Study of colloids transport during two-phase flow using a novel polydimethylsiloxane micro-model

As a representation of a porous medium, a closed micro-fluidic device made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), with uniform wettability and stable hydrophobic properties, was designed and fabricated. A flow network, with a mean pore size of 30 μm, was formed in a PDMS slab, covering an area of 1 mm × 10 mm. The PDMS slab was covered and bonded with a 120-μm-thick glass plate to seal the model. The glass plate was first spin-coated with a thin layer, roughly 10 μm, of PDMS. The micro-model was treated with silane in order to make it uniformly and stably hydrophobic. Fluorescent particles of 300 μm in diameter were used as colloids. It is known that more removal of colloids occurs under unsaturated conditions, compared to saturated flow in soil. At the same time, the change of saturation has been observed to cause remobilization of attached colloids. The mechanisms for these phenomena are not well understood. This is the first time that a closed micro-model, made of PDMS with uniform and stable wettability, has been used in combination with confocal microscopy to study colloid transport under transient two-phase flow conditions. With confocal microscopy, the movement of fluorescent particles and flow of two liquids within the pores can be studied. One can focus at different depths within the pores and thus determine where the particles exactly are. Thus, remobilization of attached colloids by moving fluid-fluid interfaces was visualized. In order to allow for the deposition and subsequent remobilization of colloids during two-phase flow, three micro-channels for the injection of liquids with and without colloids were constructed. An outlet channel was designed where effluent concentration breakthrough curves can be quantified by measuring the fluorescence intensity. A peak concentration also indicated in the breakthrough curve with the drainage event. The acquired images and breakthrough curve successfully confirmed the utility of the combination of such a PDMS micro-model and confocal microscopy for the visualization of colloid transport in a flow network filled with two fluids, and in particular, the colloids retention, mobilization, and transport under transient flow conditions.