Pore-scale multiphase flow experiments in bead packs of variable wettability

Geofluids ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Celauro ◽  
V. A. Torrealba ◽  
Z. T. Karpyn ◽  
K. A. Klise ◽  
S. A. McKenna
Keyword(s):  
Multiphase Flow ◽  
Pore Scale ◽  
Flow Experiments

scholarly journals The Origin of Non-thermal Fluctuations in Multiphase Flow in Porous Media

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maja Rücker ◽  
Apostolos Georgiadis ◽  
Ryan T. Armstrong ◽  
Holger Ott ◽  
Niels Brussee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiphase Flow ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Flow Theory ◽  
Flow Regimes ◽  
Energy Scale ◽  
Dynamic Imaging ◽  
Pore Scale ◽  
Fractional Flow ◽  
Flow Experiments ◽  
Fractional Flow Theory

Core flooding experiments to determine multiphase flow in properties of rock such as relative permeability can show significant fluctuations in terms of pressure, saturation, and electrical conductivity. That is typically not considered in the Darcy scale interpretation but treated as noise. However, in recent years, flow regimes that exhibit spatio-temporal variations in pore scale occupancy related to fluid phase pressure changes have been identified. They are associated with topological changes in the fluid configurations caused by pore-scale instabilities such as snap-off. The common understanding of Darcy-scale flow regimes is that pore-scale phenomena and their signature should have averaged out at the scale of representative elementary volumes (REV) and above. In this work, it is demonstrated that pressure fluctuations observed in centimeter-scale experiments commonly considered Darcy-scale at fractional flow conditions, where wetting and non-wetting phases are co-injected into porous rock at small (<10−6) capillary numbers are ultimately caused by pore-scale processes, but there is also a Darcy-scale fractional flow theory aspect. We compare fluctuations in fractional flow experiments conducted on samples of few centimeters size with respective experiments and in-situ micro-CT imaging at pore-scale resolution using synchrotron-based X-ray computed micro-tomography. On that basis we can establish a systematic causality from pore to Darcy scale. At the pore scale, dynamic imaging allows to directly observe the associated breakup and coalescence processes of non-wetting phase clusters, which follow “trajectories” in a “phase diagram” defined by fractional flow and capillary number and can be used to categorize flow regimes. Connected pathway flow would be represented by a fixed point, whereas processes such as ganglion dynamics follow trajectories but are still overall capillary-dominated. That suggests that the origin of the pressure fluctuations observed in centimeter-sized fractional flow experiments are capillary effects. The energy scale of the pressure fluctuations corresponds to 105-106 times the thermal energy scale. This means the fluctuations are non-thermal. At the centimeter scale, there are non-monotonic and even oscillatory solutions permissible by the fractional flow theory, which allow the fluctuations to be visible and—depending on exact conditions—significant at centimeter scale, within the viscous limit of classical (Darcy scale) fractional flow theory. That also means that the phenomenon involves both capillary aspects from the pore or cluster scale and viscous aspects of fractional flow and occurs right at the transition, where the physical description concept changes from pore to Darcy scale.

scholarly journals Minimal surfaces in porous media: Pore-scale imaging of multiphase flow in an altered-wettability Bentheimer sandstone

2019 ◽  
Vol 99 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingyang Lin ◽  
Branko Bijeljic ◽  
Steffen Berg ◽  
Ronny Pini ◽  
Martin J. Blunt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Porous Media ◽  
Multiphase Flow ◽  
Minimal Surfaces ◽  
Pore Scale

scholarly journals Dynamic coupling of pore-scale and reservoir-scale models for multiphase flow

2013 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 5973-5988 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Sheng ◽  
Karsten Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Multiphase Flow ◽  
Pore Scale ◽  
Dynamic Coupling ◽  
Scale Models

scholarly journals Mimicking Geologic Depositional Fabrics for Multiphase Flow Experiments

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (11) ◽  
pp. 9623-9638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prasanna G. Krishnamurthy ◽  
Tip A. Meckel ◽  
David DiCarlo
Keyword(s):  
Multiphase Flow ◽  
Flow Experiments

Multiphase Flow Under Heterogeneous Wettability Conditions Studied by Special Core Analysis and Pore-Scale Imaging

SPE Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (03) ◽  
pp. 1234-1247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuangmei Zou ◽  
Ryan T. Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Multiphase Flow ◽  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Flow Regimes ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Core Analysis ◽  
Pore Scale ◽  
End Effect ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Capillary End Effect ◽  
Special Core Analysis

Summary Wettability is a major factor that influences multiphase flow in porous media. Numerous experimental studies have reported wettability effects on relative permeability. Laboratory determination for the impact of wettability on relative permeability continues to be a challenge because of difficulties with quantifying wettability alteration, correcting for capillary-end effect, and observing pore-scale flow regimes during core-scale experiments. Herein, we studied the impact of wettability alteration on relative permeability by integrating laboratory steady-state experiments with in-situ high-resolution imaging. We characterized wettability alteration at the core scale by conventional laboratory methods and used history matching for relative permeability determination to account for capillary-end effect. We found that because of wettability alteration from water-wet to mixed-wet conditions, oil relative permeability decreased while water relative permeability slightly increased. For the mixed-wet condition, the pore-scale data demonstrated that the interaction of viscous and capillary forces resulted in viscous-dominated flow, whereby nonwetting phase was able to flow through the smaller regions of the pore space. Overall, this study demonstrates how special-core-analysis (SCAL) techniques can be coupled with pore-scale imaging to provide further insights on pore-scale flow regimes during dynamic coreflooding experiments.

scholarly journals Wettability control on multiphase flow in patterned microfluidics

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (37) ◽  
pp. 10251-10256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benzhong Zhao ◽  
Christopher W. MacMinn ◽  
Ruben Juanes
Keyword(s):  
Porous Media ◽  
Multiphase Flow ◽  
Contact Angles ◽  
Flow In Porous Media ◽  
Wetting Transition ◽  
Pore Scale ◽  
Displacement Efficiency ◽  
Pore Filling ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

Multiphase flow in porous media is important in many natural and industrial processes, including geologic CO2 sequestration, enhanced oil recovery, and water infiltration into soil. Although it is well known that the wetting properties of porous media can vary drastically depending on the type of media and pore fluids, the effect of wettability on multiphase flow continues to challenge our microscopic and macroscopic descriptions. Here, we study the impact of wettability on viscously unfavorable fluid–fluid displacement in disordered media by means of high-resolution imaging in microfluidic flow cells patterned with vertical posts. By systematically varying the wettability of the flow cell over a wide range of contact angles, we find that increasing the substrate’s affinity to the invading fluid results in more efficient displacement of the defending fluid up to a critical wetting transition, beyond which the trend is reversed. We identify the pore-scale mechanisms—cooperative pore filling (increasing displacement efficiency) and corner flow (decreasing displacement efficiency)—responsible for this macroscale behavior, and show that they rely on the inherent 3D nature of interfacial flows, even in quasi-2D media. Our results demonstrate the powerful control of wettability on multiphase flow in porous media, and show that the markedly different invasion protocols that emerge—from pore filling to postbridging—are determined by physical mechanisms that are missing from current pore-scale and continuum-scale descriptions.

scholarly journals Effect of Hydrate on Gas/Water Relative Permeability of Hydrate-Bearing Sediments: Pore-Scale Microsimulation by the Lattice Boltzmann Method

Geofluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Xin Xin ◽  
Bo Yang ◽  
Tianfu Xu ◽  
Yingli Xia ◽  
Si Li
Keyword(s):  
Multiphase Flow ◽  
Lattice Boltzmann Method ◽  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Lattice Boltzmann ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Pore Scale ◽  
Hydrate Saturation ◽  
Boltzmann Method ◽  
Hydrate Bearing Sediments

As a clean energy source with ample reserves, natural gas hydrate is studied extensively. However, the existing hydrate production from hydrate deposits faces many challenges, especially the uncertain mechanism of complex multiphase seepage in the sediments. The relative permeability of hydrate-bearing sediments is key to evaluating gas and water production. To study such permeability, a set of pore-scale microsimulations were carried out using the Lattice Boltzmann Method. To account for the differences between hydrate saturation and hydrate pore habit, we performed a gas-water multiphase flow simulation that combines the fluids’ fundamental properties (density ratio, viscosity ratio, and wettability). Results show that the Lattice Boltzmann Method simulation is valid compared to the pore network simulation and analysis models. In gas and water multiphase flow systems, the viscous coupling effect permits water molecules to block gas flow severely due to viscosity differences. In hydrate-bearing sediments, as hydrate saturation increases, the water saturation S w between the continuous and discontinuous gas phase decreases from 0.45 to 0.30 while hydrate saturation increases from 0.2 to 0.6. Besides, the residual water and gas increased, and the capillary pressure increased. Moreover, the seepage of gas and water became more tedious, resulting in decreased relative permeability. Compared with different hydrate pore habits, pore-filling thins the pores, restricting the gas flow than the grain-coating. However, hydrate pore habit barely affects water relative permeability.

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