Application of microfluidic pore models for flow, transport, and reaction in geological porous media: from a single test bed to multifunction real-time analysis tool

Cao, Shiyi; Jung, Jongwon; Radonjic, Mileva

doi:10.1007/s00542-019-04612-y

Cited by 22 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 100 publications

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“…As the results show, unlike the previous studies [9,16,49], a more complex geometryadopted from rock CT scanned imageshas been used in this study. The fabrication materials was oil-wet initially as opposed to the conventional glass micromodels that need additional steps for wettability alteration of models [10,11]. Furthermore, if the setup is used in destructive experiments [23,24], repeatability of experiments on reproducible microfluidic devices is the main motive of using such 3D printed models.…”

Section: Immiscible Injection Scenariomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Meisenheimer et al [9] used a simplified porous medium of soda-lime glass beads to investigate two-phase flow. To etch the flow pattern on a siliceous glass, either laser-etching technique or wet etching approach can be implemented where laser beam (e.g., a CO 2 laser device [10]) and acid is used respectively on silicon or silicon plates to develop microfluidic patterns [11]. In both approaches, a second glass plate is placed on top of the etched glass to create an enclosed pore space.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additive manufacturing has been applied in different areas of science, including prototyping [28], automotive industry [29], jewelry [30], construction [31], aerospace [32], medicine [33], and petroleum industries [34,35]. 3D printing is a relatively cheap, rapid, and easy process to analyze fluid flow in porous media [10,16], which is often faster, cheaper, and less complicated than other microfluidic fabrication methods. Besides, 3D printing technology allows us to alter numerous factors, such as dimension, surface structure and roughness, wettability, and chemical properties of microfluidic domains [36,37].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of 3D printed microfluidic networks to study fluid flow in rocks

Mousavi

Sadeghnejad

Ostadhassan

2021

Oil Gas Sci. Technol. – Rev. IFP Energies nouvelles

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Visualizing fluid flow in porous media can provide a better understanding of transport phenomena at the pore scale. In this regard, transparent micromodels are suitable tools to investigate fluid flow in porous media. However, using glass as the primary material makes them inappropriate for predicting the natural behavior of rocks. Moreover, constructing these micromodels is time-consuming via conventional methods. Thus, an alternative approach can be to employ 3D printing technology to fabricate representative porous media. This study investigates fluid flow processes through a transparent microfluidic device based on a complex porous geometry (natural rock) using digital-light processing printing technology. Unlike previous studies, this one has focused on manufacturing repeatability. This micromodel, like a custom-built transparent cell, is capable of modeling single and multiphase transport phenomena. First, the tomographic data of a carbonate rock sample is segmented and 3D printed by a digital-light processing printer. Two miscible and immiscible tracer injection experiments are performed on the printed microfluidic media, while the experiments are verified with the same boundary conditions using a CFD simulator. The comparison of the results is based on Structural Similarity Index Measure (SSIM), where in both miscible and immiscible experiments, more than 80% SSIM is achieved. This confirms the reliability of printing methodology for manufacturing reusable microfluidic models as a promising and reliable tool for visual investigation of fluid flow in porous media. Ultimately, this study presents a novel comprehensive framework for manufacturing 2.5D realistic microfluidic devices (micromodels) from pore-scale rock images that are validated through CFD simulations.

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Section: Immiscible Injection Scenariomentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of 3D printed microfluidic networks to study fluid flow in rocks

Mousavi

Sadeghnejad

Ostadhassan

2021

Oil Gas Sci. Technol. – Rev. IFP Energies nouvelles

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“…One of the biggest challenges for the conventional ROC techniques lies in that it is difficult to simultaneously fabricate a batch of micromodel with identical structure and stable surface properties (Cao et al, 2019). In addition, the conventional techniques are difficult to accurately manufacture the topology of the complex pore network structure in rock, and the cost is expensive (Berg et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and Fabrication of Rock-Based Microfluidics by 3d Printing: The Structure Characterization and Pore-Scale Flow Experiment Validation

et al. 2021

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Although great progress has been achieved in numerical simulation on porous flow in rock in decades, experiments performed on Reservoir-on-a-Chip (ROC) have been emphasized as the most sufficient and direct way to investigate the subsurface fluid flow at pore scale. This paper applies the cutting-edge three-dimensional printing (3DP) technique into the fabrication of ROC and the visualized two-phase fluids experiments.The structure of 3D-printed ROC is quantitatively characterized using the surface 2 scanning analyzer and stereomicroscope, and validated by comparison with the origin digital structure. Then the immiscible (oil-water) two-phase flow experiments are conducted on the 3D-printed ROC and imaged using the high-resolution camera in real-time. The typical fingering phenomenon caused by the heterogeneity of pore-throat is observed, and the effects of surface wettability on the interfacial shape evolution are analyzed. Comparing to traditional fabrication methods (e.g., chemical etching and soft lithography.), 3D-printed ROC is approved to be a novel approach to manufacture the morphology, topology, and connectivity of pore network, and decline the cost and the time-consuming.

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“…In principle, both quantification of residual oil and mechanistic insights could be obtained from such visualizations, especially when combined with systematic variation of the flooding water composition. Microfluidics offers such possibilities via a flexible design of the pore space and accurate fluid control, at relatively low cost (Cao et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optical measurements of oil release from calcite packed beds in microfluidic channels

Le-Anh

Rao

Ayirala

et al. 2020

Microfluid Nanofluid

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To enable the study of improved oil recovery (IOR) from carbonate rock via laboratory experiments at the pore scale, we have developed a novel microfluidic chip containing a 3D packed bed of calcite particles. The utilization of fluorescently labeled water phase enabled visualization up to 1-2 particle layers with confocal laser scanning microscopy. Porosity and residual oil saturation (ROS) in this space are quantified from image stacks in the depth direction (Z). To obtain reliable average ROS values, Z stacks are captured at various XY locations and sampled over several time-steps in the steady state. All image stacks are binarized using Otsu's method, subsequent to automated corrections for imperfect illumination and Z-drifts of the microscope stage. Low salinity IOR was mimicked using a packed bed that was initially saturated with water and then with mineral oil. Steady state ROS values showed no significant dependence on capillary number (Ca) in the range from 6 × 10-7 to 2 × 10-5. In contrast, chemical modification of the pore space via adsorption of water-extracted crude oil components yielded significantly higher ROS values, in agreement with a more oil-wet porous medium. These results indicate a good potential for using packed beds on a chip as an efficient screening tool for the optimization and development of different IOR methods.

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Application of microfluidic pore models for flow, transport, and reaction in geological porous media: from a single test bed to multifunction real-time analysis tool

Cited by 22 publications

References 100 publications

Evaluation of 3D printed microfluidic networks to study fluid flow in rocks

Evaluation of 3D printed microfluidic networks to study fluid flow in rocks

Design and Fabrication of Rock-Based Microfluidics by 3d Printing: The Structure Characterization and Pore-Scale Flow Experiment Validation

Optical measurements of oil release from calcite packed beds in microfluidic channels

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