Pore scale, multi phase flow assessment for industrial applications

Abstract

We report progress of our research of flow analysis at nanometer to micrometer scales for industrial applications. For an investigation of oil recovery at pore scale, digital representations of capillary networks in reservoir rocks are derived from data obtained by applying microscopic computer tomography to representative rock samples. The capillary network representations derived from digital rock are used as geometric boundaries for numerical flow simulations of complex fluids containing water, oil, and additives such as polymers or surfactants. The hierarchical, multiphase flow models deployed in the numerical simulations are calibrated at nanometer scale through molecular dynamics simulations. Importantly, the flow simulations are experimentally verifiable by means of a nanofluidic rock-on-chip measurement platform integrated with semiconductor technology. The laboratory method allows extracting physical parameters that determine surface wetting and capillary flow properties at microscopic scales. The methods developed in our research are more generally applicable to problems of fluid flow in porous media. Their combined application will increase accuracy and enable cost and time reduction in permeability assessment for exploration and production of natural resources.