This study provides a pore-scale investigation of two-phase flow dynamics during primary drainage in a realistic heterogeneous rock sample. Using the lattice Boltzmann (LB) method, a series of three-dimensional (3D) immiscible displacement simulations are conducted and three typical flow patterns are identified and mapped on the capillary number ( Ca )-viscosity ratio( M ) phase diagram. We then investigate the effect of the viscosity ratio and capillary number on fluid saturation patterns and displacement stability in Tuscaloosa sandstone, which is taken from the Cranfield site. The dependence of the evolution of saturation, location of the displacement front, 3D displacement patterns and length of the center of mass of the invading fluid on the viscosity ratio and capillary number have been delineated. To gain a quantitative insight into the characteristics of the invasion morphology in 3D porous media, the fractal dimension D f of the non-wetting phase displacement patterns during drainage has been computed for various viscosity ratios and capillary numbers. The logarithmic dependence of D f on invading phase saturation appears to be the same for various capillary numbers and viscosity ratios and follows a universal relation.
Coupled effects of wettability and pore geometry on pore‐scale dynamics of immiscible two‐phase fluid displacement were investigated using a multiphase lattice Boltzmann model in homogeneous and heterogeneous porous media under a wide range of contact angle θ (25° ≤θ≤ 175°). The observed invasion patterns indicate that the complex interactions between wettability and pore morphology play crucial roles in controlling the displacement patterns. The detailed pore‐scale analysis enabled us to delineate how wettability influences the recovery efficiency of the defending fluid in homogeneous and heterogeneous porous media. As the wetting condition changes from strong drainage to imbibition, we observed a transition from burst to corner flow leading to a compact displacement and hence a higher recovery efficiency in the heterogeneous sample. The present study sheds new insights on how the interaction between wettability and heterogeneity influences fluid displacement in porous media.
This paper studies deformation and swelling of porous media induced by sorption of fluids, and in particular carbon dioxide. The phenomena are significant, not only to the capacity of porous formations for storing CO 2 , but also to the effect that they have on the mechanical properties of the formations and microseismic events that they might possibly trigger. To study the phenomena we formulate the problem by energy consideration in which the Hamiltonian (total energy) of a porous medium and its fluid content is represented as the sum of the elastic energy of the system, and the energies associated with the interactions between the adsorbates and between them and the medium's solid matrix. The gas phase is described by a density functional theory, while the solid matrix can be either linearly or nonlinearly elastic. The model provides predictions for the sorption isotherms, the dependence of the strain on the bulk pressure, and the change in the porosity. The change in the strain is anisotropic due to the deformation of the solid, as well as the difference between the stiffness of the matrix and the fluid phase. During desorption the strain is also released and, similar to the sorption isotherms, exhibits hysteresis. This opens up the possibility of using mechanical measurements during sorption experiments to gain insight into the structure of a porous medium. When the model was applied to sorption of CO 2 in clay particles, all the reported experimental features of the phenomena were reproduced.
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