Weak water-drive offshore reservoirs with complex pore architecture and strong permeability heterogeneity present major challenges,including rapid depletion of formation energy,low waterflood efficiency,and significan...Weak water-drive offshore reservoirs with complex pore architecture and strong permeability heterogeneity present major challenges,including rapid depletion of formation energy,low waterflood efficiency,and significant lateral and vertical variability in crude oil properties,all of which contribute to limited recovery.To support more effective field development,alternative strategies and a deeper understanding of pore-scale flow behavior are urgently needed.In this work,CT imaging and digital image processing were used to construct a digital rock model representative of the target reservoir.A pore-scale flow model was then developed,and the Volume of Fluid(VOF)method was applied to simulate and optimize waterflooding schemes aimed at boosting oil recovery.Optimization focused on adjusting injection rates,varying the oil–water viscosity ratio,and implementing a water-alternating-gas(WAG)process.Results show that,for equal injection volumes,higher injection rates cause early water breakthrough through high-permeability pathways,yielding slower gains in recovery.Lowering the oil–water viscosity ratio improves mobility control,suppresses viscous fingering,enlarges sweep volume,and enhances recovery.When CH_(4)becomes fully miscible,it dissolves into the crude oil,lowering viscosity and eliminating interfacial tension,thereby providing greater displacement efficiency than partially miscible injection.Following a switch from water to gas injection,residual oil saturation decreases and becomes more uniformly distributed,indicating that the combined action of water and gas significantly improves both sweep efficiency and microscopic displacement.展开更多
CO_(2)enhanced oil recovery plays an important role in carbon storage and utilization.However,the incomplete understanding of the underlying microscopic convection–diffusion mechanisms in complex pore structures has ...CO_(2)enhanced oil recovery plays an important role in carbon storage and utilization.However,the incomplete understanding of the underlying microscopic convection–diffusion mechanisms in complex pore structures has constrained the broader industrial application of CO_(2)geo-sequestration.This work develops a pore-scale numerical model considering molecular convection–diffusion to investigate CO_(2)-oil miscible displacement in two-and three-dimensional porous structures of conglomerate rocks.The effects of CO_(2)injection rates and pore structure properties on convection–diffusion are analyzed.By reconstructing the distribution of unexploited pores,the CO_(2)sweep efficiency is quantitatively evaluated.Furthermore,a sequestration factor is proposed to evaluate the CO_(2)storage capacity during miscible displacement.Convection significantly enhances the CO_(2)mass fraction in fractures with high flow rates.Subsequently,CO_(2)gradually diffuses into matrix pores without velocity distribution.Both convection and diffusion contribute to improving CO_(2)displacement efficiency.Diffusion facilitates the dissolution of CO_(2)into oil within small-diameter pores,and convection effectively mobilizes oil in large pore bodies.Developed and homogeneous pore structures enhance CO_(2)displacement efficiency,whereas CO_(2)flows along the main flow channels in heterogeneous pore structures,resulting in lower displacement efficiency.Diffusion plays a crucial role in CO_(2)storage within porous media.At low injection rates,dissolved CO_(2)is trapped in poorly connected and blind-end pores.The injection rate is negatively correlated with the sequestration factor.展开更多
Pore structure of porous media, including pore size and topology, is rather complex. In immiscible twophase displacement process, the capillary force affected by pore size dominates the two-phase flow in the porous me...Pore structure of porous media, including pore size and topology, is rather complex. In immiscible twophase displacement process, the capillary force affected by pore size dominates the two-phase flow in the porous media, affecting displacement results. Direct observation of the flow patterns in the porous media is difficult, and therefore knowledge about the two-phase displacement flow is insufficient. In this paper, a two-dimensional(2D) pore structure was extracted from a sandstone sample, and the flow process that CO_2 displaces resident brine in the extracted pore structure was simulated using the Navier eStokes equation combined with the conservative level set method. The simulation results reveal that the pore throat is a crucial factor for determining CO_2 displacement process in the porous media. The two-phase meniscuses in each pore throat were in a self-adjusting process. In the displacement process,CO_2 preferentially broke through the maximum pore throat. Before breaking through the maximum pore throat, the pressure of CO_2 continually increased, and the curvature and position of two-phase interfaces in the other pore throats adjusted accordingly. Once the maximum pore throat was broken through by the CO_2, the capillary force in the other pore throats released accordingly; subsequently, the interfaces withdrew under the effect of capillary fore, preparing for breaking through the next pore throat.Therefore, the two-phase displacement in CO_2 injection is accompanied by the breaking through and adjusting of the two-phase interfaces.展开更多
Chemical flooding is one of the effective technologies to increase oil recovery of petroleum reservoirs after water flooding.Above the scale of representative elementary volume(REV),phenomenological modeling and numer...Chemical flooding is one of the effective technologies to increase oil recovery of petroleum reservoirs after water flooding.Above the scale of representative elementary volume(REV),phenomenological modeling and numerical simulations of chemical flooding have been reported in literatures,but the studies alike are rarely conducted at the pore-scale,at which the effects of physicochemical hydrodynamics are hardly resolved either by experimental observations or by traditional continuum-based simulations.In this paper,dissipative particle dynamics(DPD),one of mesoscopic fluid particle methods,is introduced to simulate the pore-scale flow in chemical flooding processes.The theoretical background,mathematical formulation and numerical approach of DPD are presented.The plane Poiseuille flow is used to illustrate the accuracy of the DPD simulation,and then the processes of polymer flooding through an oil-wet throat and a water-wet throat are studies,respectively.The selected parameters of those simulations are given in details.These preliminary results show the potential of this novel method for modeling the physicochemical hydrodynamics at the pore scale in the area of chemical enhanced oil recovery.展开更多
A novel method was developed to establish a realistic three dimensional(3D) network model representing pore space in low permeability sandstone.Digital core of rock sample was established by the combination of micro-C...A novel method was developed to establish a realistic three dimensional(3D) network model representing pore space in low permeability sandstone.Digital core of rock sample was established by the combination of micro-CT scanning and image processing,then 3D pore-throat network model was extracted from the digital core through analyzing pore space topology,calculating pore-throat parameters and simplifying the shapes of pores and throats.The good agreements between predicted and measured porosity and absolute permeability verified the validity of this new network model.Gas-water flow mechanism was studied by using pore-scale simulations,and the influence of pore structure parameters,including coordination number,aspect ratio and shape factor,on gas-water flow,was investigated.The present simulation results show that with the increment of coordination number,gas flow ability in network improves and the effect of invading water on blocking gas flow weakens.The smaller the aspect ratio is,the stronger the anisotropy of the network is,resulting in the increase of seepage resistance.It is found that the shape factor mainly affects the end points in relative permeability curves,and for a highly irregular pore or throat with a small shape factor,the irreducible water saturation(Swi) and residual gas saturation(Sgr) are relatively high.展开更多
Based on micro-CT scanning experiments, three-dimensional digital cores of tight sandstones were established to quantitatively evaluate pore-scale anisotropy and pore-distribution heterogeneity. The quartet structure ...Based on micro-CT scanning experiments, three-dimensional digital cores of tight sandstones were established to quantitatively evaluate pore-scale anisotropy and pore-distribution heterogeneity. The quartet structure generation set method was used to generate three-dimensional anisotropic, heterogeneous porous media models. A multi-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann model was applied to analyze relationships of permeability with pore-scale anisotropy and pore distribution heterogeneity, and the microscopic influence mechanism was also investigated. The tight sandstones are of complex pore morphology, strong anisotropy and pore distribution heterogeneity, while anisotropy factor has obvious directivity. The obvious anisotropy influences the orientation of long axis of pores and fluid flow path, making tortuosity smaller and flowing energy loss less in the direction with the greater anisotropy factor. The strong correlation of tortuosity and anisotropy is the inherent reason of anisotropy acting on permeability. The influence of pore distribution heterogeneity on permeability is the combined effects of specific surface area and tortuosity, while the product of specific surface area and tortuosity shows significantly negative correlation with heterogeneity. The stronger the pore distribution heterogeneity, the smaller the product and the greater the permeability. In addition, the permeability and tortuosity of complex porous media satisfy a power relation with a high fitting precision, which can be applied for approximate estimation of core permeability.展开更多
Brazilian pre-salt reservoirs are renowned for their intricate pore networks and vuggy nature,posing significant challenges in modeling and simulating fluid flow within these carbonate reservoirs.Despite possessing ex...Brazilian pre-salt reservoirs are renowned for their intricate pore networks and vuggy nature,posing significant challenges in modeling and simulating fluid flow within these carbonate reservoirs.Despite possessing excellent petrophysical properties,such as high porosity and permeability,these reservoirs typically exhibit a notably low recovery factor,sometimes falling below 10%.Previous research has indicated that various enhanced oil recovery(EOR)methods,such as water alternating gas(WAG),can substantially augment the recovery factor in pre-salt reservoirs,resulting in improvements of up to 20%.Nevertheless,the fluid flow mechanism within Brazilian carbonate reservoirs,characterized by complex pore geometry,remains unclear.Our study examines the behavior of fluid flow in a similar heterogeneous porous material,utilizing a plug sample obtained from a vugular segment of a Brazilian stromatolite outcrop,known to share analogies with certain pre-salt reservoirs.We conducted single-phase and multi-phase core flooding experiments,complemented by medical-CT scanning,to generate flow streamlines and evaluate the efficiency of water flooding.Subsequently,micro-CT scanning of the core sample was performed,and two cross-sections from horizontal and vertical plates were constructed.These cross-sections were then employed as geometries in a numerical simulator,enabling us to investigate the impact of pore geometry on fluid flow.Analysis of the pore-scale modeling and experimental data unveiled that the presence of dead-end pores and vugs results in a significant portion of the fluid remaining stagnant within these regions.Consequently,the injected fluid exhibits channeling-like behavior,leading to rapid breakthrough and low areal swept efficiency.Additionally,the numerical simulation results demonstrated that,irrespective of the size of the dead-end regions,the pressure variation within the dead-end vugs and pores is negligible.Despite the stromatolite's favorable petrophysical properties,including relatively high porosity and permeability,as well as the presence of interconnected large vugs,the recovery factor during water flooding remained low due to early breakthrough.These findings align with field data obtained from pre-salt reservoirs,providing an explanation for the observed low recovery factor during water flooding in such reservoirs.展开更多
The penetration of water during water flooding has been observed over many years using several methods. A microfocused X-ray computed tomography scanner can be used to directly observe 3D water flooding in a nondestru...The penetration of water during water flooding has been observed over many years using several methods. A microfocused X-ray computed tomography scanner can be used to directly observe 3D water flooding in a nondestructive manner. To eliminate the possibility of false images being produced because of X-ray broadening effects, we developed a visualization method by arranging the brightness distribution of all phases involved. Water flooding experiments were conducted using oil-wet and water-wet porous media. The water phase was injected upward into packed glass beads containing an oil phase, and the process was scanned every minute until steady state was reached. Using this scheme, real-time, the water invasion pattern and oil trapping process in clusters of pores and individual pores can be observed clearly. By eliminating false images, the boundary of each phase could be identified with high precision, even in a single pore. Porelevel phenomena, including snap off (which has never before been captured in a real 3D porous medium), piston-like displacement, and the curvature of the interface, were also observed. Direct measurement of the pore throat radius and the contact angle between the wetting and nonwetting phases gave an approximation of the capillary pressure during the piston-like displacement and snap-off processes.展开更多
Porous materials present significant advantages for absorbing radioactive isotopes in nuclear waste streams.To improve absorption efficiency in nuclear waste treatment,a thorough understanding of the diffusion-advecti...Porous materials present significant advantages for absorbing radioactive isotopes in nuclear waste streams.To improve absorption efficiency in nuclear waste treatment,a thorough understanding of the diffusion-advection process within porous structures is essential for material design.In this study,we present advancements in the volumetric lattice Boltzmann method(VLBM)for modeling and simulating pore-scale diffusion-advection of radioactive isotopes within geopolymer porous structures.These structures are created using the phase field method(PFM)to precisely control pore architectures.In our VLBM approach,we introduce a concentration field of an isotope seamlessly coupled with the velocity field and solve it by the time evolution of its particle population function.To address the computational intensity inherent in the coupled lattice Boltzmann equations for velocity and concentration fields,we implement graphics processing unit(GPU)parallelization.Validation of the developed model involves examining the flow and diffusion fields in porous structures.Remarkably,good agreement is observed for both the velocity field from VLBM and multiphysics object-oriented simulation environment(MOOSE),and the concentration field from VLBM and the finite difference method(FDM).Furthermore,we investigate the effects of background flow,species diffusivity,and porosity on the diffusion-advection behavior by varying the background flow velocity,diffusion coefficient,and pore volume fraction,respectively.Notably,all three parameters exert an influence on the diffusion-advection process.Increased background flow and diffusivity markedly accelerate the process due to increased advection intensity and enhanced diffusion capability,respectively.Conversely,increasing the porosity has a less significant effect,causing a slight slowdown of the diffusion-advection process due to the expanded pore volume.This comprehensive parametric study provides valuable insights into the kinetics of isotope uptake in porous structures,facilitating the development of porous materials for nuclear waste treatment applications.展开更多
Saline aquifers are chosen for geological storage of greenhouse gas CO_2 because of their storage potential.In almost all cases of practical interest,CO_2 is present on top of the liquid and CO_2 dissolution leads to ...Saline aquifers are chosen for geological storage of greenhouse gas CO_2 because of their storage potential.In almost all cases of practical interest,CO_2 is present on top of the liquid and CO_2 dissolution leads to a small increase in the density of the aqueous phase.This situation results in the creation of negative buoyancy force for downward density-driven natural convection and consequently enhances CO_2 sequestration.In order to study CO_2 injection at pore-level,an isothermal Lattice Boltzmann Model(LBM) with two distribution functions is adopted to simulate density-driven natural convection in porous media with irregular geometry obtained by image treatment.The present analysis showed that after the onset of natural convection instability,the brine with a high CO_2 concentration infringed into the underlying unaffected brine,in favor of the migration of CO_2 into the pore structure.With low Rayleigh numbers,the instantaneous mass flux and total dissolved CO_2 mass are very close to that derived from penetration theory(diffusion only),but the fluxes are significantly enhanced with high Ra number.The simulated results show that as the time increases,some chaotic and recirculation zones in the flow appear obviously,which promotes the renewal of interfacial liquid,and hence enhances dissolution of CO_2 into brine.This study is focused on the scale of a few pores,but shows implications in enhanced oil/gas recovery with CO_2 sequestration in aquifers.展开更多
CO_(2)capture and storage technology is favorable for the reduction of CO_(2)emissions.In recent years,a great number of research achievements have been obtained on CO_(2)geological storage from nano scale to oil/gas ...CO_(2)capture and storage technology is favorable for the reduction of CO_(2)emissions.In recent years,a great number of research achievements have been obtained on CO_(2)geological storage from nano scale to oil/gas reservoir scale,but most studies only focus on theflow behaviors in single-dimension porous media.Besides,the physical experiment method is influenced by many uncertain factors and consumes a lot of time and cost.In order to deeply understand theflow behaviors in the process of CO_(2)geological storage in microscopic view and increase the volume of CO_(2)geological storage,this paper established 2D and 3D models by using VOF(Volume of Fluid)method which can track the dynamic change of two-phase interface,to numerically simulate supercritical CO_(2)-brine two-phaseflow.Then,the distribution characteristics of CO_(2)clusters and the variation laws of CO_(2)saturation under different wettability,capillary number and viscosity ratio conditions were compared,and the intrinsic mechanisms of CO_(2)storage at pore scale were revealed.And the following research results were obtained.First,with the increase of rock wettability to CO_(2),the sweep range of CO_(2)enlarged,and the disconnection frequency of CO_(2)clusters deceased,and thus the volume of CO_(2)storage increased.Second,with the increase of capillary number,the displacement mode transformed from capillaryfingering to stable displacement,and thus the volume of CO_(2)storage increased.Third,as the viscosity of injected supercritical CO_(2)gradually approached that of brine,theflow resistance between two-phasefluids decreased,promoting the"lubricating effect".As a result,theflow capacity of CO_(2)phase was improved,and thus the volume of CO_(2)storage was increased.Fourth,the influence degrees of wettability,capillary number and viscosity ratio on CO_(2)saturation were different in multi-dimensional porous media models.In conclusion,the CO_(2)-brine two-phaseflow simulation based on VOF method revealed theflow mechanisms in the process of CO_(2)geological storage at pore scale,which is of guiding significance to the development of CCUS technology and provides theoretical guidance and technical support for the study of CO_(2)geological storage in a larger scale.展开更多
Direct pore-scale and volume-averaging numerical simulations are two methods for investigating the performance of porous volumetric solar receivers.To clarify the difference in the prediction of heat transfer processe...Direct pore-scale and volume-averaging numerical simulations are two methods for investigating the performance of porous volumetric solar receivers.To clarify the difference in the prediction of heat transfer processes,a direct comparison between these two methods was conducted at both steady state and transient state.The numerical models were established based on X-ray computed tomography scans and a local thermal non-equilibrium model,respectively.The empirical parameters,which are indispensable to the volume-averaging simulation,were determined by Monte Carlo ray tracing and direct pore-scale numerical simulations.The predicted outlet air temperature of the receiver by the volume-averaging simulation method corresponded satisfactorily to that in the direct pore-scale simulation.The largest discrepancies were observed when the receiver's working temperature was elevated,with differences of 5.5%and 3.68%for the steady state and transient state simulations,respectively.However,the volume-averaging method is incapable of capturing the local temperature information of the air and porous skeleton.It underestimates the inlet temperature of the receiver,leading to an overestimation of the receiver's thermal efficiency,with the largest difference being 6.51%.The comparison results show that the volume-averaging model is a good approximation to the pore-scale model when the empirical parameters are carefully selected.展开更多
基金funded by the Research Project of CNOOC(China)Co.,Ltd.Shanghai Branch,grant number 202417716474Research Project of CNOOC Limited,grant number KJZX-2024-0102.
文摘Weak water-drive offshore reservoirs with complex pore architecture and strong permeability heterogeneity present major challenges,including rapid depletion of formation energy,low waterflood efficiency,and significant lateral and vertical variability in crude oil properties,all of which contribute to limited recovery.To support more effective field development,alternative strategies and a deeper understanding of pore-scale flow behavior are urgently needed.In this work,CT imaging and digital image processing were used to construct a digital rock model representative of the target reservoir.A pore-scale flow model was then developed,and the Volume of Fluid(VOF)method was applied to simulate and optimize waterflooding schemes aimed at boosting oil recovery.Optimization focused on adjusting injection rates,varying the oil–water viscosity ratio,and implementing a water-alternating-gas(WAG)process.Results show that,for equal injection volumes,higher injection rates cause early water breakthrough through high-permeability pathways,yielding slower gains in recovery.Lowering the oil–water viscosity ratio improves mobility control,suppresses viscous fingering,enlarges sweep volume,and enhances recovery.When CH_(4)becomes fully miscible,it dissolves into the crude oil,lowering viscosity and eliminating interfacial tension,thereby providing greater displacement efficiency than partially miscible injection.Following a switch from water to gas injection,residual oil saturation decreases and becomes more uniformly distributed,indicating that the combined action of water and gas significantly improves both sweep efficiency and microscopic displacement.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(42172159,52404048)China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(2023M743870)+1 种基金Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of CPSF(GZB20230864)Frontier Interdisciplinary Exploration Research Program of China University of Petroleum,Beijing(2462024XKQY002).
文摘CO_(2)enhanced oil recovery plays an important role in carbon storage and utilization.However,the incomplete understanding of the underlying microscopic convection–diffusion mechanisms in complex pore structures has constrained the broader industrial application of CO_(2)geo-sequestration.This work develops a pore-scale numerical model considering molecular convection–diffusion to investigate CO_(2)-oil miscible displacement in two-and three-dimensional porous structures of conglomerate rocks.The effects of CO_(2)injection rates and pore structure properties on convection–diffusion are analyzed.By reconstructing the distribution of unexploited pores,the CO_(2)sweep efficiency is quantitatively evaluated.Furthermore,a sequestration factor is proposed to evaluate the CO_(2)storage capacity during miscible displacement.Convection significantly enhances the CO_(2)mass fraction in fractures with high flow rates.Subsequently,CO_(2)gradually diffuses into matrix pores without velocity distribution.Both convection and diffusion contribute to improving CO_(2)displacement efficiency.Diffusion facilitates the dissolution of CO_(2)into oil within small-diameter pores,and convection effectively mobilizes oil in large pore bodies.Developed and homogeneous pore structures enhance CO_(2)displacement efficiency,whereas CO_(2)flows along the main flow channels in heterogeneous pore structures,resulting in lower displacement efficiency.Diffusion plays a crucial role in CO_(2)storage within porous media.At low injection rates,dissolved CO_(2)is trapped in poorly connected and blind-end pores.The injection rate is negatively correlated with the sequestration factor.
基金funded by Key Laboratory of Coal-based CO_2 Capture and Geological Storage,Jiangsu Province,ChinaUS Advanced Coal Technology Consortium(No.2013 DFB60140-08)
文摘Pore structure of porous media, including pore size and topology, is rather complex. In immiscible twophase displacement process, the capillary force affected by pore size dominates the two-phase flow in the porous media, affecting displacement results. Direct observation of the flow patterns in the porous media is difficult, and therefore knowledge about the two-phase displacement flow is insufficient. In this paper, a two-dimensional(2D) pore structure was extracted from a sandstone sample, and the flow process that CO_2 displaces resident brine in the extracted pore structure was simulated using the Navier eStokes equation combined with the conservative level set method. The simulation results reveal that the pore throat is a crucial factor for determining CO_2 displacement process in the porous media. The two-phase meniscuses in each pore throat were in a self-adjusting process. In the displacement process,CO_2 preferentially broke through the maximum pore throat. Before breaking through the maximum pore throat, the pressure of CO_2 continually increased, and the curvature and position of two-phase interfaces in the other pore throats adjusted accordingly. Once the maximum pore throat was broken through by the CO_2, the capillary force in the other pore throats released accordingly; subsequently, the interfaces withdrew under the effect of capillary fore, preparing for breaking through the next pore throat.Therefore, the two-phase displacement in CO_2 injection is accompanied by the breaking through and adjusting of the two-phase interfaces.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(2005CB221307&2005CB221304)China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(20090460391&201003138)PetroChina RIPED Innovations Foundation.
文摘Chemical flooding is one of the effective technologies to increase oil recovery of petroleum reservoirs after water flooding.Above the scale of representative elementary volume(REV),phenomenological modeling and numerical simulations of chemical flooding have been reported in literatures,but the studies alike are rarely conducted at the pore-scale,at which the effects of physicochemical hydrodynamics are hardly resolved either by experimental observations or by traditional continuum-based simulations.In this paper,dissipative particle dynamics(DPD),one of mesoscopic fluid particle methods,is introduced to simulate the pore-scale flow in chemical flooding processes.The theoretical background,mathematical formulation and numerical approach of DPD are presented.The plane Poiseuille flow is used to illustrate the accuracy of the DPD simulation,and then the processes of polymer flooding through an oil-wet throat and a water-wet throat are studies,respectively.The selected parameters of those simulations are given in details.These preliminary results show the potential of this novel method for modeling the physicochemical hydrodynamics at the pore scale in the area of chemical enhanced oil recovery.
基金Project(2013CB228005) supported by the National Program on Key Fundamental Research Project of ChinaProject(14ZB0047) supported by the Department of Education of Sichuan Province,China
文摘A novel method was developed to establish a realistic three dimensional(3D) network model representing pore space in low permeability sandstone.Digital core of rock sample was established by the combination of micro-CT scanning and image processing,then 3D pore-throat network model was extracted from the digital core through analyzing pore space topology,calculating pore-throat parameters and simplifying the shapes of pores and throats.The good agreements between predicted and measured porosity and absolute permeability verified the validity of this new network model.Gas-water flow mechanism was studied by using pore-scale simulations,and the influence of pore structure parameters,including coordination number,aspect ratio and shape factor,on gas-water flow,was investigated.The present simulation results show that with the increment of coordination number,gas flow ability in network improves and the effect of invading water on blocking gas flow weakens.The smaller the aspect ratio is,the stronger the anisotropy of the network is,resulting in the increase of seepage resistance.It is found that the shape factor mainly affects the end points in relative permeability curves,and for a highly irregular pore or throat with a small shape factor,the irreducible water saturation(Swi) and residual gas saturation(Sgr) are relatively high.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(U1562217)National Basic Research Program of China(2015CB250900)
文摘Based on micro-CT scanning experiments, three-dimensional digital cores of tight sandstones were established to quantitatively evaluate pore-scale anisotropy and pore-distribution heterogeneity. The quartet structure generation set method was used to generate three-dimensional anisotropic, heterogeneous porous media models. A multi-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann model was applied to analyze relationships of permeability with pore-scale anisotropy and pore distribution heterogeneity, and the microscopic influence mechanism was also investigated. The tight sandstones are of complex pore morphology, strong anisotropy and pore distribution heterogeneity, while anisotropy factor has obvious directivity. The obvious anisotropy influences the orientation of long axis of pores and fluid flow path, making tortuosity smaller and flowing energy loss less in the direction with the greater anisotropy factor. The strong correlation of tortuosity and anisotropy is the inherent reason of anisotropy acting on permeability. The influence of pore distribution heterogeneity on permeability is the combined effects of specific surface area and tortuosity, while the product of specific surface area and tortuosity shows significantly negative correlation with heterogeneity. The stronger the pore distribution heterogeneity, the smaller the product and the greater the permeability. In addition, the permeability and tortuosity of complex porous media satisfy a power relation with a high fitting precision, which can be applied for approximate estimation of core permeability.
基金the support of EPIC-Energy Production Innovation Center,hosted by the University of Campinas(UNICAMP)sponsored by FAPESP-Sao Paulo Research Foundation(2017/15736e3 process).
文摘Brazilian pre-salt reservoirs are renowned for their intricate pore networks and vuggy nature,posing significant challenges in modeling and simulating fluid flow within these carbonate reservoirs.Despite possessing excellent petrophysical properties,such as high porosity and permeability,these reservoirs typically exhibit a notably low recovery factor,sometimes falling below 10%.Previous research has indicated that various enhanced oil recovery(EOR)methods,such as water alternating gas(WAG),can substantially augment the recovery factor in pre-salt reservoirs,resulting in improvements of up to 20%.Nevertheless,the fluid flow mechanism within Brazilian carbonate reservoirs,characterized by complex pore geometry,remains unclear.Our study examines the behavior of fluid flow in a similar heterogeneous porous material,utilizing a plug sample obtained from a vugular segment of a Brazilian stromatolite outcrop,known to share analogies with certain pre-salt reservoirs.We conducted single-phase and multi-phase core flooding experiments,complemented by medical-CT scanning,to generate flow streamlines and evaluate the efficiency of water flooding.Subsequently,micro-CT scanning of the core sample was performed,and two cross-sections from horizontal and vertical plates were constructed.These cross-sections were then employed as geometries in a numerical simulator,enabling us to investigate the impact of pore geometry on fluid flow.Analysis of the pore-scale modeling and experimental data unveiled that the presence of dead-end pores and vugs results in a significant portion of the fluid remaining stagnant within these regions.Consequently,the injected fluid exhibits channeling-like behavior,leading to rapid breakthrough and low areal swept efficiency.Additionally,the numerical simulation results demonstrated that,irrespective of the size of the dead-end regions,the pressure variation within the dead-end vugs and pores is negligible.Despite the stromatolite's favorable petrophysical properties,including relatively high porosity and permeability,as well as the presence of interconnected large vugs,the recovery factor during water flooding remained low due to early breakthrough.These findings align with field data obtained from pre-salt reservoirs,providing an explanation for the observed low recovery factor during water flooding in such reservoirs.
文摘The penetration of water during water flooding has been observed over many years using several methods. A microfocused X-ray computed tomography scanner can be used to directly observe 3D water flooding in a nondestructive manner. To eliminate the possibility of false images being produced because of X-ray broadening effects, we developed a visualization method by arranging the brightness distribution of all phases involved. Water flooding experiments were conducted using oil-wet and water-wet porous media. The water phase was injected upward into packed glass beads containing an oil phase, and the process was scanned every minute until steady state was reached. Using this scheme, real-time, the water invasion pattern and oil trapping process in clusters of pores and individual pores can be observed clearly. By eliminating false images, the boundary of each phase could be identified with high precision, even in a single pore. Porelevel phenomena, including snap off (which has never before been captured in a real 3D porous medium), piston-like displacement, and the curvature of the interface, were also observed. Direct measurement of the pore throat radius and the contact angle between the wetting and nonwetting phases gave an approximation of the capillary pressure during the piston-like displacement and snap-off processes.
基金supported as part of the Center for Hierarchical Waste Form Materials,an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S.Department of Energy,Office of Science,Basic Energy Sciences under Award No.DE-SC0016574.
文摘Porous materials present significant advantages for absorbing radioactive isotopes in nuclear waste streams.To improve absorption efficiency in nuclear waste treatment,a thorough understanding of the diffusion-advection process within porous structures is essential for material design.In this study,we present advancements in the volumetric lattice Boltzmann method(VLBM)for modeling and simulating pore-scale diffusion-advection of radioactive isotopes within geopolymer porous structures.These structures are created using the phase field method(PFM)to precisely control pore architectures.In our VLBM approach,we introduce a concentration field of an isotope seamlessly coupled with the velocity field and solve it by the time evolution of its particle population function.To address the computational intensity inherent in the coupled lattice Boltzmann equations for velocity and concentration fields,we implement graphics processing unit(GPU)parallelization.Validation of the developed model involves examining the flow and diffusion fields in porous structures.Remarkably,good agreement is observed for both the velocity field from VLBM and multiphysics object-oriented simulation environment(MOOSE),and the concentration field from VLBM and the finite difference method(FDM).Furthermore,we investigate the effects of background flow,species diffusivity,and porosity on the diffusion-advection behavior by varying the background flow velocity,diffusion coefficient,and pore volume fraction,respectively.Notably,all three parameters exert an influence on the diffusion-advection process.Increased background flow and diffusivity markedly accelerate the process due to increased advection intensity and enhanced diffusion capability,respectively.Conversely,increasing the porosity has a less significant effect,causing a slight slowdown of the diffusion-advection process due to the expanded pore volume.This comprehensive parametric study provides valuable insights into the kinetics of isotope uptake in porous structures,facilitating the development of porous materials for nuclear waste treatment applications.
文摘Saline aquifers are chosen for geological storage of greenhouse gas CO_2 because of their storage potential.In almost all cases of practical interest,CO_2 is present on top of the liquid and CO_2 dissolution leads to a small increase in the density of the aqueous phase.This situation results in the creation of negative buoyancy force for downward density-driven natural convection and consequently enhances CO_2 sequestration.In order to study CO_2 injection at pore-level,an isothermal Lattice Boltzmann Model(LBM) with two distribution functions is adopted to simulate density-driven natural convection in porous media with irregular geometry obtained by image treatment.The present analysis showed that after the onset of natural convection instability,the brine with a high CO_2 concentration infringed into the underlying unaffected brine,in favor of the migration of CO_2 into the pore structure.With low Rayleigh numbers,the instantaneous mass flux and total dissolved CO_2 mass are very close to that derived from penetration theory(diffusion only),but the fluxes are significantly enhanced with high Ra number.The simulated results show that as the time increases,some chaotic and recirculation zones in the flow appear obviously,which promotes the renewal of interfacial liquid,and hence enhances dissolution of CO_2 into brine.This study is focused on the scale of a few pores,but shows implications in enhanced oil/gas recovery with CO_2 sequestration in aquifers.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foun-dation of China“Research on basic theory for development of deep and ultra-deep reservoirs”(No.52034010)“Flow control during drilling/production of ultra-deep oil and gas wells”(No.52288101).
文摘CO_(2)capture and storage technology is favorable for the reduction of CO_(2)emissions.In recent years,a great number of research achievements have been obtained on CO_(2)geological storage from nano scale to oil/gas reservoir scale,but most studies only focus on theflow behaviors in single-dimension porous media.Besides,the physical experiment method is influenced by many uncertain factors and consumes a lot of time and cost.In order to deeply understand theflow behaviors in the process of CO_(2)geological storage in microscopic view and increase the volume of CO_(2)geological storage,this paper established 2D and 3D models by using VOF(Volume of Fluid)method which can track the dynamic change of two-phase interface,to numerically simulate supercritical CO_(2)-brine two-phaseflow.Then,the distribution characteristics of CO_(2)clusters and the variation laws of CO_(2)saturation under different wettability,capillary number and viscosity ratio conditions were compared,and the intrinsic mechanisms of CO_(2)storage at pore scale were revealed.And the following research results were obtained.First,with the increase of rock wettability to CO_(2),the sweep range of CO_(2)enlarged,and the disconnection frequency of CO_(2)clusters deceased,and thus the volume of CO_(2)storage increased.Second,with the increase of capillary number,the displacement mode transformed from capillaryfingering to stable displacement,and thus the volume of CO_(2)storage increased.Third,as the viscosity of injected supercritical CO_(2)gradually approached that of brine,theflow resistance between two-phasefluids decreased,promoting the"lubricating effect".As a result,theflow capacity of CO_(2)phase was improved,and thus the volume of CO_(2)storage was increased.Fourth,the influence degrees of wettability,capillary number and viscosity ratio on CO_(2)saturation were different in multi-dimensional porous media models.In conclusion,the CO_(2)-brine two-phaseflow simulation based on VOF method revealed theflow mechanisms in the process of CO_(2)geological storage at pore scale,which is of guiding significance to the development of CCUS technology and provides theoretical guidance and technical support for the study of CO_(2)geological storage in a larger scale.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52306272 and No.52293413)the Postdoctoral Research Project Funding in Shaanxi Province(No.2023BSHYDZZ40)。
文摘Direct pore-scale and volume-averaging numerical simulations are two methods for investigating the performance of porous volumetric solar receivers.To clarify the difference in the prediction of heat transfer processes,a direct comparison between these two methods was conducted at both steady state and transient state.The numerical models were established based on X-ray computed tomography scans and a local thermal non-equilibrium model,respectively.The empirical parameters,which are indispensable to the volume-averaging simulation,were determined by Monte Carlo ray tracing and direct pore-scale numerical simulations.The predicted outlet air temperature of the receiver by the volume-averaging simulation method corresponded satisfactorily to that in the direct pore-scale simulation.The largest discrepancies were observed when the receiver's working temperature was elevated,with differences of 5.5%and 3.68%for the steady state and transient state simulations,respectively.However,the volume-averaging method is incapable of capturing the local temperature information of the air and porous skeleton.It underestimates the inlet temperature of the receiver,leading to an overestimation of the receiver's thermal efficiency,with the largest difference being 6.51%.The comparison results show that the volume-averaging model is a good approximation to the pore-scale model when the empirical parameters are carefully selected.
