Yihuai Zhang , Branko Bijeljic, Martin J Blunt 

Multiphase flow in porous materials is conventionally described by an empirical extension to Darcy’s law which assumes that the pressure gradient is proportional to flow rate. Through a series of two-phase flow experiments, we demonstrate that even when capillary forces are dominant at the pore scale, there is a non-linear intermittent flow regime with a power-law dependence between pressure gradient and flow rate. Energy balance is used to predict accurately the start of the intermittent regime in hydrophobic porous media. The pore-scale explanation of the behaviour based on the periodic filling of critical flow pathways is confirmed through 3D micron-resolution X-ray imaging.