Rediscovered Insights into Fluid Dynamics

Indian Institute of Technology Ropar (IIT Ropar), a premier engineering, science, and technology institute in India, has made a significant breakthrough in the field of fluid mechanics. In collaboration with Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT), the team has explored viscous fingering (VF) of annular ring for the first time.

The research, published in the esteemed Journal of Fluid Mechanics on Apr 6th, 2021, was carried out by authors G. Di Federico and M. J. Blunt. The study used the two-phase Darcy law (TPDL) module of COMSOL (COMSOL Multiphysics®) to simulate the phenomenon.

Viscous fingering is a phenomenon that occurs when a less viscous fluid moves in a more viscous fluid in porous media, causing the interface between the two fluids to become unstable and deform in a finger shape. The VF of an annular ring, as opposed to the classical radial VF and rectilinear VF with one fluid sandwiched between layers of another, exhibits a persistent phenomenon, in contrast to the transient nature of VF of a slice.

The international collaborative team's findings are expected to enable highly accurate prediction of processes such as the spreading of groundwater contamination and enhanced-oil-recovery. The research was acknowledged by M.M. through the JSPS Invitation Fellowships for Research in Japan (no. L19548) and received financial support from SERB, Government of India through project grant number MTR/2017/000283.

IIT Ropar, established in 2008 by the Ministry of Education, Govt. of India, has been at the forefront of research on socially relevant problems like water and air pollution, affordable point-of-care healthcare technologies, and artificial intelligence applied to solve future engineering challenges. The institute's high standard of research ensures year-after-year the best research performance amongst newer IITs, in India and in world rankings like the QS Asia rankings (205th) and Times Higher Education World University rankings (301-350).

The researchers carried out experiments using a water-glycerol miscible system in a Hele-Shaw cell, an experimental apparatus to mimic the porous medium flows. The team received local support during the research stays at TUAT from Global innovation research, TUAT and Y. Nagatsu.

TUAT, a distinguished university in Japan dedicated to science and technology, focuses on agriculture and engineering that form the foundation of industry, and promotes education and research fields that incorporate them. IIT Ropar has made active research collaborations with institutions like MIT, SUNY, Cardiff University, and Cambridge University.

The Department of Science of Technology (DST), Govt of India, has established a Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) in the application domain of Agriculture & Water at IIT Ropar. This hub aims to develop cutting-edge technologies for agriculture and water management, addressing the challenges faced by the farming community and water scarcity issues in the country.

In conclusion, the research on viscous fingering of annular ring by IIT Ropar and TUAT marks a significant step forward in understanding and predicting the behaviour of less viscous fluids in more viscous fluids in porous media. The findings are expected to have practical applications in various industries, including oil recovery and groundwater management.