u s +U) two terms of the series expression must be eliminated.
- =0 ........................ (24b) The first terms of the series solution of the coupled dif-
u Y? ferential equations are the solutions in which the differen-
tial equations are uncoupled. The uncoupled solutions are
The equations are made dimensionless as follows: the solution for constant surface tension, N s = 0 (de-
scribed earlier) and the solution with constant thickness.
1/ =y lib, ............................... (25a) Eq. 28b with constant thickness, 1/ = 1.0, becomes this
linear, uncoupled differential equation:
~=(3JlUlu)Y,xlb, ........................ (25b)
d2 w 4
w=(u s + U)IU, .......................... (25c) - - - w = O . ......................... (29)
de Ns
and
The boundary conditions are as follows.

w=l, ~=O, hB . ........................ (30)

The thickness far from the ends, b, is described by The solution to the differential equation, Eq. 29, with its
Bretherton's2 analysis. boundary conditions is as follows.

The coefficient, (P) c, was determined by Bretherton to and

be equal to 0.643. However, the surface tension gradient
probably will change this coefficient. Thus, (P)c is a
parameter to be determined from the experiments or com-
puted by numerical methods.
Substituting the expression for b, Eq. 26, into Eqs. 25b
and 25d results in the following. where

Z=~/hB' O!5Z!5l. ...................... (33)

1 y,
~=--(3JlU/u)- (xlrc) ................. (27a)
(P)c NL=-2hBlJii; ....................... (34a)
APRIL 1985 181
 1 . 0 , - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - : : ; ; ;......- - - - ,
1. 0.5

3. 4. 5. 10
.1 .2 .3 .4 .5 .6 .7 .8 .7 1.0
FRACTIONAL LENGTH
Fig. 7-Normalized velocity gradient and surface tension at
Fig. 5-Dimensionless .interfacial velocity profile. front of bubble as function of N L'

I.Or----------------------.
.8

The apparent viscosity resulting from the surface tension

gradient is derived by substituting f¥J into the Poiseuille
equation, Eq. 13a.
fRONT (l-e- N L)
Ilgarpapd
r
= (lin
r
LR)(3 II
r
Ula) -\l,..rN:s (l+e- NL ) . '" (38)

.6 .S .4 .3 .2 o
FRACTIONAL LENGTH The proftles for dimensionless velocity, w, are illustrated
Fig. 6-Profiles of normalized interfacial velocity gradient and
in Fig. 5 for different values of the dimensionless variable,
surface tension. N L. The curves show that as N L becomes small, the in-
terface approaches an immobile interface moving with the
velocity of the bubble. The dimensionless group, N L,
becomes small when LB becomes small and/or Ns
[2/(P)c](L B lr c)(3p.Ula) - \oS
becomes large. When N L is large, the interface is at rest
. . .......... (34b) (with respect to the wall) far from the ends of the bubble.
[
__1_~ da r 0 ~] liz Fig. 6 illustrates proftles of velocity gradient and sur-
(P) c p. df arc face tension normalized as in Appendix C. As N L
becomes large the velocity gradient and the departure of
The expressions for the surface tensi()n and surface trac- the surface tension from the equilibrium value are limited
tion are derived in Appendix C. The departure of the sur- near the ends. As N L becomes small, the proftles become
face tension from the equilibrium value is as follows. linear but the magnitude becomes less.
Fig. 7 illustrates the normalized velocity gradient and
a-a o =2fllT o(3p.Ula) 2,I,..fii; surface tension at the front of the bubble as a function
of N L. When N L is greater than 5.0, the bubble behaves
-NLZ -e -N L (l-Z)] as if it were of infinite length. When N L is less than 0.1,
[e
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (35) the interface is approaching an immobile interface .
In deriving the expression for the surface tension gra-
dient effect, the assumption is made that the ftlm thickness
The surface traction is as follows. is constant and differs by a constant factor from the
asymptotic ftlm thickness of the constant surface tension
case. Since the analysis assumed constant ftlm thickness,
the bubble length was calculated to be the length of the
thin ftlm region. Actually, the bubble length includes the
length of the Plateau border region. This latter length was
(l-Z)
[e-NLZ+e-NL ] neglected because the Plateau border would have required
..... . .. ... . . ... .. . (36) a separate solution that must match the thin ftlm solution .
(1 +e-Nq It was felt that this additional effort was not justified. The
analysis of the experimental data for the surface tension
The pressure drop resulting from the surface tension gra- gradient effect resulted in an estimated ftlm thickness that
dient is as follows. was about three times the thickness predicted by the
Bretherton analysis for constant surface tension. However,
this difference in thickness was not used to adjust the ap-
f¥J= - ~~~ (r sdx ...................... (37a) parent viscosity contribution resulting from the interface
-La deformation, Eq. 13b.
182 SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL
Experimental Technique
The experiments were designed to measure the apparent
viscosities as functions of capillary radius, bubble size,
foam quality, and velocity.
The capillaries ranged in length from 23 to 46 cm [9
to 18 in.]. A pair of experiments in which the capillary
lengths differed by a factor of two showed no significant
difference in apparent viscosity. The capillary radii used
were 0.01,0.02,0.025,0.1, and 0.25 cm [0.004, 0.008,
0.01, 0.4, and 0.1 in.]. With the smallest bubbles
generated, the smallest capillary (0.01 cm [0.004 in.]
radius) produced only two lamellae; consequently, the
measurements for this situation were judged to be
unreliable.
A schematic of the apparatus used to generate bubbles
of specific sizes appears in Fig. 8. The device consisted
of a drawn tip protruding into a liquid-filled chamber and
ports for injection of liquid and gas. Generators were con-
structed as units that could be attached to the various
capillary tubes. Three different tips were used. Nominal
diameters were 0.08,0.01 cm [0.03, 0.004 in.], and one
as fine as the glassblower could make. Individually they
generated bubbles with radii of 0.123 cm [0.05 in.] (range
0.112 to 0.135 cm [0.04 to 0.05 in.]), 0.091 cm [0.04
in.] (range 0.079 to 0.105 cm [0.03 to 0.04 in.]) and 0.058
cm [0.02 in.] (range 0.046 to 0.065 cm [0.02 to 0.03 in.]).
The bubble sizes were determined from the static number
of lamellae in the capillary tube after a pressure
measurement.
The flow rates of air and surfactant solution were
regulated with a gear-type syringe pump that would hold
two syringes of different sizes. Before the experiments,
gas rates were verified by a bubble flow meter, and liq-
uid rates were verified by weighing delivered liquid with
a recording balance. Some data that reported 99% quali-
ty were collected while only gas was being pumped. Liq-
uid was added intermittently to maintain a constant liquid
level in the bubble generator. Here, foam qualities were
not measured since liquid rates were too low to measure
accurately. These high quality data were not used if r c/R
was less than 0.15 (r c is the radius of curvature of
gas/liquid interface and R is the capillary radius). The
foam quality is the volume fraction of gas.
Pressure was measured from a pressure tap at the
horizontal section of the foam generator immediately
before the capillary tube. Pressure lines to the transducer
were 0.I6-cm [1I16-in.] nylon tubing. During some ex-
periments, a short section of glass tubing and a glass trap
were required to prevent lamellae from entering the nylon
tubing. If lamellae are confined to water-wet glass and
do not enter the nylon tubing, the measured pressure
should represent the gas phase pressure. The outflow end
of the capillary tube was open to the atmosphere.
The pressure drop across the capillary ranged from 158
to 6688 Pa [0.023 to 0.97 psi]. The pressure in the gas
syringe was not measured. No correction was made for
the effects of compression.
The foaming surfactant solution was a 1.0 wt% Siponate
DS-lO, ™ commercial sodium dodecyl benzene
sulfonate, in deionized water.
Match of Experimental Data
The theory has two empirical parameters that must be
determined from the experiments, {3 and 2/(P)c. The
APRIL 1985
+
CAPI LLARY
TU BE
DRAWN
TIP
L-._ _ _ _ _- GA S
Fig. a-Schematic of foam generator.
dimensionless group, N p given by Eq. 27b, is factored
into an empirical parameter, {3, and the radius of cur-
vature.
Ns ={3/r c. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (39)
The other empirical parameter is the coefficient, 2/(P)c,
in the expression for N L in Eq. 34b. It can be seen from
Eq. 38 that this latter parameter has an influence on the
apparent viscosity only for sufficiently small but nonzero
values of N L. The parameter {3, in addition to affecting
N L, affects the surface tension gradient contribution to
the apparent viscosity in proportion to the square root of
the parameter.
The two parameters, {3 and 2/(P)c, were estimated
from the experiments by (1) computing the apparent
viscosity, (2) subtracting the contribution resulting from
the slugs of liquid, (3) normalizing the apparent viscosi-
ty according to Eq. 13b such that the normalized apparent
viscosity would be equal to 0.85 if Eq. 13b was the only
contribution, and (4) comparing the normalized apparent
viscosity with the calculated results of Eq. 38 when it is
normalized in the same way. The value of {3 was estimated
by matching the data for which N L was sufficiently large
such that the results were independent. of the exact value
of N L . The value of the coefficient, 2/(P)c' was estimated
by matching the velocity dependence of the normalized
apparent viscosity when N L is small. The estimated value
of {3 was 5.0 cm [2 in.] and the estimated value of the
coefficient, 2/(P)c, was 1.0. These parameters were not
refined within a factor of two. The experimentally
estimated value of (P)c from Eq. 34 is greater than the
computed value from Bretherton by a factor of 3 .11. This
suggests that the ftlm thickness in the presence of the sur-
face tension gradient effect is greater by the same factor.
However, Eq. 34b has several other factors besides (P)c.
Inaccuracies in one of these factors or in the model may
have contributed to the value of (P)c. Thus, the ex-
perimentally determined value of (P) c should be con-
sidered as a parameter for the surface tension gradient
effect rather than the ftlm thickness. The values of the
coefficients in Eqs. 12 and 13b are from Bretherton's
analysis, since these contributions are based on zero sur-
face tension gradient.
The values used for p. and u were 0.001 Pa· s [1.0 cp]
and 0.34 N/m [34.0 dynes/cm]. (The measured value of
u was subsequently determined to be 0.298 N/m [29.8
dynes/cm].)
183
 3
103~----------------------------------~ 10

r· 0.83
U ' 1.0 em/sec
rB'O.lem
2
a. 10
v

o
u.o
~
/-Lapp
<[
,cp
3 10
~

<[
u 10
a.
Co

"
::t.
1. I 1.
II
101L -_ _ _ _ _ _- L_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _J -_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _L -_ _ _ _ _ _- J
10- 1 1. 10 102 10 3
jJ-app (MEASURED). e p
10 -1 L----1.--L-..l...l....LLllL_ _-'--.J........I....LJ.J...J..I.L----1.--L...L..J....LLW

Fig. 9-Comparison of measured and calculated apparent 10-1 1. 10 102

viscosities.

Fig. 11-Sensitivity of apparent viscosity to the surface ten-

sion gradient parameter, f3, and r aIR.
102, . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,

respect to the water viscosity. From Eqs. lOb, 13b, and

38, we have:
0

10 /Lapp =LsnL +0.85 (n LR) (3/L U / u ) - v. [(r c/R )2 + 1]

/L (r c/R )
ji-app
Ie p (l-e- N L)
+(n L R)(3/LU/u)-'/'.JN; N' . . . . . . . . . (40)
(1 +e- L)
1.
WITHOUT SURFACE/'" Eq. 8b shows that the product LSnL is a function of r
TENSION GRADIENT
and nLR. The product nLR is shown by Eq. 3 to be a
R ' 0.05 em function ofr and rB/R. The ratio, re/R, is shown by Eqs.
r '0.91 5 and 6b to be a function of rand r B / R or is equal to
r B ' 0.117em unity. The viscosity, /L; velocity, U; and surface tension,
1
16
10- 2 10- 1
u appear together as the capillary number, /L U/ u. The
1. 10
dimensionless number, N s , is shown by Eqs. 27b and 39
U, em I see to be a function of a parameter that is characteristic of
the surfactant, {3, and the radius of curvature, re' The
Fig. 10-Effect of surface tension gradient on apparent radius of curvature is shown by Eqs. 5 and 6b to be a
viscosity. function of rand rB and/or R. The dimensionless bub-
ble length, N L , is shown by Eq. 34b to be a function of
LB/re , /LUlu, andNs . The ratio, LB/r e , is shown by Eqs.
The comparison between the calculated and measured 7c and 9b to be a function of r, n Lr e' and r e/R. The term
apparent viscosities is shown in Fig. 9. In this comparison, nLr e is equal to the product of (nLR) and (r e/R), each
the data that were disregarded as unreliable were from part of which has been previously discussed.
(1) experiments with high quality (reported as 99%) in
which the quality was not measured and the estimated Sensitivity of Apparent Viscosity to Parameters
value of r c/R was less than 0.15, and (2) experiments that The effect of parameter variations on the apparent viscosi-
had only two lamellae in the capillary tube. ty was investigated by varying one parameter at a time.
The experimental data had to be interpolated to obtain the
Dimensionless Groups data at a velocity of 1.0 crnls [0.4 in'/sec]. The experimen-
The dimensionless groups affecting the apparent viscosi- tal data are shown as data points and the calculated results
ty are reviewed by normalizing the apparent viscosity with are shown as curves in Figs. 10 through 15.

184 SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL


fl-app
,e p
10
r8 = 0.09 em
r = 0.82
U = 1.0 emlsee
R, em
Fig. 12-Effect of capillary radius on apparent viscosity.
Surface Tension Gradient. The effect of the surface ten-
sion gradient on the apparent viscosity is illustrated in Fig.
10 by comparing apparent viscosities calculated with and
without the surface tension gradient effect. The apparent
viscosity calculated without surface tension gradient ef-
fect is about a factor of eight less than the measured values
for these conditions.
The relative importance of the surface tension gradient
effect varied from experiment to experiment because the
dimensionless group, N p is inversely proportional to the
radius of curvature and the surface tension gradient con-
tribution to the apparent viscosity is proportional to L B
for small N L. Some experiments with foam had zero con-
tribution from the surface tension gradient effect because
of zero value of LB' Eqs. lOb and 13b adequately
described the apparent viscosity for these cases.
The surface tension gradient effect is demonstrated over
a range of capillary sizes in Fig. 11. The experimental
data had varying rB as well as capillary radius. The
calculations show that there is a significant increase in
apparent viscosity as {3 is increased from 0 to 5.0 cm [0
to 2 in.], but that increasing {3 to as much as 50.0 cm [20
in.] does not result in much greater viscosity.
The limit of {3 approaching infinity can be examined
by taking the limit of Eq. 38.
lim p.g~~P =(P)c -1p.(nLLB)(Rlr c)
(3-+ 00
. (3p.Ulo) _2;' • . . . • . • • . . . . . . • • • . • . . . • . . . • • .
The product n LL B approximates unity if the bubbles are
long and touching. The ratio Rlr c is expressed by Eq.
APRIL 1985
1O'r------~-----------__,
fL·pp R : 0.1 em
.c p r' 0.83
U : 1.0 em/sec
10 L-_~_~~~---'-'---"-'--
10" 1.
Fig. 13-Effect of bubble size on apparent viscosity.
5 for the case of individual lamellae with touching bub-
bles. The limiting apparent viscosity then is expressed as
follows.
lim r"grad = [3(1-11'/4)] lh (~) lh
app
(3-+ 00 (P)c P. I - f
. (rBIR) -%(3p.U/u) -2j,. . •••.•••.•••.•••..• (42)
If the bubbles are not touching, the ratio Rlr c is equal
to unity in Eq. 41. In this case, the surface tension gra-
dient contribution to the apparent viscosity becomes in-
dependent of the bubble and capillary radii. In either case,
the dependence on the capillary number is to the - 213
power.
Capillary Radius. The effect of the capillary radius on
the apparent viscosity is illustrated in Fig. 12. The system
changes from individual lamellae for small capillary radii
to foam at large capillary radii because the bubble size
is constant. The surface tension gradient effect is the domi-
nant effect at small radii and is zero at the larger radii
because the length of the thin film for each bubble
decreases with increasing capillary radius (Eq. 7c). The
slope of the portion of the curve for small radii is equal
to 2.5. This slope is to be expected from Eqs. 2, 5, 27b,
and 38. The large capillary portion of the curve has a slope
of 2.0. This is to be expected from Eqs. 1, 6b, and 13b.
Bubble Size. The main conclusion from this work is the
importance of the foam texture on the mobility. This is
illustrated in Fig. 13, where the apparent viscosity is
shown as a function of the equivalent bubble radius. The
calculated curve is discontinuous at the transition from
bulk foam to individual lamellae and rapidly changes at
slightly greater bubble sizes. These features occur because
the calculated radius of curvature is discontinuous at the
transition and the contribution of the surface tension gra-
dient suddenly becomes important at slightly greater bub-
ble sizes.
The slope of the curve approaches -2.0 for small bub-
bles in the bulk foam region. This can be understood from
(41) Eqs. 1, 6b, and 13b.
The slope of the curve approaches - 3.0 for large bub-
bles in the individual lamellae region. This can be
understood from Eqs. 2 and 38. The number of lamellae
185
 lif~-----------------------,
r 0.83
U 1.0 em/sec
Lapp
,e p
10
~
1.
1. 10
Fig. 14-The combined effects of bubble size and capillary
radius on apparent viscosity.
per unit length varies in inverse proportion to the cube
of the equivalent bubble radius.
The Ratio TBtR. In Fig. 14, the effects of capillary
radius and bubble size are combined by illustrating the
apparent viscosity as a function of the ratio rBtR. Ex-
periments and theory now are compared over a larger
range of the variables. The bubble sizes in the experiments
ranged from 0.056 to 0.119 cm [0.02 to 0.05 in.] while
the calculated apparent viscosity shown by the solid curve
was based on rB =0.1 cm [0.04 in.]. The comparison be-
tween the experiments and theory shows that rBtR
describes the combined effect of the bubble size and
capillary radius reasonably well, even though the model
does not always have the variables r Band R appearing
as this ratio. The product, nLR, that appears in the ex-
pression for the apparent viscosity is a function of quali-
ty and rBIR.
The transition from foam to individual lamellae is a
function of rBtR. The radius of curvature of the inter-
face divided by the capillary radius, r ctR, in the case of
individual lamellae when the bubbles are touching is a
function of quality and rBtR. However, the dimensionless
number, N s' is a function of the radius of curvature,
which can be equal to rB for small rBtR or can be equal
to R for large rBtR. Thus, the surface tension gradient
effect can be a function of the capillary radius or the bub-
ble radius apart from its dependence on the ratio rBtR.
Fig. 14 shows the calculated apparent viscosity with the
equivalent bubble radius or the capillary radius reduced
from 10- 1 to 10- 3 cm. The dashed curves show that
when the capillary radius and bubble radius are reduced
186
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
jJ-opp
r.= 0.125 em
,e p (LAMelLAE)
30
o
o
20
R = O.l,em
U: 1.0 em/s8e
o :r.: 0.125 em
x : r.: 0.06 em
10
.7 .8 .9 1.0
QUALITY, r
Fig. 15-Effect of quality on apparent viscosity.
by a factor of 100, the apparent viscosity is increased in
the portion of the curve where the surface tension gra-
dient effect is significant.
These results have practical significance in scaling from
coarse porous media to fine porous media. Assume that
in-situ-generated foam still has the same ratio of rBtR
when the pore size of the porous media changes. Then,
these results show that the apparent viscosity resultfng
from the smooth, uniform portion of the pore will not
change with pore size if rBtR< 1.0, but will increase with
decreasing pore size if rBtR> 1.0. Also, the results show
that, if rBtR is approximately equal to unity, the apparent
viscosity resulting from the effects investigated here is
about 0.04 Pa's [40 cp] at a quality of 0.83 and at a veloci-
ty of 1.0 cmts [0.4 in.lsec].
Quality. The effect of foam quality on the apparent
viscosity is illustrated in Fig. 15. The experimental data
for quality nominally equal to 0.99 actually could have
been of lower quality since the liquid flow rate was not
measured. The primary effect of the quality is to change
the radius of curvature as shown by Eqs. 5 and 6b. This
effect is more significant at high qualities. The quality
has a lesser effect on the number of lamellae per unit
length, the length of the thin film portion of the bubbles,
and the length of the liquid slugs. These latter effects are
more significant at lower qualities.
Velocity. The effect of velocity is illustrated in Fig. 16.
The case with bulk foam has a calculated zero length of
the thin film, L B, such that there is zero surface tension
SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL
effect. The calculated slope is equal to - 113 as described
by Eq. l3b. The case with individual lamellae has the
dimensionless bubble length N L, Eq. 34, changing as a
result of the changing velocity. At the low rates, the ex-
ponential factor in Eq. 38 approaches unity and the
calculated apparent viscosity approaches a slope of - 1/3 •
At the higher velocities, N L becomes small and the ex-
ponential factor in Eq. 38 approaches being proportional
to N L. This results in the apparent viscosity approaching
a slope of - 2f3 .
A velocity of 1.0 cm/s [0.4 in.lsec] corresponds to a
capillary number equal to 2.94 x 10 -4. The velocities in
the experiments ranged from 0.1 to 42.0 cm/s [0.04 to
16.5 in.lsec].
Comparison with Prior Work
Other investigators have measured the apparent viscosi-
ty of foam in capillary tubes as an approach to understand-
ing the flow of foam in porous media. Some of these
investigators neither reported the foam texture nor ob-
served if it was changing along the length of the capillary
tube. The dependence of apparent viscosity on capillary
length observed by Holbrook et al. 7 suggests that the
foam was breaking in their capillary tube. Our work
showed no dependence on capillary length. Fried 8
observed that the apparent viscosity increased in propor-
tion to the capillary radius while Raza and Marsden 9
observed that it increased in proportion to the fourth power
of the capillary radius. Our work showed that the apparent
viscosity increased with the 2.0 to 2.5 power of the
capillary radius when the velocity was kept constant.
Hu et al. 10 investigated the flow of foam of a known
texture through capillary tubes. They observed that the
. transformation from lamellae to polyhedral (bulk) foam
occurred when lInL =0.75R. From Eq. 3, this cor-
responds to R/ r B = 1.25. This is in reasonable agreement
with the value of .fi assumed in our Eq. 3.
Hu et al. 10 also attempted to correlate the resistance
of foam flowing in a capillary with the dynamic surface
tension of bubbles formed at a rate of 10 bubbles/sec. A
good correlation was found for all but the highest
molecular weight surfactants.
This investigation assumed that bulk foam will flow as
plug flow with slip at the wall. This assumption will be
valid if the shear stress at the wall does not exceed the
yield shear stress of the bulk foam. The yield shear stress
can be estimated from the model developed by Princen. I
His Eq. 22 can be expressed in terms of the critical
pressure gradient. The critical pressure gradient can be
expressed in terms of the critical capillary number by in-
troducing the apparent viscosity
(U: w
) critical
R)(~) ......... (43)
=0.l31C
B /Lapp
If we assume that R/rB=.fi and /Lapp//Lw7'100, then
the critical capillary number is equal to 1.5 x 10 -3. All
of the experiments with bulk foam had a lower capillary
number. Thus, the assumption of plug flow with slip at
the wall appears to be justified for the experiments shown
here.
APRIL 1985
p..PP R • 0.1 em
,e P r' 0.83
o 'I' 0.063 (FOAM I
• 'I' 0.119cm( LAMelLAE I
10
U,cm/sec
Fig. 16-Effect of bubble velocity on apparent viscosity.
Conclusions
The following conclusions can be made for the flow of
foam or lamellae through smooth capillary tubes.
1. The foam texture (a measure of the bubble volume)
is a key parameter in determining whether the foam ex-
ists as a bulk foam or a chain of bubbles that are separated
by individual lamellae, the number of equivalent lamellae
per unit length of the capillary tube, and the radius of cur-
vature of the gas/liquid interface.
2. The apparent viscosity is the sum of three contribu-
tions: that resulting from slugs ofliquid between bubbles,
the resistance to deforming the interface when a bubble
passes through a capillary, and the surface tension gra-
dient that results when surface active material is swept
from the front of the bubble and accumulates at the back
of the bubble.
3. The surface tension gradient has a significant effect
on apparent viscosity when the dimensionless groups N s
and NL are sufficiently large. As Ns approaches infini-
ty, the apparent viscosity approaches a value that cor-
responds to an immobile interface. N L is proportional to
the length of the thin film portion of the bubble.
4. The dependence of apparent viscosity on the capillary
radius at a constant velocity for the case illustrated is pro-
portional to: the 2.5 power of the radius for radii that are
small compared to the bubble radius and the 2.0 power
of the radius for radii that are large compared to the bub-
ble radius.
5. The dependence of apparent viscosity on the foam
texture for the case illustrated is proportional to: the -2.0
power of the equivalent bubble radius for bubble radii that
are small compared to the capillary radius and the - 3 .0
power of the equivalent bubble radius for bubble radii that
are large compared to the capillary radius.
6. Many of the effects of the capillary radius, R, and
the equivalent bubble radius, rB, can be combined with
the ratio, rBIR. The results demonstrate the effects of
bubble size and pore size as they become small in pro-
portion to each other. The apparent viscosity in the bulk
foam region where the surface tension gradient effect is
insignificant does not change for a given value of rB/R,
but it increases with a decrease in either bubble size or
pore size in the region with individual lamellae when the
surface tension gradient effect is significant.
7. The quality affects apparent viscosity by affecting
the radius of curvature of the gas/liquid interface, number
of lamellae per unit length, the length of the thin film por-
tion of the bubbles, and the length of liquid slugs.
187
 8. The dependence of the apparent viscosity on the
velocity for the cases illustrated here is proportional to
the - ~ power of velocity when the length of the thin
fIlm portion of the bubble is negligible or is very large,
and approaches being proportional to the - 2h power of
velocity if the dimensionless length, N L, is sufficiently
small such that the exponential term in Eq. 38 is propor-
tional to N L but yet the surface tension gradient term is
dominating the apparent viscosity.
Future Work
Apparent viscosity in smooth capillaries is only one com-
ponent affecting the mobility of foam in porous media.
The effects of pore constrictions and alternate flow paths
still must be considered.
This work showed mobility as a function of a specified
texture. When foam is generated in situ in porous media,
texture is a dependent variable and will depend on the
mechanisms of foam generation and stability.
Nomenclature
b = thickness of thin fIlm far from the ends
of the bubble, cm [in.]
C = concentration, mol/cm 3 [mol/cu in.]
D = diffusivity, cm 2 /sec
j = mass flux to interface, mol cm -2 sec- I
L B = length of thin fIlm portion of bubble, cm
[in.]
Le = length of edge of dodecahedron, cm [in.]
Ls = length of liquid slugs, cm [in.]
LT = total length of bubble and liquid slug, cm
[in.]
n L = number of equivalent lamellae per unit
length, cm -1 [in. -1]
N L = dimensionless length of the thin fIlm
portion of bubble
N s = dimensionless number for surface tension
gradient effect
p = pressure, dyne/cm -2 [psi]
p(r) = rate of desorption, mol, cm -2 /sec -1
(P) c = coefficient from constant of integration
(PR) c = coefficient from constant of integration
q = volumetric flow rate, cm 3 /sec -1
Q(Co,r) = rate of adsorption, mol'cm- 2 /sec
rB = equivalent bubble radius, cm [in.]
r c = radius of curvature of gas-liquid
interface, cm [in.]
R = capillary radius, cm [in.]
U = velocity in axial direction in liquid,
cm/sec [in.lmin]
Us = velocity at interface, cm/sec [in.lmin]
U = velocity of bubble, cm/sec [in.lmin]
V G = gas volume, cm 3 [cu in.]
VL = liquid volume, cm 3 [cu in.]
x = coordinate in axial direction, cm [in.]
Xo = location where the interface is at rest,
cm [in.]
Y = coordinate normal to capillary wall, cm
[in.]
188
YI = fIlm thickness, cm [in.]
Z = fraction length of bubble
ex = mass transfer rate constant, sec- I
{3 = parameter for surface tension gradient
effect, cm [in.]
r = quality, gas volume fraction
r = surface excess concentration, mole cm 2
r 0 = equilibrium surface excess concentration,
mole cm -2, [mol in. -2]
r' = departure from equilibrium surface
excess concentration, mol cm -2 [mol
in. -2]
71 = dimensionless coordinate normal to wall
tJ. = viscosity, Pa' s [cp]
~ = dimensionless coordinate in axial
direction
~ L B = dimensionless length of bubble
(1 = surface tension, N/m-
I [dyne/cm- I ]
(10 = eqUilibrium surface tension, N/m-
I
[dyne/cm -1 ]
T s = surface traction, Pa [dyne/cm -2]
w = dimensionless velocity
References
l. Princen, H.M.: "Rheology of Foams and Highly Concentrated
Emulsions, I. Elastic Properties and Yield Stress of a Cylindrical
Model System," J. Colloid Interface Sci. (1983) 91, No.1 160-75.
2. Bretherton, F.P.: "The Motion of Long Bubbles in Tubes," J. Fluid
Mech. (1961) 166-88.
3. Teletzke, G.F.: "Thin Liquid Films: Molecular Theory and
Hydrodynamic Implications," Ph.D. thesis, U. of Minnesota (1983).
4. Teletzke, G.F., Davis, H.T., and Scriven, L.E.: "Wetting
Hydrodynamics," paper submitted to J. Fluid Mech.
5. Park, C.W. and Homsy, G.M.: "Two-Phase Displacement in Hele
Shaw Cells: Theory," J. Fluid Mech. (1984) 139, 291-308.
6. Levich, V.G.: Physiochemical Hydrodynamics, Prentice-Hall, Inc.,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ (1962) 409-16.
7. Patton, J.T., Holbrook, S.T., and Hsu, W.: "Rheology of Mobili-
ty Control Foams," Soc. Pet. Eng. J. (June 1983) 456-60.
8. Fried, A.N.: "The Foam-Drive Process for Increasing the Recovery
of Oil" (1961), U.S. Bureau of Mines, Rep. Inv. 5866.
9. Raza, S.H. and Marsden, S.S.: "The Streaming Potential and the
Rheology of Foam," Soc. Pet. Eng. J. (Dec. 1967) 359-63.
10. Hu, P.C., Tuvell, M.E., and Bonner, G.A.: "Evaluation of
a-Olefin Sulfonates in Steam Diversion," paper SPE 12660
presented at the 1984 SPE/DOE Fourth Symposium on Enhanced
Oil Recovery, Tulsa, April 16-18.
11. Bikerman, J.J.: "Foams," Springer-Verlag, New York (1973),
p.62.
APPENDIX A
Radius of Curvature for Bulk Foam
The bubbles of the bulk foam are assumed to have a shape
approximating that of the regular pentagonal dodeca-
hedron. 11 This polyhedron has 12 identical faces, each
of which is a regular pentagon. If the length of an edge
is L e' the volume of the dodecahedron is 7.66 L 1. It is
assumed that the thin fIlms of the faces have negligible
volume compared to the Plateau borders and that the
Plateau borders have a constant radius of curvature, r c,
and become tangent to the faces. (See Fig. A-I.)
The faces of a pentagonal dodecahedron meet at an
angle of about 116°. It is assumed that the faces meet at
an angle of 120° for the purpose of calculations and
because this is the angle that foam lamellae must meet.
SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL
In the plane perpendicular to an edge, the triangle having
as the apices the edge, the center of curvature of the
Plateau border, and the point of tangency of the Plateau
border with the face is a 30°-60° right triangle. The
Plateau border is a 30° arc of a circle with a radius of
r c' The area of the Plateau border within this triangle is
the difference between the area of the triangle and the area
of the segment of a circle, (.[i16-7r/12)r1-. The pen-
tagonal dodecahedron has a cross-sectional area at each
edge equal to twice the cross-sectional area within the
30° _60° right triangle. The volume of the Plateau borders
within a given ~ntagonal dodecahedron is equal to 60
(.[i16-7r/12)r c L e ·
The volume fraction of liquid is

60(.[i16-7r/12)r 1- Le
l-r= - - - - - - - - .......... (A-Ia)
7.66L; 30 EDGES OF LENGTH a

VOL. PLATEAU BORDERS = 1.614 a r~

=0.21l(r cILe)2. . .................. (A-Ib)
VOL. PENTAGONAL DODECAHEDRON = 7.66 a 3
The volume of a gas bubble is characterized by the
equivalent bubble radius, r B. The volume of the bubble Fig. A-1-Model for radius of curvature of the Plateau border
and the volume of the pentagonal dodecahedron determine of bulk foam.
the volume fraction of gas.

(%) 7rrd
f= 3" .••••••••.•..•••••••.•..•• (A-2) Substitution ofEqs. 19 and 20 into Eq. B-3 results in Eq.
7.66L e 24a.
When the equations are made dimensionless and the
The length of the edge, L e , can be eliminated between third derivative is eliminated, Eq. 28b is the result.
Eqs. A-I and A-2 to arrive at Eq. 6a.

APPENDIX B
Derivation of Differential Equations for Velocity
and Thickness
Integration of Eq. 21 with application of the boundary con-
ditions, Eqs. 22a and 22b, results in an expression for
the velocity profile.
APPENDIX C
Derivation of Expressions for Surface Tension
and Surface Traction
The surface tension is determined by integrating Eqs. 14a
and 19 from a hypothetical location, x o , far away from
the ends where the interface is in equilibrium and mo-
tionless.

u=; : (Y: -YIY)- ~ y-U. ............ (B-l) u-u o =- fTsdx ....................... (C-Ia)
Xo

Evaluation of the velocity at the interface results in an du 1'0 du

expression for the interfacial velocity, us. =- di' -;- dxs .................. (C-1b)

1 iJp Y? Ts
us=-------YI-U. .............. (B-2) uo 2h dw
p, iJx 2 p, =3 (3p,U/u) Ns d~' ............. (C-le)

Substitution of Eqs. 19 and 20 into Eq. B-2 results in a

differential equation that is second order in the interfacial The normalized surface tension is determined by
velocity and third order in the thickness, Eq. 24b. substituting Eq. 32 into Eq. C-1c and normalizing the sur-
Integration of the velocity profile, Eq. B-1, over the face tension.
thickness according to Eq. 23 results in an expression for
the conservation of material. e -N LZ -e -N L(l-z)
%u 0 (3p,PI u) 2h.JN; l+e- NL
-yl iJp Ts 2
- - - - - Y l ~U(yl -b)=O . ........... (B-3)
3p, iJx 2p, ........................... (C-2)

APRIL 1985 189

 The surface traction can be determined by expressing Substituting into this expression the definition of the
Eq. 19 in terms of the dimensionless velocity. dimensionless velocity, Eq. 25c, we have the following
expression.
2
Uo V. d w
7s =- N s(31l'u/u) --2 ......... (C-3a) fo
3(P)crc d~ C(O)-C(x)=-[l-w(x)]. . .............. (0-5)
b
4u o v.
---(3p.U/u) w. . ............. (C-3b) This expression can be normalized as follows.
3(P)c r c
C(O)-C(x) -r [l-w(x)] ............. (0-6a)
o
The dimensionless velocity is given by Eq. 31. The sur-
face tension in the capillary number is the equilibrium C(O)
value, but the subscript is dropped. The normalized sur- fo
face traction is equal to the dimensionless velocity. :5 - - ................... (0-6b)
bC(O)
APPENDIX D
Depletion of Surface Active Material from The inequality, Eq. 0-6b, results from the range of w(x)
Thin Film being from zero to unity. This result shows that the change
in concentration in the bulk fluid of the thin film will be
When we analyzed the surface tension gradient effect, we negligible if the right side of Eq. 0-6b is small compared
assumed that the mass transfer to the interface was in- to unity. More specifically, the change in concentration
dependent of the change in concentration of the surface will have negligible effect on the interface if the concen-
active material in the bulk fluid of the thin film. This tration remains above the CMC.
assumption is justified if the mass transfer to the inter- The value of the term in Eq. 0-6b is estimated this way.
face does not significantly change the concentration in the Assume that the surface excess concentration is 50 A 2
bulk fluid of the thin film. per molecule. This corresponds to f o =3.2XlO- 10
The concentration in the bulk fluid of the film is de- mol/cm 2 [4.9x 10- 9 mol/sq in.].
rived by neglecting the transverse convection and The film thickness is estimated from Eq. 26 by using
longitudinal diffusion. The transverse variation in the con- the experimentally determined value for (P)c of 2.0.
centration is neglected except for the diffusion term. The
mass transfer to the interface is described by Eq. l5b and b=2.0(3p.U/u)'hr c' . . . . . • . . . • . . . . • . . . • • . . (0-7)
Fick's law.
The concentration of 1 % Siponate OS-lO is 2.9x 10- 2
. - du s mol/dm 3 [2.9x 10-2 mol/L].
]=ro dx ............................. (O-la) Typical values for 3p.U/u and r c for the experiments
in this work are 10- 3 and 10- 2 cm, respectively. This
results in the following estimate for the concentration
ae depletion.
= -D-. . .......................... (O-lb)
ay
C(O)-C(x)
----:50.055 ...................... (0-8)
The material balance for the surface active material is C(O)
as follows.
However, if the capillary number and the radius of cur-
ae a2 e vature were both reduced by a factor of ten, the deple-
u-=D- . .......................... (0-2) tion of the surfactant from the thin film would be
ax ay2
significant. If the thin film becomes depleted, the surface
tension of the thin film cannot restore itself to the
Eq. 0-2 is integrated over the thickness of the film and equilibrium value with the bulk fluid. In this case, there
Eqs. 23, O-la, and O-lb substituted into the resulting is less change in surface tension, and the result is that the
equation contribution of the surface tension gradient to apparent
viscosity is less .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (0-3) SI Metric Conversion Factors
ax Ub dx
cp x 1.0* E-03 Pa's
This equation is integrated from x=O, which is the front in. X 2.54* E+OO cm
of the bubble.
·Conversion factor is exact. SPEJ
Original manuscript received in the Society of Petroleum Engineers office Oct. 5, 1983.
fo Paper accepted for publication March I, 1984. Revised manuscript received July 12,
C(O)-C(x)=-[us(O)-us(x)] . ........... (0-4) 1984. Paper (SPE 12129) first presented at the 1983 SPE Annual Technical Conference
Ub and Exhibition held in San Francisco Oct. 5-8.

190 SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL