Understanding multiphase
fluid displacement dynamics
in porous
media is of great importance in efficiently designing hydrogen storage
projects in porous reservoirs. During gas injection and extraction,
cyclic evaporation and spontaneous imbibition processes have an impact
on storage efficiency. In both imbibition and evaporation, capillary
films on the surface of grains play a role in the transport of water
through the pore space. In this study, we use atomic force microscopy
to study the formation of these films in carbonate rock during imbibition
and their dynamic behavior during evaporation. The imbibition dynamics
are related to pore-scale processes determined by micro-CT experiments.
We find that imbibition through the mesoporous structure of the grains
is slower compared to imbibition in macropores. The formation of the
water film on the outer grains is also slower, indicating that a film
is evolving due to water flow through intragranular mesopores rather
than film flow around the grains. Evaporation experiments reveal that
the film shows both local swelling and shrinkage behavior, which we
relate to pore-scale processes causing disconnection of the water
film. Our results show the close relationship between pore-scale processes
and water film dynamics during both spontaneous imbibition and evaporation.
This work forms a basis for a more quantitative study of the impact
of pore structure on wetting and drying dynamics and can be extended
to reactive flow processes.