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An investigation into spontaneous imbibition in porous media is of paramount scientific significance in various projects. However, a precise understanding of the interaction mechanisms between media structural characteristics and imbibition remains elusive, and quantitative analysis of the interfacial interaction is lacking. Therefore, to mitigate the influence of dispersion, this study first investigates cyclic imbibition experiments of coal samples to explore the interaction mechanism between pore-fracture structure (PFS) and imbibition. Nuclear magnetic resonance is used to visualize water transport during imbibition across all scales. Subsequently, the slake durability index is suggested to clarify the coupling relationship between water–coal interactions and imbibition. Two more comprehensive and accurate imbibition models are established, based on pore size and comprehensive seepage parameters, respectively. The results demonstrate that both new models exhibit superior conformity with experimental data compared to traditional models. The memory factor quantifies interface interaction within these models. Sensitivity analysis reveals that strong interface interaction diminishes the effective imbibition ratio, while the structural characteristics of porous media significantly influence the interaction. Furthermore, the fractal dimension quantitatively characterizes the PFS features of coal samples. An exploration of the relationship between fractal dimension and memory factor indicates the influence of porous media heterogeneity on imbibition.
Zhou et al. (Thu,) studied this question.