A new method for quantification of liquid saturation in 2D translucent porous media systems using light transmission

Five physically based models for predicting liquid saturation from light transmission in 2D laboratory systems containing translucent porous media were developed and tested (Models A–E). The models were based upon various simplifying assumptions concerning pore geometry, wettability, and drainage. Models A–D assumed uniform-sized pores, and liquid saturation was an explicit function of light transmission. Model E considered a distribution of pore sizes whose drainage characteristics were inferred from the Laplace equation. Mass balances were calculated using data from drainage and infiltration experiments, in four textures of silica sand with water as the fluid. Model E performed the best overall, with systematic errors of less than 2.3% saturation. Model E represents a robust easily applied new method for the determination of liquid saturation by light transmission. The other four models are presented, and compared, for reasons of historical interest and to investigate the impact of the various simplifying assumptions.