EAPSI: Studying Hysteresis of Three-Phase Flow in Porous Media Using Dynamic X-ray Microtomography

Meisenheimer Douglas, Corvallis OR

Investigators

Abstract

This research will study the real-time fate and transport of three fluid phases flowing together through a rock matrix. The visualization of these fluid-flow experiments will be accomplished with fast x-ray microtomography which can produce 3D images of the position of fluids within a rock while fluids are being injected or drained from the system. The interaction between multiple fluids in porous media is important to understand because it controls many environmental processes (e.g. enhanced oil recovery, geologic CO2 sequestration, oil spill remediation in an aquifer) which affect human and environmental health. This project will be conducted at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia in collaboration with Dr. Adrian Sheppard, a pioneer in the fast x-ray microtomography technique and a leading scientist in cutting-edge mathematical techniques for 3D image processing. Few laboratories are equipped for fast x-ray microtomography; therefore, the available instrumentation and expertise of the collaborators provide a unique opportunity to accomplish this research. This research will utilize advances in image visualization and processing to collect unique data sets and calculate state variables relevant in modeling three-phase fluid flow systems in porous media (e.g. concurrent water, air, and oil transport in a contaminated aquifer). The project will use the Australian National University's state-of-the-art lab-based x-ray system and advanced mathematical reconstruction algorithms that utilize a priori information to collect microtomography scans in real-time. State variables of capillary pressure, fluid-fluid interfacial area, and Euler characteristic will be calculated from 3D images which have been previously unobtainable for three-phase flow systems under dynamic flow conditions. These state variables are important in two-phase flow and will be correlated to better understand the physics of three-phase flow and will also be compared with previous data sets obtained under quasi-equilibrium conditions to understand the effect of flow conditions on fluid topology and interfacial area generation. This award, under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program, supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Australian Academy of Science.