oa Hysteresis in Three-Phase Porous Media Flow

We consider a model for immiscible three-phase (e.g., water, oil, and gas) flow in a porous medium. We allow the relative permeability of the gas phase to exhibit hysteresis, in that it varies irreversibly along two extreme paths (the imbibition and drainage curves) that bound a region foliated by reversible paths (scanning curves). By numerically solving one-dimensional flow problems involving simultaneous and alternating injection of water and gas into a rock core, we demonstrate the effects of hysteresis.