Speaker
Description
We have studied wettability effects on multiphase displacements in heterogeneous porous media by experiments on microfluidic chips. The developed analysis method on high-resolution images enabled us to link pore-scale physics and macroscopic consequences. By varying fluid properties to achieve a wide range of contact angles θ (23°≤θ≤127°), we find a non-monotonic rule of wettability effects on displacement efficiency on the heterogeneous porous structure which leads to a consequent preferential flow, in contrast to a monotonic one of wettability effects on the homogeneous matrix structure. Similar to nature, for the flow on heterogeneous porous media, there is a critical wettability for the best displacement efficiency. Pore-scale mechanisms are identified to elucidate these behaviors: cooperative pore filling in the intermediate water-wet condition cause the maximum displacement efficiency; corner flow in strong water-wet condition and Haines events in strong oil-wet condition will decrease displacement efficiency. Our findings shed unique insights on how the interaction between wettability and preferential flow pathway affects fluid displacement in porous media.
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