InterPore2025

PORE-SCALE VISUALIZATION AND ANALYSIS OF MULTIPHASE FLOW IN FRACTURED POROUS MEDIA

22 May 2025, 12:35

15m

Oral Presentation (MS11) Microfluidics and nanofluidics in porous systems MS11

Speaker

Jorge Avendaño (PUC-Rio)

Description

Naturally fractured reservoirs contribute approximately 25–30% of global oil production. The presence of fractures, vugs, and interconnected channels introduces complexities in fluid flow within rocks, either by creating preferential pathways or acting as barriers (1). This study seeks to advance the understanding of fluid behavior in fractured rocks and their associated characteristics. To achieve this, we use a lab-made reservoir-on-a-chip (RoC) devices to investigate and visualize pore-scale fluid dynamics in fractured porous media, enabling the correlation of macroscopic properties with microscopic two-phase flow behavior.
The micromodels used in this work feature a porous matrix, made of a random arrangement of straight and constricted microchannels with different width, embedded with different fracture geometries (2). The experimental setup incorporates an inverted microscope and a high-speed camera for real-time visualization of phase distribution and image acquisition. Pressure gradients are monitored using transducers integrated into the microfluidic system.
Simultaneous water and oil injection experiments at different water fractional flow rates were performed to obtain relative permeability curves and phase distribution for both fractured and non-fractured porous media. The results reveal that the two-phase flow through the fracture evolves from a slug to stratified flow regime as the non-wetting aqueous phase fractional flow rate increases. The presence of the fracture alters significantly the phase distribution within the pore space and the flow dynamics. The changes in relative permeability and capillary pressure curves associated with the presence of the fracture is analyzed for different fracture geometry.