Foam injection is a promising option for soil remediation applications. However, predicting how it will propagate in highly permeable aquifers under groundwater flow is challenging. Here, we have studied pressure and saturation variations during foam propagation. A 2D tank packed with 1 mm glass beads was used to study foam injection in highly permeable porous media under lateral flow. Specifically, we evaluated the efficiency of pressure and time-domain reflectometer (TDR) sensors to predict foam propagation using an imaging technique. A numerical model coupling two-phase flow and surfactant transport was developed to simulate the experimental results. This model takes into account the effect of non-Newtonian behavior of foam, surfactant concentration, and critical capillary pressure through the definition of the mobility reduction factor (MRF). The experimental results show that the foam injection pressure first increases with a logarithmic law and then stabilizes. This pressure stabilization can be related to the state of pseudo-equilibrium between foam generation and destruction. We observed an asymmetrical foam propagation due to water lateral flow. Comparisons of the liquid saturation fields calculated by analysis of TDR probes and estimated by imaging show that the TDR sensors monitor foam propagation well in saturated porous media. They can predict the shape of the injected foam. Contrary to pressure sensors, it is possible to capture weak foam behavior using TDR sensors. Finally, the numerical model we have developed correctly captures the shape of foam propagation and its ability to divert water flows. This model produces the propagation of the strong foam well and predicts the saturation and pressure fields with good precision.

泡沫注入是土壤修复应用的一个有前途的选择。然而，预测它如何在地下水流下的高渗透性含水层中传播具有挑战性。在这里，我们研究了泡沫传播过程中的压力和饱和度变化。使用装有 1 mm 玻璃珠的 2D 罐来研究横向流动下高渗透性多孔介质中的泡沫注入。具体来说，我们评估了压力和时域反射计 (TDR) 传感器使用成像技术预测泡沫传播的效率。开发了一个耦合两相流和表面活性剂传输的数值模型来模拟实验结果。该模型通过定义流动性降低因子 (MRF) 考虑了泡沫的非牛顿行为、表面活性剂浓度和临界毛细管压力的影响。实验结果表明，泡沫注射压力先呈对数规律增加，然后趋于稳定。这种压力稳定可能与泡沫产生和破坏之间的伪平衡状态有关。我们观察到由于水侧向流动导致的不对称泡沫传播。通过 TDR 探头分析计算的液体饱和场和通过成像估计的液体饱和场的比较表明，TDR 传感器可以很好地监测泡沫在饱和多孔介质中的传播。他们可以预测注入泡沫的形状。与压力传感器相反，使用 TDR 传感器可以捕捉微弱的泡沫行为。最后，我们开发的数值模型正确地捕捉了泡沫传播的形状及其转移水流的能力。