On the capillary pressure function in porous media based on relative permeabilities of two immiscible fluids: Application of capillary bundle models and validation using experimental data.

The objective of the current paper is to extend the theoretical approach and an analytical solution, which was proposed by Babchin and Faybishenko (2014), for the evaluation of a capillary pressure (Pc) curve in porous media based on the apparent specific surface area, using an explicit combination of the relative permeability functions for the wetting and nonwetting phases. Specifically, in the current paper, the authors extended this approach by the application of two types of capillary bundle models with different formulations of effective capillary radius formulae. The application of the new models allowed the authors to improve the results of calculations of the effective average contact angle given in the paper by Babchin and Faybishenko (2014). The validation of the new models for calculations of the Pc curve is also given in this paper using the results of a specifically designed core experiment, which was originally conducted by Ayub and Bentsen (2001). Published by Elsevier B.V.