Impact of Pore-Scale Characteristics on Immiscible Fluid Displacement

Mahabadi, Nariman; Paassen, Leon A. van; Battiato, Ilenia; Yun, Tae Sup; Choo, Hyunwook; Jang, Jae‐Won

doi:10.1155/2020/5759023

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Sometimes these agglomerated large gas clusters form a continuous percolation pathway to the ground level through which the gas may vent to the atmosphere. The gas displacement patterns are affected by the viscosity and pressure of the gas and liquid phase, the capillarity and the pore-scale characteristics of the porous medium [37][38][39][40]. Once trapped, most gas clusters can be stable in the porous media if the grain size (pore size) is small enough to prevent the percolation of the gas phase.…”

Section: Literature Background and Expected Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial-Induced Desaturation in Stratified Soil Conditions

Young

Mahabadi

Zapata

et al. 2021

Int. J. of Geosynth. and Ground Eng.

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A feasibility study was performed to assess the potential of microbially induced desaturation and precipitation (MIDP) through denitrification to reduce the risk of earthquake-induced liquefaction and improve the resilience of embankments along the lower Fraser River in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. The denitrification process produces nitrogen gas, which gradually desaturates the soil, and dissolved inorganic carbon, which in presence of dissolved calcium results in precipitation of calcium carbonate minerals, cementing the soil particles. The trapped gas bubbles dampens pore pressure build-up during cyclic loading. Consequently, microbially induced desaturation (MID) the first phase of the MIDP process, has great potential as soil improvement technique, especially for liquefaction mitigation, independently from the precipitation phase of the process. Numerous studies have demonstrated the effect of biogenic gas formation on the mechanical response for treated sand samples at lab scale. However, there is still limited knowledge on the impact of partial desaturation on the hydraulic properties of the treated sediments and the durability of the entrapped gas phase, particularly in naturally stratified and heterogenous formations. This is important because changes in porosity and hydraulic conductivity may affect the injection flow patterns and distribution of substrates and products in the subsurface. The objective of this study was to develop a test procedure to evaluate the applicability and performance of the MID technique in stratified subsurface conditions. The study involved a two-dimensional model (2D) tank set-up, in which substrates were laterally injected and extracted. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of treatment and showed how gas formation, migration and entrapment and resulting degree of desaturation and hydraulic conductivity are affected by stratifications in a natural soil.

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Section: Literature Background and Expected Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial-Induced Desaturation in Stratified Soil Conditions

Young

Mahabadi

Zapata

et al. 2021

Int. J. of Geosynth. and Ground Eng.

Self Cite

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“…The formation porosity distributions near the wellbore for different injection pressures (16,18,20, and 21 MPa) when t = 20000 s are shown in Figure 6. The channels near the wellbore are shown in an enlarged view at the upper right corner (0:6 m × 0:6 m).…”

Section: Effect Of Injection Pressure On the Formation Of Channelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The internal erosion causes the detachment and transport of the particles. As a result, the preferential flow paths within the formation are formed [16]. Based on experiments, some concepts such as viscous fingering, fluidization, and channelization had been proposed for unconsolidated sands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Simulation of Channelization Near the Wellbore due to Seepage Erosion in Unconsolidated Sands during Fluid Injection

Sun

Deng

et al. 2021

Geofluids

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The channels may be formed in the unconsolidated sands reservoir due to formation failure during high-pressure water injection or frac-packing. Based on the continuum mechanics, a mathematical model has been established to simulate the formation process of big channels in unconsolidated sands reservoir during fluid injection. The model considers the effect of reservoir heterogeneity, solid particles erosion, and deposition. The dynamic formation process of channels around the borehole and its influencing factors are analyzed by this model. The results indicate that the seepage erosion plays a very significant role in the formation of the channels during fluid injection for the unconsolidated sands with extremely low strength. The formation of the channels is closely related to the duration of fluid injection, injection pressure, reservoir heterogeneity, formation plugging, and critical fluid velocity. The long channels are more likely to form as injection time increases. Higher injection pressure will lead to higher flow rate, thus eroding the solid particles and forming big channels. The increase of the rock strength will enhance the value of critical fluid velocity, which makes it difficult for the occurrence of erosional channelization. The near-wellbore damage of the formation will decrease the flow rate, and the preferential flow channels are less likely to be induced under the same injection pressure when compared with undamaged formation. In addition, we also found that the reservoir heterogeneity is essential to the formation of preferential flow channels. The channels are especially prone to be formed in the regions with high porosity and permeability at the initial time. The study can provide a theoretical reference for the optimal design of high-pressure water injection or frac-packing operation in the unconsolidated sands reservoir.

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“…There are several PN modeling studies on real rock samples that focus on the physics of CO 2 and brine flow and residual trapping of CO 2 . Mahabadi et al (2020) studied immiscible displacement patterns during drainage with a dynamic PN model by varying capillary number (Ca) and viscosity ratio (M). They also examined the effect of pore-throat size distribution and PN connectivity on a sandy sediment for different sets of Ca and M. Matching their findings with properties of a typical CO 2 -brine flow system (Ca ≃ 10 −5 and M ≃ 10 − 15), the dominant displacement pattern is capillary fingering and CO 2 saturation at the end of drainage is roughly 0.50 − 0.60, an important quantity since it is the starting point for simulation of imbibition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Direct Numerical Simulation of Pore-Level Events to Improve Pore-Network Models for Prediction of Residual Trapping of CO2

2022

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Direct numerical simulation and pore-network modeling are common approaches to study the physics of two-phase flow through natural rocks. For assessment of the long-term performance of geological sequestration of CO2, it is important to model the full drainage-imbibition cycle to provide an accurate estimate of the trapped CO2. While direct numerical simulation using pore geometry from micro-CT rock images accurately models two-phase flow physics, it is computationally prohibitive for large rock volumes. On the other hand, pore-network modeling on networks extracted from micro-CT rock images is computationally efficient but utilizes simplified physics in idealized geometric pore elements. This study uses the lattice-Boltzmann method for direct numerical simulation of CO2-brine flow in idealized pore elements to develop a new set of pore-level flow models for the pore-body filling and snap-off events in pore-network modeling of imbibition. Lattice-Boltzmann simulations are conducted on typical idealized pore-network configurations, and the interface evolution and local capillary pressure are evaluated to develop modified equations of local threshold capillary pressure of pore elements as a function of shape factor and other geometrical parameters. The modified equations are then incorporated into a quasi-static pore-network flow solver. The modified model is applied on extracted pore-network of sandstone samples, and saturation of residual trapped CO2 is computed for a drainage-imbibition cycle. The modified model yields different statistics of pore-level events compared with the original model; in particular, the occurrence of snap-off in pore-throats is reduced resulting in a more frontal displacement pattern along the main injection direction. Compared to the original model, the modified model is in closer agreement with the residual trapped CO2 obtained from core flow experiments and direct numerical simulation.

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Impact of Pore-Scale Characteristics on Immiscible Fluid Displacement

Cited by 9 publications

References 26 publications

Microbial-Induced Desaturation in Stratified Soil Conditions

Microbial-Induced Desaturation in Stratified Soil Conditions

Numerical Simulation of Channelization Near the Wellbore due to Seepage Erosion in Unconsolidated Sands during Fluid Injection

Using Direct Numerical Simulation of Pore-Level Events to Improve Pore-Network Models for Prediction of Residual Trapping of CO2

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