Impact of dynamic permeability reduction on flow distribution in porous media

Precipitation of minerals, adsorption of nanoparticles, and trapping of immiscible fluids in porous media result in changes in the available flow paths and modify the permeability of the medium. We use confocal microscopy and bulk transport measurements to probe the local flow and permeability of the medium in 3D porous micromodels. Our experimental measurements show that depending on the time allowed for changes in the structure due to the deposition of a polymer, the structure of the medium changes in response to the flow. Nevertheless, the probability distribution of fluid velocities retains the same shape. We find that at a constant volumetric flow rate, the modified structure of the medium has an intrinsic length-scale that can be estimated from the bulk permeability of the medium.