Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5763757 | Advances in Water Resources | 2017 | 32 Pages |
Abstract
We investigate capillary pressure-saturation (PC-S) relationships for drainage-imbibition experiments conducted with air (nonwetting phase) and brine (wetting phase) in Bentheimer sandstone cores. Three different flow rate conditions, ranging over three orders of magnitude, are investigated. X-ray micro-computed tomographic imaging is used to characterize the distribution and amount of fluids and their interfacial characteristics. Capillary pressure is measured via (1) bulk-phase pressure transducer measurements, and (2) image-based curvature measurements, calculated using a novel 3D curvature algorithm. We distinguish between connected (percolating) and disconnected air clusters: curvatures measured on the connected phase interfaces are used to validate the curvature algorithm and provide an indication of the equilibrium condition of the data; curvature and volume distributions of disconnected clusters provide insight to the snap-off processes occurring during drainage and imbibition under different flow rate conditions.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Earth-Surface Processes
Authors
Anna L. Herring, Jill Middleton, Rick Walsh, Andrew Kingston, Adrian Sheppard,