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  • Open Access

Compressibility control on gas-liquid-grain displacement dynamics

Feihu Ke1 and Chung-Yee Kwok2,*

  • 1Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
  • 2Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

  • *Contact author: fionkwok@cityu.edu.hk
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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 023314 – Published 17 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/5cmb-kgt3

Abstract

This study probes how gas compression governs the morphodynamics of gas-liquid-grain displacement in confined granular systems, a process vital to many applications like air sparging and carbon sequestration. Combining experiments and theory, we find that facilitating compression yields effects analogous to decreasing the classic capillary number. This analogy arises from the diminished transient flow rates due to the underlying coupling between viscous liquid displacement and gas pressure buildup. A theoretical model is developed to resolve this coupling, accurately matching the reduced injection pressure and prolonged breakthrough time observed in experiments. We further introduce a compression-dependent capillary number CaC that effectively captures the pattern transitions. Our findings underscore the role of compressibility in gas-driven flows—typically neglected in laboratories yet becoming increasingly critical toward industrial relevance.

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 023314– Published 17 June, 2026
  • Received 7 April 2025
  • Revised 9 June 2025
  • Accepted 13 April 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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