A Numerical Study of Initiation and Migration of Trapped Oil in Capillaries with Noncircular Cross Sections

To clarify the initiation and migration mechanisms of a discontinuous oil phase in pores, a numerical study was performed to interpret the starting phenomenon and flowing rules of oil trapped in capillaries that have noncircular cross sections. In this study, capillaries with three different cross s...

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Main Authors: Long Long, Yajun Li, Houjian Gong, Mingzhe Dong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2019-01-01
Series:Geofluids
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/6343519
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author Long Long
Yajun Li
Houjian Gong
Mingzhe Dong
author_facet Long Long
Yajun Li
Houjian Gong
Mingzhe Dong
author_sort Long Long
collection DOAJ
description To clarify the initiation and migration mechanisms of a discontinuous oil phase in pores, a numerical study was performed to interpret the starting phenomenon and flowing rules of oil trapped in capillaries that have noncircular cross sections. In this study, capillaries with three different cross sections were used to investigate the deformation law of oil and the pressure drop across these microchannels at different displacement velocities by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The geometrical structure of the microchannels was precisely controlled, and the migration process of the oil, which is too small to be observed by direct experimentation, was assessed and quantitatively analyzed. By analyzing the shape of the trapped oil after reaching a steady state at different velocities, the nonstart and start conditions could be distinguished and the accuracy of the numerical method was verified by a comparison with an analytical method (the MS-P method). Two aspects of oil migration in noncircular microchannels were observed in combination with previous studies: there is a driving force on the cross section of the oil drop and a viscous force at the oil-water interface in the corners, and the more irregular the pore section is, the more easily the trapped oil will migrate. Additionally, the influence of the microchannel cross-sectional shape on the non-Darcy flow of a discontinuous oil phase was clarified. It can be concluded that the presence of the non-Darcy flow in pores arises because trapped oil, as a discontinuous phase, cannot be separated from the capillary wall without reaching critical velocity.
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spelling doaj-art-f6d8de3bbf35495b9c898446a8e3aa362025-02-03T01:07:19ZengWileyGeofluids1468-81151468-81232019-01-01201910.1155/2019/63435196343519A Numerical Study of Initiation and Migration of Trapped Oil in Capillaries with Noncircular Cross SectionsLong Long0Yajun Li1Houjian Gong2Mingzhe Dong3Institute of Mud Logging Technology and Engineering, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei 434000, ChinaSchool of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, Shandong 266580, ChinaSchool of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, Shandong 266580, ChinaDepartment of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, CanadaTo clarify the initiation and migration mechanisms of a discontinuous oil phase in pores, a numerical study was performed to interpret the starting phenomenon and flowing rules of oil trapped in capillaries that have noncircular cross sections. In this study, capillaries with three different cross sections were used to investigate the deformation law of oil and the pressure drop across these microchannels at different displacement velocities by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The geometrical structure of the microchannels was precisely controlled, and the migration process of the oil, which is too small to be observed by direct experimentation, was assessed and quantitatively analyzed. By analyzing the shape of the trapped oil after reaching a steady state at different velocities, the nonstart and start conditions could be distinguished and the accuracy of the numerical method was verified by a comparison with an analytical method (the MS-P method). Two aspects of oil migration in noncircular microchannels were observed in combination with previous studies: there is a driving force on the cross section of the oil drop and a viscous force at the oil-water interface in the corners, and the more irregular the pore section is, the more easily the trapped oil will migrate. Additionally, the influence of the microchannel cross-sectional shape on the non-Darcy flow of a discontinuous oil phase was clarified. It can be concluded that the presence of the non-Darcy flow in pores arises because trapped oil, as a discontinuous phase, cannot be separated from the capillary wall without reaching critical velocity.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/6343519
spellingShingle Long Long
Yajun Li
Houjian Gong
Mingzhe Dong
A Numerical Study of Initiation and Migration of Trapped Oil in Capillaries with Noncircular Cross Sections
Geofluids
title A Numerical Study of Initiation and Migration of Trapped Oil in Capillaries with Noncircular Cross Sections
title_full A Numerical Study of Initiation and Migration of Trapped Oil in Capillaries with Noncircular Cross Sections
title_fullStr A Numerical Study of Initiation and Migration of Trapped Oil in Capillaries with Noncircular Cross Sections
title_full_unstemmed A Numerical Study of Initiation and Migration of Trapped Oil in Capillaries with Noncircular Cross Sections
title_short A Numerical Study of Initiation and Migration of Trapped Oil in Capillaries with Noncircular Cross Sections
title_sort numerical study of initiation and migration of trapped oil in capillaries with noncircular cross sections
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/6343519
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