Modelling capillary trapping using finite-volume simulation of two-phase flow directly on micro-CT images

Raeini, Ali Q.; Bijeljic, Branko; Blunt, Martin J.

doi:10.1016/j.advwatres.2015.05.008

Cited by 107 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…It has been experimentally shown that flow patterns and pressure evolution during drainage depend on the capillary numbers [ Aker et al ., ]. Direct two‐phase flow simulation based on imaging experiments with computed tomography have shown the dependence of capillary trapping in sandstone and sandpack columns based on capillary number [ Raeini et al ., ]. Experimental investigation, using 3‐D micromodels and confocal microscopy, has also shown the impact of both wetting and nonwetting capillary numbers on the transition from connected to disconnected flow [ Datta et al ., ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of dynamic factors on nonwetting fluid snap‐off in pores

Deng

Balhoff

Cardenas

2015

Water Resources Research

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Snap-off is an important dynamic multiphase flow phenomenon which occurs in porous media.It plays a dominant role in the residual trapping and mobilization/immobilization of nonwetting fluids such as hydrocarbons or CO 2 . Current studies, applications, and threshold criteria of snap-off are mostly based on static or equilibrium conditions. Thus, the dynamics of snap-off which is relevant for many real world applications has rarely been systematically studied. While a static criterion indicates the snap-off potential for nonwetting fluids, the competition between the time required for snap-off and the local pore throat capillary number determines whether snap-off actually occurs. Using a theoretical model to couple the wetting film thickness to the local capillary number at the pore throat, we analyzed the dynamics of the wetting/ nonwetting interface instability in sinusoidally constricted capillary tubes. The influence of dynamic factors as encapsulated by the effect of local capillary number on nonwetting fluid snap-off time were investigated for varying pore throat to pore body aspect ratio and pore body distances. The analysis showed that snap-off can be inhibited by a sufficiently large local capillary number even in cases where the static snap-off criterion has been met.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of dynamic factors on nonwetting fluid snap‐off in pores

Deng

Balhoff

Cardenas

2015

Water Resources Research

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“…Chaotic advection inherent in 3D porous networks also retards temporal scaling of longitudinal dispersion (36) to be super-diffusive rather than ballistic in the absence of molecular diffusion, and these chaotic signatures persist at the macroscale. These dynamics persist in the presence of molecular diffusion, where accelerated transverse mixing due to chaotic advection retards longitudinal dispersion as per (37). These augmented mixing and dilution dynamics have significant implications for effective reaction rates at the macroscale.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chaotic advection at the pore scale: Mechanisms, upscaling and implications for macroscopic transport

Lester

Trefry

Metcalfe

2016

Advances in Water Resources

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The macroscopic spreading and mixing of solute plumes in saturated porous media is ultimately controlled by processes operating at the pore scale. Whilst the conventional picture of pore-scale mechanical dispersion and molecular diffusion leading to persistent hydrodynamic dispersion is well accepted, this paradigm is inherently two-dimensional (2D) in nature and neglects important three-dimensional (3D) phenomena. We discuss how the kinematics of steady 3D flow at the porescale generate chaotic advection-involving exponential stretching and folding of fluid elements-the mechanisms by which it arises and implications of microscopic chaos for macroscopic dispersion and mixing. Prohibited in steady 2D flow due to topological constraints, these phenomena are ubiquitous due to the topological complexity inherent to all 3D porous media. Consequently 3D porous media flows generate profoundly different fluid deformation and mixing processes to those of 2D flow. The interplay of chaotic advection and broad transit time distributions can be incorporated into a continuous-time random walk (CTRW) framework to predict macroscopic solute mixing and spreading. We show how these results may be generalised to real porous architectures via a CTRW model of fluid deformation, leading to stochastic models of macroscopic dispersion and mixing which both honour the pore-scale kinematics and are directly conditioned on the pore-scale architecture.

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“…For the specific application of understanding pore scale processes, XCT and sXCT are now becoming widely used for both qualitative and quantitative imaging of complex natural pore networks, and the distribution of liquid(s) within them (Al-Raoush et al, 2011;Al-Raoush and Willson, 2005;Berg et al, 2013;Bhreasail et al, 2012;Boone et al, 2014;Cnudde and Boone, 2013;Dewanckele et al, 2012;Geraud et al, 2003;Herring et al, 2013;Iglauer et al, 20 2011;Katuwal et al, 2015;Ma et al, 2016;Naveed et al, 2013b;Olafuyi et al, 2010;Sakellariou et al, 2003;Sok et al, 2010;Wildenschild et al, 2002;Wildenschild and Sheppard, 2013). The data are also being used as a basis of, and validation for numerical simulations (Al-Raoush and Papadopoulos, 2010;Alhashmi et al, 2015;Bultreys et al, 2015;Degruyter et al, 2010;Menke et al, 2015;Naveed et al, 2013a;Raeini et al, 2015;Raeini et al, 2014;Walter Fourie et al, 2007). 25 Standard operation is to collect a set of 2D "projections" or "radiographs" at constant angular spacing (hereafter angular density) while the sample is rotated through 180° or 360°.…”

Section: Synchrotron Imaging For Dynamic Geoscience Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response to RC1

Dobson¹

2016

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4D imaging of sub-second dynamics in pore-scale processes using real time synchrotron x-ray tomography.', Solid earth discussions. . pp. 1-27. Further information on publisher's website: http://dx.The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. Abstract.A variable volume flow cell has been integrated with state-of-the-art ultra-high speed synchrotron x-ray tomography imaging. The combination allows the first real time (sub-second) capture of dynamic pore (micron) scale fluid transport processes in 4D (3D + time). With 3D data volumes acquired at up to 20 Hz, we perform in situ experiments that capture high frequency pore-scale dynamics in 5-25 mm diameter samples with voxel (3D equivalent of a pixel) resolution of 2.5 to 3.8 µm. The data are free from motion artefacts, can be spatially registered or collected in the same orientation making them 15 suitable for detailed quantitative analysis of the dynamic fluid distribution pathways and processes. The methods presented here are capable of capturing a wide range of high frequency non equilibrium pore-scale processes including wetting, dilution, mixing and reaction phenomena, without sacrificing significant spatial resolution. As well as fast streaming (continuous acquisition) at 20 Hz, it also allows larger-scale and longer term experimental runs to be sampled intermittently at lower frequency (time-lapse imaging); benefiting from fast image acquisition rates to prevent motion blur in highly dynamic systems. 20This marks a major technical breakthrough for quantification of high frequency pore scale processes: processes that are critical for developing and validating more accurate multiscale flow models through spatially and temporally heterogeneous pore networks. 25

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Modelling capillary trapping using finite-volume simulation of two-phase flow directly on micro-CT images

Cited by 107 publications

References 65 publications

Influence of dynamic factors on nonwetting fluid snap‐off in pores

Influence of dynamic factors on nonwetting fluid snap‐off in pores

Chaotic advection at the pore scale: Mechanisms, upscaling and implications for macroscopic transport

Response to RC1

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