Capillary pressure-saturation curves of thin hydrophilic fibrous layers: effects of overburden pressure, number of layers, and multiple imbibition-drainage cycles

Abstract

Unsaturated fluid flow in thin porous media depends on hydraulic properties, such as the capillary pressure, P-c, as a function of saturation, S. We measured this relationship for two different types of compressible thin hydrophilic fibrous layers under varying conditions. Among other factors, we changed the number of layers and the overburden pressure (i.e. the confined solid pressure applied on top of the sample) imposed on one layer or a stack of layers. Applying an overburden pressure drastically affected the Pc(S) curves. However, increasing the number of fibrous layers had little impact on the capillary pressure-saturation curves. We also investigated the effect of multiple imbibition-drainage cycles on the Pc(S) data. Measured data points were used to find general expressions for the Pc(S) relationships of compressible thin porous media. Existing quasi-empirical correlations used in vadose zone hydrology, notably expressions by van Genuchten (Van Genuchten MTh. A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 1980; 44: 892-898) and Durner (Durner W. Hydraulic conductivity estimation for soils with heterogeneous pore structure. Water Resour Res 1994; 32: 211-223) for single- and dual-porosity media, respectively, were employed to fit the measured data points.