The Relation Between Dissipation and Memory in Two-Fluid Displacements in Disordered Media

Abstract

We show that the return-point memory of cyclic macroscopic trajectories enables the derivation of a thermodynamic framework for quasistatically driven dissipative systems with multiple metastable states. We use this framework to sort out and quantify the energy dissipated in quasistatic fluid-fluid displacements in disordered media. Numerical computations of imbibition–drainage cycles in a quasi-2D medium with gap thickness modulations (imperfect Hele-Shaw cell) show that energy dissipation in quasistatic displacements is due to abrupt changes in the fluid-fluid configuration between consecutive metastable states (Haines jumps), and its dependence on microstructure and gravity. The relative importance of viscous dissipation is deduced from comparison with quasistatic experiments.