InterPore2026

In-situ observation of pore-throat plugging by rapidly swelling–shrinking hydrogel particles

21 May 2026, 15:35

1h 30m

Poster Presentation (MS20) Special Session in Honor of Jun Yao Poster

Speaker

Jiawei Shi (China university of petroleum (East China))

Description

Achieving deep conformance control through adaptive particulate transport is crucial for understanding flow regulation in heterogeneous porous media. In this study, rapidly solvent-responsive microgels were fabricated via microfluidic techniques. The rapid solvent-responsive behavior of adaptive hydrogel particles and their effects on multiphase flow in throat–pore structures of various geometries were investigated through microgel flooding experiments. The microgels exhibited rapid swelling and shrinking within 10 s, demonstrating strong solvent responsiveness. Pronounced size variations were observed across different solvents, with microgel volumes in deionized water approximately eight times larger than those in saturated brine and sixty-four times larger than those in ethanol. During displacement, microgels migrated deeply with the carrier fluid and, upon solvent-induced swelling, selectively plugged low-resistance, high-velocity flow channels. These findings reveal how adaptive microgels regulate pore-scale flow pathways by coupling transport, deformation, and plugging, providing insights into deep flow diversion and sweep efficiency enhancement in porous media.