Linear stability analysis on the onset of viscous fingering due to a non monotonic viscosity profile for immiscible fluids

Abstract

The onset of viscous fingering in the presence of a non monotonic viscosity profile is investigated theoretically for two immiscible fluids. Classical fluid dynamics predicts that no unstable behavior may be observed when a viscous fluid pushes a less viscous one in a Hele-Shaw cell. Here, we show that the presence of a viscosity gradient at the interface between both fluids destabilize the interface facilitating the spread of the perturbation. The influence of the viscosity gradient on the dispersion relation is analyzed.