Multiphase flow through porous media on the pore scale

The analysis of multiphase flow through porous media on the pore scale is a very important fundamental topic with many applications in the oil industry, in the storage of nuclear wastes and in Chemical Engineering. Before the introduction of microtomography (1), the first difficulty was to have a realistic representation of the porous medium on the pore scale. A solution to this problem was initiated in 1990 with the tentative reconstruction of a Fontainebleau sandstone (2). This standard algorithm which has been extensively used is briefly presented. Another algorithm called the grain reconstruction is also introduced (3) and compared to the first one. This grain reconstruction provides a good transition to the reconstruction of non consolidated media which can be generated by a sequential algorithm. The basic algorithm is recalled and recent results relative to polydisperse packings are discussed (4)