Self-adaptive preferential flow control using displacing fluid with dispersed polymers in heterogeneous porous media

Xie, Chiyu; Lei, Wenhai; Balhoff, Matthew T.; Wang, Moran; Chen, Shiyi

doi:10.1017/jfm.2020.763

Cited by 33 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…We know that fluids tend to flow along the path with the smallest resistance. As a natural consequence, the geometrical heterogeneity of porous solids, such as rocks, in natural and industrial applications leads to a preferential flow through the higher-permeability parts (Zhang et al 2011). On the other hand, flow heterogeneity can be induced even in homogeneous porous structures by fluid-fluid interface instability, including viscous fingering and capillary fingering (Trojer et al 2015;Zhao et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, flow heterogeneity can be induced even in homogeneous porous structures by fluid-fluid interface instability, including viscous fingering and capillary fingering (Trojer et al 2015;Zhao et al 2016). Even if there is no fingering, asymmetrical injection may also result in preferential flows in homogeneous porous structures (Lake 1989;Zhao et al 2016;Xie et al 2021). Therefore, flow heterogeneity due to the existence of preferential flow may yield significant effects on mechanism analysis in terms of microfluidic experiments and pore-scale simulations, especially after the breakthrough stage, which seems to have been ignored in previous pore-scale studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2016; Xie et al. 2021). Therefore, flow heterogeneity due to the existence of preferential flow may yield significant effects on mechanism analysis in terms of microfluidic experiments and pore-scale simulations, especially after the breakthrough stage, which seems to have been ignored in previous pore-scale studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Non-monotonic wettability effects on displacement in heterogeneous porous media

Lei

Lu²,

Liu³

et al. 2022

J. Fluid Mech.

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We report non-monotonic wettability effects on displacement efficiency in heterogeneous porous structures at the post-breakthrough stage, in contrast to the monotonic ones in homogeneous porous structures. Experiments on designed microfluidic chips show that there exists a critical wettability to attain the highest efficiency of displacement in the porous matrix structure combined with a preferential flow pathway, while a stronger wettability of the displacing fluid leads to a higher displacement efficiency on the same matrix structure only. The porous structure with or without a preferential flow pathway results in totally different topological characteristics of phase distribution during displacement. Pore-scale mechanisms are identified to elucidate the formation of this non-monotonic wettability rule: cooperative pore filling under weakly water-wet conditions yields the best displacement; corner flow under strongly water-wet conditions and Haines events under strongly oil-wet conditions decrease the displacement efficiency. The pore-scale findings may provide unique insights into the joint effects of both wettability and flow heterogeneity on fluid displacement in porous media.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Non-monotonic wettability effects on displacement in heterogeneous porous media

Lei

Lu²,

Liu³

et al. 2022

J. Fluid Mech.

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“…Benefiting from this, one can easily conduct direct numerical simulation of the digital micromodel geometry, and the images obtained from micromodel visualisation experiments could serve as benchmark solutions for the assessment of numerical models or methods. Because of these significant advantages, micromodels have been extensively used in numerical and experimental studies (Alizadeh & Fatemi 2021;Chen et al 2021;Liu et al 2021;Wang, Mehmani & Xu 2021;Xie et al 2021;Mohammadi, Nikbin-Fashkacheh & Mahani 2022;Otumudia et al 2022;Zhang et al 2022). Despite widespread use, the spontaneous imbibition process in micromodels is still not well understood, especially in the presence of gravity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prediction of spontaneous imbibition with gravity in porous media micromodels

Liu

et al. 2022

J. Fluid Mech.

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In this work, theoretical modelling, quasi-three-dimensional (quasi-3D) simulations and micromodel experiments are conducted to study spontaneous imbibition with gravity in porous media micromodels. By establishing the force balance governing the spontaneous imbibition process, we develop a theoretical model for predicting the imbibition length against time in a rectangular capillary. The theoretical model is then extended to the prediction of a compact displacement process in a micromodel by using an equivalent width, which is derived by analogising the micromodel to a rectangular capillary. By simulating spontaneous imbibition in a rectangular capillary with various aspect ratios ( $\varepsilon$ ), we show that the application condition of the quasi-3D method is $\varepsilon \leqslant 1/3$ . Next, we simulate spontaneous imbibition in micromodels with various geometries and flow conditions. Fingering and compact displacement are identified for varying viscosity ratios and gravitational accelerations. At low (high) viscosity ratio of wetting to non-wetting fluids, an upward (downward) gravity can promote the stability of the wetting front, favouring the transition from fingering to compact displacement. In addition, we find that the depth-oriented interface curvature dominates the capillary effect during the imbibition, and such a mechanism is considered by introducing an equivalent contact angle into the theoretical model. With the help of equivalent width and contact angle, the theoretical model is shown to provide satisfactory prediction of the compact displacement process. Finally, a micromodel experiment is presented to further verify the developed theoretical model and the quasi-3D simulation.

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confidence: 99%

Investigation of Spontaneous Imbibition Behavior in a 3D Pore Space Under Reservoir Condition by Lattice Boltzmann Method

Zheng

Lei

et al. 2021

JGR Solid Earth

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Unconventional oil reservoirs, which are previously classified as uneconomic resources by traditional developing methods, have become one of the important world energy supplying parts in recent years with the application of horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing and numerous enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods (K. Singh et al., 2019;Xie et al., 2021). These oil reservoirs usually bury deep underground with conditions characterized as high-pressure and high-temperature. In a typical unconventional oil reservoir exploitation, a hydraulic fracturing job is proceeded after the completion of horizontal drilling to increase transport channels for oil recovery (Z. Chen et al., 2020). Previously, a flowback operation of the fracturing fluid is usually designed to decrease the potential reservoir damage. However, recent developments in these oil fields showed that partly flowback or even no flowback with the subsequent shut-in operation increased the oil recovery (

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Self-adaptive preferential flow control using displacing fluid with dispersed polymers in heterogeneous porous media

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 33 publications

References 68 publications

Non-monotonic wettability effects on displacement in heterogeneous porous media

Non-monotonic wettability effects on displacement in heterogeneous porous media

Prediction of spontaneous imbibition with gravity in porous media micromodels

Investigation of Spontaneous Imbibition Behavior in a 3D Pore Space Under Reservoir Condition by Lattice Boltzmann Method

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