Experimental Investigation of Interfacial Geometry associated with Multiphase Flow within Two- and Three- Dimensional Porous Medium

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

Pyrak-Nolte 0509759 The principal challenge of upscaling techniques for multi-phase fluid dynamics in porous media is to determine which properties on the micro-scale can be used to predict macroscopic flow and the spatial distribution of fluid phases at core- and field-scales. First-principles theoretical formulations over the past decade have been derived from volume averaging theorems in which microscopic interfacial behavior is explicitly incorporated. These theories have proposed that interfacial area per volume directly affects macroscopic behavior, and that this variable may govern the observed hysteresis in the capillary pressure - saturation relationship. The scientific objective of this proposal is to measure the evolution of interfaces among multiple phases in a porous medium. Two- and three-dimensional micro-models will be used to directly image and quantify the behavior of the interfacial geometry while concurrently measuring fluid pressures (globally and locally) and fluid flow. The specific scientific goals are: (a) to determine if an ensemble-averaged relationship among capillary pressure, saturation and interfacial area per volume may be universal for statistically similar pore distributions, (b) to quantify the relationship between interfacial geometry, saturation and relative permeability for steady-state flow conditions, and (c) to determine if the relaxation coefficient associated with dynamic flow conditions depends on the evolution of the interfacial geometry with time. In addition, we propose to revolutionize the use of micro-models in the study of fluids in porous media in two ways: (a) the incorporation of local probes into two-dimensional micro-models to measure local pressures; and (b) the development of a new two-photon lithographic technique for creating transparent three-dimensional micro-models that can be directly imaged by using laser confocal microscopy. Merit Criteria: 1. The intellectual merit of the proposed activity is the acquisition of explicit data sets connecting interfacial areas, and other relevant geometric micro-scale data, with macroscopic hydraulic properties on truly three-dimensional micro-models. The proposed combination of experimental methods and analysis will make it possible for the first time to answer the principal question of which microscopic properties are most useful for predicting macroscopic flow properties of a porous medium. 2. The broader impact from the proposed activity will be confirmation/disproof of theoretical methods used for addressing the prediction of flow and distributions of multiple fluids in a porous medium which affects applications in oil, gas and water production, ground water protection, chemical mixing and processing in chemical engineering, and in porous tissue applications of biology and bioengineering. Our outreach objective is three-fold: (1) To train and educate graduate and undergraduate students in the science of laboratory research; (2) To work with science education majors to develop hands-on experiments for grades 7-12; and (3) To integrate the hands-on experiments into our Physics Outreach Program which reaches students in grades 7-12, as well as parents and teachers throughout Indiana.