Characterization of Transport-Enhanced Phase Separation in Porous Media Using a Lattice-Boltzmann Method
Phase separation of formation fluids in the subsurface introduces hydrodynamic perturbations which are critical for mass and energy transport of geofluids. Here, we present pore-scale lattice-Boltzmann simulations to investigate the hydrodynamical response of a porous system to the emergence of non-...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2019-01-01
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| Series: | Geofluids |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/5176410 |
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| Summary: | Phase separation of formation fluids in the subsurface introduces hydrodynamic perturbations which are critical for mass and energy transport of geofluids. Here, we present pore-scale lattice-Boltzmann simulations to investigate the hydrodynamical response of a porous system to the emergence of non-wetting droplets under background hydraulic gradients. A wide parameter space of capillary number and fluid saturation is explored to characterize the droplet evolution, the droplet size and shape distribution, and the capillary-clogging patterns. We find that clogging is favored by high capillary stress; nonetheless, clogging occurs at high non-wetting saturation (larger than 0.3), denoting the importance of convective transport on droplet growth and permeability. Moreover, droplets are more sheared at low capillary number; however, solid matrix plays a key role on droplet’s volume-to-surface ratio. |
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| ISSN: | 1468-8115 1468-8123 |