Speaker
Description
Understanding multiphase flow at the pore scale is critical for addressing energy and environmental challenges such as enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and CO₂ geological sequestration. However, capturing the dynamic evolution of multiphase flows of real rock samples at the micro-scale remains a significant challenge due to the limitations of conventional imaging techniques, particularly in terms of temporal and spatial resolution. To address this, a high-resolution 4D micro CT imaging system integrated with an in-situ core flooding apparatus was employed, combined with a voxel-level grayscale differencing algorithm to dynamically visualize the displacement behavior within porous sandstone. The experimental results reveal that: Based on the variation in injected oil volume, the displacement process clearly exhibits a three-stage evolution: initiation, rapid displacement, and terminal seepage stage. During the initiation stage, oil saturation increases slowly as the oil phase preferentially invades larger pores under capillary dominance. Subsequently, the rapid displacement stage is characterized by a sharp rise in oil saturation and the attainment of peak displacement efficiency, resulting from the oil phase forming capillary fingers along low-resistance channels. Finally, in the terminal seepage stage, displacement efficiency declines and saturation stabilizes, as the oil phase primarily penetrates smaller pore throats and poorly connected regions, marking the process's conclusion. Pore-scale dynamic analysis reveals transient events such as capillary fingering, Haines jumps, backflow, and non-wetting phase disconnection, indicating the oil phase’s sensitive response to pore-scale heterogeneity and pressure fluctuations. The mechanism of interfacial reconstruction driven by capillary forces determines fluid connectivity, thereby controlling macroscopic displacement efficiency. Such mechanistic understanding is critical for optimizing EOR strategies and for improving the reliability of long-term CO2 geological storage in porous geological formations.
| Country | China |
|---|---|
| Green Housing & Porous Media Focused Abstracts | This abstract is related to Green Housing |
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