Experimental investigation of interfacial geometry associated with multiphase flow within a porous medium

Daiquan Chen, Purdue University

Abstract

Wood's metal injection method is used to perform imbibitions and drainage of ethylene glycol into natural samples of Berea sandstone. Results on the measurement of interfacial area per volume (IAV) in this natural three-dimensional porous medium by the method of image analysis are presented. In Wood's metal injection experiments, Wood's metal was used to represent a non-wetting fluid and ethylene glycol (EG) was used to represent a wetting phase fluid. To determine the IAV for a Wood's metal injected sample, images of the Wood's-metal-injected core were taken with a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). This is the first attempt to perform IAV measurements within Berea sandstone based on a large quantity of SEM images. Measurements were performed on two-dimensional micro-models to quantify interfacial area per volume for known pore geometry as a function of fluid pressure and saturation. The transparent micro-models make it possible to visualize and quantify the fluid distributions within the samples and study the detailed capillary pressure-saturation-IAV relationship of each micro-model. The results have shown that as porosity increases, the hysteresis of IAV-saturation relationship decreases. The difference between the drainage and imbibition surfaces from the same sample is small. The theoretical capillary pressure values based on a theoretical equation cannot fit the measured values well and changes need to be made to this equation.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Pyrak-Nolte, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Geophysics|Hydrologic sciences|Geophysical engineering

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