Viscous Fingering Revisited - General Criterion for Onset and Darcy Scale Wavelength

Watch a 43-minute scientific lecture exploring the phenomenon of viscous fingering in fluid dynamics, particularly focusing on its implications for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). Delve into Dr. Steffen Berg's analysis from Shell Global Solutions International B.V., examining the hydrodynamic instability that occurs when lower viscosity fluids displace higher viscosity ones in porous media. Learn about a novel stability criteria that accounts for saturation profiles in porous media, challenging traditional Saffman & Taylor analysis, and understand why CCS operations might be susceptible to viscous instability. Explore the limitations of conventional wavelength predictions and discover how mobility blending in capillary dispersion zones acts as a counter-mechanism to fingering at the Darcy scale, supported by numerical simulations and field-relevant examples.