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Capillarity 2020, 3(1): 1-7 https://doi.org/10.26804/capi.2020.01.01
Original Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 27 February 2020

A model of spontaneous flow driven by capillary pressure in nanoporous media

Show Author's Information Anqi Shen1,2( ),  Yikun Liu2,  S.M. Farouq Ali1
Department of Petroleum Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, USA
Key Laboratory of Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery of Education Ministry, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing 163318, P. R. China
Keywords:
surface roughness, Spontaneous imbibition, nano-scale, nanoporous media
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Shen A, Liu Y, Farouq Ali S. A model of spontaneous flow driven by capillary pressure in nanoporous media. Capillarity, 2020, 3(1): 1-7. https://doi.org/10.26804/capi.2020.01.01
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Abstract Full text About this article

The spontaneous capillary imbibition phenomenon is a fundamental mechanism in porous media with applications in many fields. In low permeability shale reservoirs, this flow driven by capillary pressure is extremely important due to the predominance of nano-scale pores, which enhance capillary pressure and weaken hydrodynamic viscous force. This paper presents the results of an analytical model for capillary rise in nano-channels by taking into consideration the effect of inherent surface roughness. Model predictions match better with available experiments results. Relevant experiments were carried out on silicon-based nano-channels with rectangular section, which height is between 5 and 50 nm using de-ionized water. Results proved that the capillary rise kinetics in nano-channels follows the modified Lucas-Washburn law. The surface roughness adds extra resistance during the process of capillary rise, which is calculated as an equivalent porous medium layer. The capillary model is extended to porous media using the capillary bundle concept. In this model, imbibition height versus time was defined. Using this equation, the weight of imbibed liquid by spontaneous imbibition can be obtained. The results from this study demonstrate that the spontaneous imbibition in nanoporous media could be scaled and predicted.


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About this article

A model of spontaneous flow driven by capillary pressure in nanoporous media

Show Author's information Anqi Shen1,2( ), Yikun Liu2, S.M. Farouq Ali1
Department of Petroleum Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, USA
Key Laboratory of Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery of Education Ministry, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing 163318, P. R. China

Abstract

The spontaneous capillary imbibition phenomenon is a fundamental mechanism in porous media with applications in many fields. In low permeability shale reservoirs, this flow driven by capillary pressure is extremely important due to the predominance of nano-scale pores, which enhance capillary pressure and weaken hydrodynamic viscous force. This paper presents the results of an analytical model for capillary rise in nano-channels by taking into consideration the effect of inherent surface roughness. Model predictions match better with available experiments results. Relevant experiments were carried out on silicon-based nano-channels with rectangular section, which height is between 5 and 50 nm using de-ionized water. Results proved that the capillary rise kinetics in nano-channels follows the modified Lucas-Washburn law. The surface roughness adds extra resistance during the process of capillary rise, which is calculated as an equivalent porous medium layer. The capillary model is extended to porous media using the capillary bundle concept. In this model, imbibition height versus time was defined. Using this equation, the weight of imbibed liquid by spontaneous imbibition can be obtained. The results from this study demonstrate that the spontaneous imbibition in nanoporous media could be scaled and predicted.

Keywords: surface roughness, Spontaneous imbibition, nano-scale, nanoporous media

References(40)

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Publication history

Received: 06 February 2020
Revised: 24 February 2020
Accepted: 24 February 2020
Published: 27 February 2020
Issue date: March 2020

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© The Author(s) 2020

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the funding of the National Science and Technology Projects (2016ZX05023-005, 2016ZX05010002-004), and the Heilongjiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (E2018017). Additional support came from Northeast Petroleum University (2018GPQZ-12), and International Postdoctoral Exchange Fellowship Program (20190086).

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