Relative permeability of two-phase flow through rough-walled fractures: Effect of fracture morphology and flow dynamics

Hatami, Sobhan; Walsh, Stuart

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128326

Journal of Hydrology

2022

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128326

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Relative permeability of two-phase flow through rough-walled fractures: Effect of fracture morphology and flow dynamics

Sobhan Hatami

Stuart Walsh²

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Cited by 6 publications

References 39 publications

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Influence of Local Aperture Heterogeneity on Invading Fluid Connectivity During Rough Fracture Drainage

Phillips,

Bultreys,

Van Stappen

et al. 2024

Transp Porous Med

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Determining the (in)efficiency of wetting phase displacement by an invading non-wetting phase (drainage) in a single fracture is key to modelling upscaled properties such as relative permeability and capillary pressure. These constitutive relationships are fundamental to quantifying the contribution, or lack thereof, of conductive fracture systems to long-term leakage rates. Single-fracture-scale modelling and experimental studies have investigated this process, however, a lack of visualization of drainage in a truly representative sample at sufficient spatial and temporal resolution limits their predictive insights. Here, we used fast synchrotron X-ray tomography to image drainage in a natural geological fracture by capturing consecutive 2.75 μm voxel images with a 1 s scan time. Drainage was conducted under capillary-dominated conditions, where percolation-type patterns are expected. We observe this continuously connected invasion (capillary fingering) only to be valid in local regions with relative roughness, λb ≤ 0.56. Fractal dimension analysis of these invasion patterns strongly aligns with capillary fingering patterns previously reported in low λb fractures and porous media. Connected invasion is prevented from being the dominant invasion mechanism globally due to high aperture heterogeneity, where we observe disconnected invasion (snap-off, fragmented clusters) to be pervasive in local regions where λb ≥ 0.67. Our results indicate that relative roughness has significant control on flow as it influences fluid conductivity and thus provides an important metric to predict invasion dynamics during slow drainage.

show abstract

Influence of Local Aperture Heterogeneity on Invading Fluid Connectivity During Rough Fracture Drainage

Phillips,

Bultreys,

Van Stappen

et al. 2024

Transp Porous Med

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Pore-scale insights into relative permeability in strongly and weakly wet natural fractures: A Lattice Boltzmann Method 2D simulation study

Munarin,

Gouze,

Filho

2024

Advances in Water Resources

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Using Adaptive Mesh Refinement strategies to investigate immiscible fluid flow in fractures

Hatami

Walsh

2023

International Journal of Multiphase Flow

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Relative permeability of two-phase flow through rough-walled fractures: Effect of fracture morphology and flow dynamics

Cited by 6 publications

References 39 publications

Influence of Local Aperture Heterogeneity on Invading Fluid Connectivity During Rough Fracture Drainage

Influence of Local Aperture Heterogeneity on Invading Fluid Connectivity During Rough Fracture Drainage

Pore-scale insights into relative permeability in strongly and weakly wet natural fractures: A Lattice Boltzmann Method 2D simulation study

Using Adaptive Mesh Refinement strategies to investigate immiscible fluid flow in fractures

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