The uniform capillary model for packed beds and particle wettability.

The distribution and movement of fluids in porous media are important in a variety of situations arising naturally and industrially (e.g., water migration in soils, oil recovery, chromatography, filtration and separation processes). Our specific interest is in deriving advancing and receding contact angles from capillary pressure measurements in packed beds of particles partially saturated with liquids. The simplest model of a porous medium treats the porous body as an equivalent uniform capillary giving rise to the same capillary pressure. Pressure measurements were performed successfully with advancing as well as receding liquids. For an advancing liquid front a measurement with a second liquid is needed to calibrate the equivalent capillary radius and obtain the advancing contact angle. For a receding liquid front--an additional determination of the amount of liquid trapped behind in smaller pores is required. The equivalent capillary radius is mainly determined by the porosity of the packed bed and is easily corrected to account for capillary retention. Only then can the receding contact angle be obtained reliably. This new methodology for contact angle measurement was validated with model systems and applied successfully to various real particulate systems.