Effect of Initial Wettability on Rock Mechanics and Oil Recovery: Comparative Study on Outcrop Chalks

Surfactant-alternating-gas (SAG) is a favored method of foam injection, in part because of excellent gas injectivity. However, liquid injectivity is usually very poor in SAG. We report a core-flood study of liquid injectivity under conditions like those near an injection well in SAG application in the field, i.e., after a prolonged period of gas injection following foam. We inject foam [gas (nitrogen) and surfactant solution] into a 17-cm-long Berea core at temperature of 90 °C with 40 bar back pressure. Pressure differences are measured and supplemented with CT scans to relate water saturation to mobilities. Liquid injectivity directly following foam is very poor. During prolonged gas injection following foam, a collapsed-foam region forms near the inlet and slowly propagates downstream, in which water saturation is reduced. This decline in liquid saturation reflects in part liquid evaporation, also pressure-driven flow and capillary effects on the core scale. In the collapsed-foam region, liquid mobility during subsequent liquid injection is much greater than downstream, and liquid sweeps the entire core cross section rather than a single finger. Mobility in the region of liquid fingering is insensitive to the quality of foam injected before gas and the duration of the period of gas injection. This implies that at the start of liquid injection in a SAG process in the field, there is a small region very near the well, crucial to injectivity, substantially different from that further out, and not described by current foam models. The results can guide the development of a model for liquid injectivity based on radial propagation of the various banks seen in the experiments.

     

Measurement and Quantification of Diffusion-Induced Compositional Variations in Absence of Convective Mixing at Reservoir Conditions

Transport in Porous Media - We present numerical and experimental investigation on the existence of diffusion-induced compositional variations in a reservoir fluid in the absence of convective...     

A Structural Model of the Left Venricle Including Muscle Fibres and Coronary Vessels: Mechanical Behaviour in Normal Conditions

A structural model of the left ventricle is presented. It is a cylindricalthick-walled model composed of muscle fibre models and coronaryvessel models. The ventricular wall is divided in ten layers to accountfor the transmural variation of myofibre and coronary vessel orientation.These structures give the global performance of the ventricular modeldepending on their own behaviour and on the way they are interfaced.The results refer both to the global ventricular performance and thebehaviour of the different components. In particular they suggest anappreciable contribute of the coronary capillary during the early fillingphase in enlarging the ventricle; during this phase the capillary vesselsexert an extensive force in the radial direction, due to inner coronarypressure, equal to 20--30 percent -- depending on the layer -- of the forceexerted by the fibres. This occurrence explains, in our opinion, theobserved cardiac function improvement when the arterial coronarypressure is increased, known as gardenhose effect.     

Jump Conditions and Surface-Excess Quantities at a Fluid/Porous Interface: A Multi-scale Approach

We present a two-step up-scaling approach that allows to derive the jump conditions that must be imposed at the interface to account for transport phenomena in a fluid/porous domain. This general approach is first applied to a heat conduction problem to illustrate the main steps of the analysis. The heat flux and temperature jump conditions are related to surface-excess quantities, whose values depend on the interface location. Good agreement between the mesoscopic and macroscopic results are obtained, whatever the position of the interface inside the transition region. The approach is then applied to the problem of a laminar flow over a porous medium. The Beavers and Joseph relation is recovered, but only for a particular position of the interface.     

Long-Time Behaviour of Heat Flow: Global Estimates and Exact Asymptotics

We obtain global upper and lower bounds on the heat kernel of an elliptic second-order differential operator, which become sharp in certain long-time and large-space asymptotics. We prove a generalization of Aronson's Gaussian bounds which identifies correctly an effective drift for heat flow. In the case of periodic coefficients we give variational characterizations of the effective conductivity, which is then made to appear in heat kernel bounds. These results are for heat kernels with measurable coefficients. For differentiable coefficients we prove tighter estimates, in which the rate of homogenization is known to be optimal. (Accepted May 20, 1996)     

Multi-scale Image-Based Pore Space Characterisation and Pore Network Generation: Case Study of a North Sea Sandstone Reservoir

Transport in Porous Media - In this paper, we examine the pore space geometry and topology of a North Sea sandstone reservoir rock based on multi-scale scanning electron microscopy. The reservoir...     

Metal Artifacts in Attenuation and Phase Contrast X-Ray Microcomputed Tomography: A Comparative Study

Experimental Mechanics - Metal artifacts arising around high-density components are a widely known problem in X-ray computed tomography (XCT) for both medical and industrial applications. Although...     

The Effect of Reservoir Wettability on the Production Characteristics of the VAPEX Process: An Experimental Study

The impact of fractional wettability on the production characteristics of a VAPEX process at the macroscale was investigated. Conventional VAPEX experiments were conducted in a 220 Darcy random packing of glass beads in a rectangular physical model and n-pentane was used to recover the Cold Lake bitumen from the oil-saturated model in the absence of connate water. The composition of oil-wet beads in the packed bed was altered from completely water-wet beads to completely oil-wet beads at different proportions of oil-wet beads mixed with water-wet beads. A substantial increase (about 40%) in the production rate of live oil was observed during the VAPEX process when the wettability of the porous packing was entirely oil-wet beads. A critical oil-wet fraction of 0.66 was found for the heterogeneous packing of water-wet and oil-wet beads of similar size distribution. Above this critical composition, the live oil production rate was not affected by further increase in the proportion of the oil-wet beads. It is believed that above this critical composition of the oil-wet beads, the crevice flow process is dominated by the continuity of higher conductivity live oil films between particles through the oil-wet regions. Below this critical composition, the live oil production rate increased linearly with the fraction of the oil-wet beads in the packing. The oil-wet regions favor the live oil drainage compared to that of the water-wet regions as they enhance the rate of imbibition of the live oil from the oil-filled pores to the vacated pores near the nominal VAPEX interface. These two factors enhance the live oil production rate during the VAPEX process. The solvent content of the live oil, the solvent-to-oil ratio (SOR), and the residual oil saturation did not correlate strongly with the proportion of the oil-wet beads in the packing. The average solvent content of the live oil and the residual oil saturation were measured to be 48% by weight and 7% by volume respectively.     

Study of Slip Flow in Unconventional Shale Rocks Using Lattice Boltzmann Method: Effects of Boundary Conditions and TMAC

Steady, laminar, fully developed flows of a Newtonian fluid driven by a constant pressure gradient in (1) a curvilinear constant cross section triangle bounded by two straight no-slip segments and a circular meniscus and (2) a wedge bounded by two rays and an adjacent film bulging near the corner are studied analytically by the theory of holomorphic functions and numerically by finite elements. The analytical solution of the first problem is obtained by reducing the Poisson equation for the longitudinal flow velocity to the Laplace equation, conformal mapping of the corresponding transformed physical domain onto an auxiliary half-plane and solving there the Signorini mixed boundary value problem (BVP). The numerical solution is obtained by meshing the circular sector and solving a system of linear equations ensuing from the Poisson equation. Comparisons are made with known solutions for flows in a rectangular conduit, circular annulus and Philip’s circular duct with a no-shear sector. Problem (2) is treated by the Saint-Venant semi-inverse method: the free surface (quasi-meniscus) is reconstructed by a one-parametric family, which specifies a holomorphic function of the first derivative of the physical coordinate with respect to an auxiliary variable. The latter maps the flow domain onto a quarter of a unit disc where a mixed BVP for a characteristic function is solved by the Zhukovsky–Chaplygin method. Velocity distributions in a cross section perpendicular to the flow direction are obtained. It is shown that the change of the type of the boundary condition from no slip to perfect slip (along the meniscus) causes a dramatic increase of the total flow rate (conductance). For example, the classical Saint-Venant formulae for a sector, with all three boundaries being no-slip segments, predict up to four times smaller rate as compared to a free surface meniscus. Mathematically equivalent problems of unconfined flows in aquifers recharged by a constant-intensity infiltration are also addressed.     

A Comparative Study of Turbulence in Ramp-Up and Ramp-Down Unsteady Flows

DNS of a turbulent channel flow subjected to a step change in pressure gradient are performed to facilitate a direct comparison between ramp-up and ramp-down flows. Strong differences are found between behaviours of turbulence in the two flows. The wall shear stress in the ramp-up flow first overshoots, and then strongly undershoots the quasi-steady value in the initial stage of the excursion, before approaching the quasi-steady value. In a strongly decelerating flow, the wall shear stress tends to first undershoot but then overshoot the quasi-steady value. ??Slow?? response of turbulence as well as flow inertia is responsible for these behaviours. In the ramp-up flow, the response of turbulence is similar to that observed in uniformly accelerating flows from previous studies, exhibiting a three-stage development. However, the transition between the various stages is more gradual and the responding stage is much longer and slower in the flows considered here. It has been shown that the delay in the near wall region is longer than that in the buffer layer confirming that turbulence response first occurs at the location of peak turbulence production. In a strongly decelerating flow, the response of turbulence exhibits a two-stage development. In both ramp-up and ramp down flows, the energy distribution in the three components of turbulent kinetic energy deviates from that of the steady flow. In a ramp-up flow, more energy is in $u_1^\prime $ and less in $u_2^\prime $ and $u_3^\prime $ , whereas the trend is reversed in a ramp-down flow. This is a reflection of the redistribution of turbulence from $u_1^\prime $ to $u_2^\prime $ and $u_3^\prime $ .     

A Numerical Study of Microscale Flow Behavior in Tight Gas and Shale Gas Reservoir Systems

Various attempts have been made to model flow in shale gas systems. However, there is currently little consensus regarding the impact of molecular and Knudsen diffusion on flow behavior over time in such systems. Direct measurement or model-based estimation of matrix permeability for these “ultra-tight” reservoirs has proven unreliable. The composition of gas produced from tight gas and shale gas reservoirs varies with time for a variety of reasons. The cause of flowing gas compositional change typically cited is selective desorption of gases from the surface of the kerogen in the case of shale. However, other drivers for gas fractionation are important when pore throat dimensions are small enough. Pore throat diameters on the order of molecular mean free path lengths will create non-Darcy flow conditions, where permeability becomes a strong function of pressure. At the low permeabilities found in shale gas systems, the dusty-gas model for flow should be used, which couples diffusion to advective flow. In this study we implement the dusty-gas model into a fluid flow modeling tool based on the TOUGH+ family of codes. We examine the effects of Knudsen diffusion on gas composition in ultra-tight rock. We show that for very small average pore throat diameters, lighter gases are preferentially produced at concentrations significantly higher than in situ conditions. Furthermore, we illustrate a methodology which uses measurements of gas composition to more uniquely determine the permeability of tight reservoirs. We also describe how gas composition measurement could be used to identify flow boundaries in these reservoir systems. We discuss how new measurement techniques and data collection practices should be implemented in order to take advantage of this method. Our contributions include a new, fit-for-purpose numerical model based on the TOUGH+ code capable of characterizing transport effects including permeability adjustment and diffusion in micro- and nano-scale porous media.     

Oil Recovery by Low Salinity Water Injection into a Reservoir: A New Study of Tertiary Oil Recovery Mechanism

Low salinity water injections for oil recovery have shown seemingly promising results in the case of clay-bearing sandstones saturated with asphaltic crude oil. Reported data showed that low salinity water injection could provide up to 20% pore volume (PV) of additional oil recovery for core samples and up to 25% PV for reservoirs in near wellbore regions, compared with brine injection at the same Darcy velocity. The question remains as to whether this additional recovery is also attainable in reservoirs. The answer requires a thorough understanding of oil recovery mechanism of low salinity water injections. Numerous hypotheses have been proposed to explain the increased oil recovery using low salinity water, including migration of detached mixed-wet clay particles with absorbed residual oil drops, wettability alteration toward increased water-wetness, and emulsion formation. However, many later reports showed that a higher oil recovery associated with low salinity water injection at the common laboratory flow velocity was neither necessarily accompanied by migration of clay particles, nor necessarily accompanied by emulsion. Moreover, increased water-wetness has been shown to cause the reduction of oil recovery. The present study is based on both experimental and theoretical analyses. Our study reveals that the increased oil recovery is only related to the reduction of water permeability due to physical plugging of the porous network by swelling clay aggregates or migrating clay particles and crystals. At a fixed apparent flow velocity, the value of negative pressure gradient along the flow path increases as the water permeability decreases. Some oil drops and blobs can be mobilized under the increased negative pressure gradient and contribute to the additional oil recovery. Based on the revealed mechanism, we conclude that low salinity water injection cannot be superior to brine injection in any clay-bearing sandstone reservoir at the maximum permitted injection pressure. Through our study of low salinity water injection, the theory of tertiary oil recovery has been notably improved.     

Solutions of the Time-Harmonic Wave Equation in Periodic Waveguides: Asymptotic Behaviour and Radiation Condition

In this paper, we give the expression and the asymptotic behaviour of the physical solution of a time harmonic wave equation set in a periodic waveguide. This enables us to define a radiation condition and show well-posedness of the Helmholtz equation set in a periodic waveguide.     

Alteration in the Mechanical Properties of Human Ovum Zona Pellucida Following Fertilization: Experimental and Analytical Studies

The unfertilized oocyte is surrounded by a spherical layer called the zona pellucida (ZP). The physical hardness of this layer plays a crucial role in fertilization and it is largely unknown because of the lack of appropriate measuring and modeling methods. Recently, considerable biomedical attentions have concentrated on determination of the mechanical properties of oocytes as a single cell. In order to investigate the biophysical characteristics of mammalian oocytes, a change in the elasticity of human ZP has been quantitatively evaluated before and after fertilization. Young’s modulus of ZP of metaphase-II (MII) and pronuclear (PN) stages have been estimated using two different protocols of the micropipette aspiration, step-by-step and continuous increase in pressure, in combination with proportional theoretical models. Experimental results clearly demonstrated that after fertilization the mean Young’s modulus of the ZP calculated from the step-by-step aspiration test (MII: 7.34 ± 1.36 kPa vs PN: 13.18 ± 1.17 kPa.) and continuous aspiration test (MII: 2.41 ± 0.75 kPa vs. PN: 4.43 ± 1.66 kPa) significantly increased, (p < 0.05). Mathematical Evaluation of the results shows that although the results of the two methods are different but both confirm that the hardening of ZP will increase following fertilization. As can be seen, different experimental methods can influence the choice of the models and this in turn will lead the mechanical properties to be found.     

Nonstationary ideal incompressible fluid flows: Conditions of existence and uniqueness of solutions

The problem of formulating minimal conditions on input data that can guarantee the existence and uniqueness of solutions of the boundary value problems describing non-one-dimensional ideal incompressible fluid flow is considered using as an example the initial boundary value problem in a space-time cylinder constructed on a bounded flow domain with the nonpenetration condition on its boundary (which corresponds to fluid flow in a closed vessel). The existence problems are considered only for plane flows, and the uniqueness issues for three-dimensional flows as well. The required conditions are obtained in the form of conditions specifying that the vorticity belongs to definite functional Orlicz spaces. The results are compared with well-known results. Examples are given of admissible types of singularities for which the obtained results are valid, which is a physical interpretation of these results. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 49, No. 4, pp. 130–145, July–August, 2008.     

Exchange of Chemical Species between the Atmospheric Boundary Layer and the Reservoir Layer: An Analytical Interpretation

The exchange of chemical species between the atmospheric boundary layer and the reservoir layer is investigated by means of an analytical solution of the conservation equation of a decaying chemical species. The exchange mechanism is governed by two parameters: the Damköhler number (the ratio of the turbulence time scale to the chemical time scale) and the ratio of a concentration scale in the atmospheric boundary layer to the concentration in the reservoir layer. Depending on the value of these two parameters, the exchange flux between the two layers can vary in sign and by several orders of magnitude. The study demonstrates to what extent chemical transformation determines the transfer of chemical species between the atmospheric boundary layer and the reservoir layer.     

Fluid Flow Analysis of Integrated Porous Bone Scaffold and Cancellous Bone at Different Skeletal Sites: In Silico Study

The dynamic characteristic of bone is its ability to remodel itself through mechanobiological responses. Bone regeneration is triggered by mechanical cues from physiological activities that generate structural strain and cause bone marrow movement. This phenomenon is crucial for bone scaffold when implanted in the cancellous bone as host tissue. Often, the fluid movement of bone scaffold and cancellous bone is studied separately, which does not represent the actual environment once implanted. In the present study, the fluid flow analysis properties of bone scaffold integrated into the cancellous bone at different skeletal sites are investigated. Three types of porous bone scaffolds categorized based on pore size configurations: 1 mm, 0.8 mm and hybrid (0.8 mm interlaced with 0.5 mm) were used. Three different skeletal sites of femoral bone were selected: neck, lateral condyle and medial condyle. Computational fluid dynamics was utilized to analyze the fluid flow properties of bone scaffold integrated cancellous bone. The results of this study reveal that the localization and maximum value of shear stress in an independent bone scaffold are significantly different compared to the bone scaffold integrated with cancellous bone by about 160% to 448% percentage difference. Low shear stress and high permeability were found across models that have higher Tb.Sp (trabecular separation). Specimen C and femoral lateral condyle showed the highest permeability in their respective category.

     

Equilibrium Configurations of Epitaxially Strained Elastic Films: Second Order Minimality Conditions and Qualitative Properties of Solutions

We consider a variational model introduced in the physical literature to describe the epitaxial growth of an elastic film over a thick flat substrate when a lattice mismatch between the two materials is present. We study quantitative and qualitative properties of equilibrium configurations, that is, of local and global minimizers of the free-energy functional. More precisely, we determine analytically the critical threshold for the local minimality of the flat configuration and we also prove several results concerning its global minimality. The non-occurrence of singularities in non-flat global minimizers is also addressed. One of the main results of the paper is a new sufficient condition for local minimality, which provides the first extension of the classical criteria based on the positivity of the second variation to the context of functionals with bulk and surface energies.