scholarly journals Influence of phase connectivity on the relationship among capillary pressure, fluid saturation, and interfacial area in two-fluid-phase porous medium systems

2016 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. McClure ◽  
Mark A. Berrill ◽  
William G. Gray ◽  
Cass T. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Porous Medium ◽  
Capillary Pressure ◽  
Fluid Phase ◽  
Interfacial Area ◽  
Fluid Saturation ◽  
Phase Connectivity ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Two Fluid

scholarly journals On the consistency of scale among experiments, theory, and simulation

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 1063-1076 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. McClure ◽  
Amanda L. Dye ◽  
Cass T. Miller ◽  
William G. Gray
Keyword(s):  
Capillary Pressure ◽  
Fluid Phase ◽  
Interfacial Area ◽  
Simulation Method ◽  
Flow In Porous Media ◽  
State Function ◽  
State Equations ◽  
Fluid Saturation ◽  
Phase Saturation ◽  
Two Fluid

Abstract. As a tool for addressing problems of scale, we consider an evolving approach known as the thermodynamically constrained averaging theory (TCAT), which has broad applicability to hydrology. We consider the case of modeling of two-fluid-phase flow in porous media, and we focus on issues of scale as they relate to various measures of pressure, capillary pressure, and state equations needed to produce solvable models. We apply TCAT to perform physics-based data assimilation to understand how the internal behavior influences the macroscale state of two-fluid porous medium systems. A microfluidic experimental method and a lattice Boltzmann simulation method are used to examine a key deficiency associated with standard approaches. In a hydrologic process such as evaporation, the water content will ultimately be reduced below the irreducible wetting-phase saturation determined from experiments. This is problematic since the derived closure relationships cannot predict the associated capillary pressures for these states. We demonstrate that the irreducible wetting-phase saturation is an artifact of the experimental design, caused by the fact that the boundary pressure difference does not approximate the true capillary pressure. Using averaging methods, we compute the true capillary pressure for fluid configurations at and below the irreducible wetting-phase saturation. Results of our analysis include a state function for the capillary pressure expressed as a function of fluid saturation and interfacial area.

scholarly journals On the Consistency of Scale Among Experiments, Theory, and Simulation

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. McClure ◽  
A. Dye ◽  
C. Miller ◽  
W. Gray
Keyword(s):  
Capillary Pressure ◽  
Fluid Phase ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Simulation Method ◽  
Flow In Porous Media ◽  
State Function ◽  
Fluid Saturation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Phase Saturation ◽  
Two Fluid

Abstract. The career of Professor Eric F. Wood has focused on the resolution of problems of scale in hydrologic systems. Within this context, we consider an evolving approach known as the thermodynamically constrained averaging theory (TCAT), which has broad applicability to hydrology. Specifically, we consider the case of modeling of two-fluid-phase flow in porous media. Two-fluid flow processes in the subsurface are fundamentally important for a wide range of hydrologic processes, including the transport of water and air in the vadose zone and geological carbon sequestration. Mathematical models that describe these complex processes have long relied on empirical approaches that neglect important aspects of the system behavior. New data sources make it possible to access the true geometry of geologic materials and directly measure previously inaccessible quantities. This information can be exploited to support a new generation of theoretical models that are constructed based on rigorous multiscale principles for thermodynamics and continuum mechanics. The challenges to constructing a mature model are shown to involve issues of scale, consistency requirements, appropriate representation of operative physical mechanisms at the target scale of the model, and a robust structure to support model evaluation, validation, and refinement. We apply TCAT to perform physics-based data assimilation to understand how the internal behavior influences the macroscale state of two-fluid porous medium systems. Examples of a microfluidic experimental method and a lattice Boltzmann simulation method are used to examine a key deficiency associated with standard approaches. In a hydrologic process such as evaporation, the water content will ultimately be reduced below the irreducible wetting phase saturation determined from experiments. This is problematic since the derived closure relationships cannot predict the associated capillary pressures for these states. In this work, we demonstrate that the irreducible wetting-phase saturation is an artifact of the experimental design, caused by the fact that the boundary pressure difference does not approximate the true capillary pressure. Using averaging methods, we measure the true capillary pressure for fluid configurations at and below the irreducible wetting phase saturation. Results of our analysis include a state function for the capillary pressure expressed as a function of fluid saturation and interfacial area.

Capillary Equilibrium in Porous Materials

1965 ◽  
Vol 5 (01) ◽  
pp. 15-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman R. Morrow ◽  
Colin C. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Mass Transfer ◽  
Fluid Flow ◽  
Porous Materials ◽  
Capillary Pressure ◽  
Chemical Engineering ◽  
Fluid Distribution ◽  
Bulk Fluid ◽  
Fluid Saturation ◽  
Capillary Pressure Curves ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract The experimental points which describe capillary pressure curves are determined at apparent equilibria which are observed after hydrodynamic flow has ceased. For most systems, the time required to obtain equalization of pressure throughout the discontinuous part of a phase is prohibitive. To permit experimental points to be described as equilibria, a model of capillary behavior is proposed where mass transfer is restricted to bulk fluid flow. Model capillary pressure curves follow if the path described by such points is independent of the rate at which the saturation was changed to attain a capillary pressure point. A modified suction potential technique is used to study cyclic relationships between capillary pressure and moisture content for a porous mass. The time taken to complete an experiment was greatly reduced by using small samples. Introduction Capillary retention of liquid by porous materials has been investigated in the fields of hydrology, soil science, oil reservoir engineering, chemical engineering, soil mechanics, textiles, paper making and building materials. In studies of the immiscible displacement of one fluid by another within a porous bed, drainage columns and suction potential techniques have been used to obtain relationships between pressure deficiency and saturation (Fig. 1). Except where there is no hysteresis of contact angle and the solid is of simple geometry, such as a tube of uniform cross section, there is hysteresis in the relationship between capillary pressure and saturation. The relationship which has received most attention is displacement of fluid from an initially saturated bed (Fig. 1, Curve Ro), the final condition being an irreducible minimum fluid saturation Swr. Imbibition (Fig. 1, Curve A), further desaturation (Fig. 1, Curve R), and intermediate scanning curves have been studied to a lesser but increasing extent. This paper first considers the nature of the experimental points tracing the capillary pressure curves with respect to the modes and rates of mass transfer which are operative during the course of measurement. There are clear indications that the experimental points which describe these curves are obtained at apparent equilibria which are observed when viscous fluid flow has ceased; and any further changes in the fluid distribution are the result of much slower mass transfer processes, such as diffusion. Unless stated otherwise, this discussion applies to a stable packing of equal, smooth, hydrophilic spheres supported by a suction plate with water as the wetting phase and air as the nonwetting phase. SPEJ P. 15ˆ

scholarly journals Relationships among air-water interfacial area, capillary pressure, and water saturation for a sandy porous medium

2006 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark L. Brusseau ◽  
Sheng Peng ◽  
Gregory Schnaar ◽  
Molly S. Costanza-Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Porous Medium ◽  
Capillary Pressure ◽  
Water Saturation ◽  
Interfacial Area

scholarly journals Nonhysteretic Capillary Pressure in Two‐Fluid Porous Medium Systems: Definition, Evaluation, Validation, and Dynamics

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (8) ◽  
pp. 6825-6849 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. T. Miller ◽  
K. Bruning ◽  
C. L. Talbot ◽  
J. E. McClure ◽  
W. G. Gray
Keyword(s):  
Porous Medium ◽  
Capillary Pressure ◽  
Two Fluid

scholarly journals An adaptive lattice Boltzmann scheme for modeling two-fluid-phase flow in porous medium systems

2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 2601-2617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda L. Dye ◽  
James E. McClure ◽  
David Adalsteinsson ◽  
Cass T. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Porous Medium ◽  
Lattice Boltzmann ◽  
Fluid Phase ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Lattice Boltzmann Scheme ◽  
Two Fluid
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