Journal Home > Volume 9 , Issue 1
Capillarity 2023, 9(1): 1-8 https://doi.org/10.46690/capi.2023.10.01
Short Communication | Open Access | Issue | Published: 05 September 2023

The impact of wettability and fluid saturations on multiphase representative elementary volume estimations of micro-porous media

Show Author's Information Shaheryar T. Hussain1,  Klaus Regenauer-Lieb1,2,  Aleksandr Zhuravljov3,  Furqan Hussain1,  Sheikh S. Rahman1 ( )
School of Minerals and Energy Resources Engineering, University of New South Wales, Kensington NSW 2033, Australia
WA School of Mines: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, Kensington WA 6151, Australia
Centre of Innovation for Flow through Porous Media, University of Wyoming, Laramie WY 82071, USA
Keywords:
Permeability, pore scale modelling, asymptotic homogenization, thermodynamic bounds, REV sensitivity
Cite this article:
Hussain ST, Regenauer-Lieb K, Zhuravljov A, et al. The impact of wettability and fluid saturations on multiphase representative elementary volume estimations of micro-porous media. Capillarity, 2023, 9(1): 1-8. https://doi.org/10.46690/capi.2023.10.01
Download citation
EndNote(RIS)
BibTeX

199

Views

5

Downloads

Citations

0

Crossref

N/A

WoS

0

Scopus

N/A

CSCD

Abstract Full text About this article

The occurrence of multi-phase flows in porous media is a complex phenomenon that involves multiple scales, ranging from individual pores to larger continuum scales. Upscaling frameworks have emerged as a response to the need for addressing the disparity between micro-scale processes and macroscopic modelling. Determination of the representative elementary volume is important for understanding fluid dynamics in micro-porous materials. The size of the representative elementary volume for multiphase flow in porous media is significantly affected by wettability and fluid saturations. Previous studies have overlooked this aspect by conducting simulations under conditions of constant medium wettability and fluid saturations. This study uses finite volume simulations with a volume of fluid approach for two distinct asymptotic homogenization methods, namely hydrodynamic bounds of relative permeability and thermodynamic bounds of entropy production. Strong wetting conditions with high wetting phase saturation were found to require a smaller sample size to establish representative elementary volume, while mixed-wettability scenarios necessitate the largest sample sizes. These findings improve our understanding of multiphase fluid flow behaviour in micro-porous materials and aid in enhancing techniques for scaling up observations and predictive modelling in engineering and environmental fields.


menu
Abstract
Full text
Outline
About this article

The impact of wettability and fluid saturations on multiphase representative elementary volume estimations of micro-porous media

Show Author's information Shaheryar T. Hussain1, Klaus Regenauer-Lieb1,2, Aleksandr Zhuravljov3, Furqan Hussain1, Sheikh S. Rahman1 ( )
School of Minerals and Energy Resources Engineering, University of New South Wales, Kensington NSW 2033, Australia
WA School of Mines: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, Kensington WA 6151, Australia
Centre of Innovation for Flow through Porous Media, University of Wyoming, Laramie WY 82071, USA

Abstract

The occurrence of multi-phase flows in porous media is a complex phenomenon that involves multiple scales, ranging from individual pores to larger continuum scales. Upscaling frameworks have emerged as a response to the need for addressing the disparity between micro-scale processes and macroscopic modelling. Determination of the representative elementary volume is important for understanding fluid dynamics in micro-porous materials. The size of the representative elementary volume for multiphase flow in porous media is significantly affected by wettability and fluid saturations. Previous studies have overlooked this aspect by conducting simulations under conditions of constant medium wettability and fluid saturations. This study uses finite volume simulations with a volume of fluid approach for two distinct asymptotic homogenization methods, namely hydrodynamic bounds of relative permeability and thermodynamic bounds of entropy production. Strong wetting conditions with high wetting phase saturation were found to require a smaller sample size to establish representative elementary volume, while mixed-wettability scenarios necessitate the largest sample sizes. These findings improve our understanding of multiphase fluid flow behaviour in micro-porous materials and aid in enhancing techniques for scaling up observations and predictive modelling in engineering and environmental fields.

Keywords: Permeability, pore scale modelling, asymptotic homogenization, thermodynamic bounds, REV sensitivity

References(33)

Alpak, F. O., Berg, S., Zacharoudiou, I. Prediction of fluid topology and relative permeability in imbibition in sandstone rock by direct numerical simulation. Advances in Water Resources, 2018, 122: 49-59.
DOI Google Scholar

Bear, J. Dynamics of fluids in porous media. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 1973, 61(1): 206-208.
DOI Google Scholar

Bultreys, T., De Boever, W., Cnudde, V. Imaging and image-based fluid transport modeling at the pore scale in geological materials: A practical introduction to the current state-of-the-art. Earth-Science Reviews, 2016, 155: 93-128.
DOI Google Scholar

Costanza-Robinson, M. S., Estabrook, B. D., Fouhey, D. F. Representative elementary volume estimation for porosity, moisture saturation, and air-water interfacial areas in unsaturated porous media: Data quality implications. Water Resources Research, 2011, 47(7): W07513.
DOI Google Scholar

Deshpande, S. S., Anumolu, L., Trujillo, M. F. Evaluating the performance of the two-phase flow solver interFoam. Computational Science & Discovery, 2012, 5(1): 014016.
DOI Google Scholar
Gray, W. G., Miller, C. T. Introduction to the Thermodynamically Constrained Averaging Theory for Porous Medium Systems. Cham, Switzerland, Springer Cham, 2014.
DOI
Greenshields, C. OpenFOAM v10 User Guide. 2022.

Guadagnini, A., Blunt, M. J., Riva, M., et al. Statistical scaling of geometric characteristics in millimeter scale natural porous media. Transport in Porous Media, 2014, 101(3): 465-475.
DOI Google Scholar

Huang, R., Herring, A. L., Sheppard, A. Effect of saturation and image resolution on representative elementary volume and topological quantification: An experimental study on bentheimer sandstone using micro-CT. Transport in Porous Media, 2021, 137: 489-518.
DOI Google Scholar

Hussain, S. T., Rahman, S. S., Azim, R. A., et al. Multiphase fluid flow through fractured porous media supported by iInnovative laboratory and numerical methods for estimating relative permeability. Energy & Fuels, 2021, 35(21): 17372-17388.
DOI Google Scholar

Hussain, S. T., Regenauer-Lieb, K., Zhuravljov, A., et al. Asymptotic hydrodynamic homogenization and thermodynamic bounds for upscaling multiphase flow in porous media. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2023, 9(1): 38-53.
DOI Google Scholar

Icardi, M., Boccardo, G., Tempone, R. On the predictivity of pore-scale simulations: Estimating uncertainties with multilevel Monte Carlo. Advances in Water Resources, 2016, 95: 46-60.
DOI Google Scholar

Jackson, S. J., Lin, Q., Krevor, S. Representative elementary volumes, hysteresis, and heterogeneity in multiphase flow from the pore to continuum scale. Water Resources Research, 2020, 56: e2019WR026396.
DOI Google Scholar

Jahanbakhsh, A., Wlodarczyk, K. L., Hand, D. P., et al. Review of microfluidic devices and imaging techniques for fluid flow study in porous geomaterials. Sensors, 2020, 20(14): 4030.
DOI Google Scholar

Janetti, E. B., Riva, M., Guadagnini, A. Effects of pore-Scale geometry and wettability on two-Phase relative permeabilities within elementary cells. Water, 2017, 9(4): 252.
DOI Google Scholar

Kjelstrup, S., Bedeaux, D., Hansen, A., et al. Non-isothermal transport of multi-phase fluids in porous media. The entropy production. Frontiers in Physics, 2018, 6: 126.
DOI Google Scholar

Lanetc, Z., Zhuravljov, A., Jing, Y., et al. Coupling of pore network modelling and volume of fluid methods for multiphase flow in fractured media. Fuel, 2022, 319: 123563.
DOI Google Scholar

Liu, T., Jin, X., Wang, M. Critical resolution and sample size of digital rock analysis for unconventional reservoirs. Energies, 2018, 11(7): 1798.
DOI Google Scholar

Liu, J., Regenauer-Lieb, K. Application of percolation theory to microtomography of rocks. Earth-Science Reviews, 2021, 214: 103519.
DOI Google Scholar

Liu, T., Wang, M. Critical REV size of multiphase flow in porous media for upscaling by pore-scale modeling. Transport in Porous Media, 2022, 144(1): 111-132.
DOI Google Scholar

Liu, T., Zhang, S., Wang, M. Does rheology of bingham fluid influence upscaling of flow through tight porous media? Energies, 2021, 14(3): 680.
DOI Google Scholar

Mahmud, W. M. Impact of salinity and temperature variations on relative permeability and residual oil saturation in neutral-wet sandstone. Capillarity, 2022, 5(2): 23-31.
DOI Google Scholar

Mostaghimi, P., Blunt, M. J., Bijeljic, B. Computations of absolute permeability on micro-CT images. Mathematical Geosciences, 2013, 45: 103-125.
DOI Google Scholar
Moukalled, F., Mangani, L., Darwish, M. The Finite Volume Method in Computational Fluid Dynamics: An Advanced Introduction with OpenFOAM® and Matlab. Cham, Switzerland, Springer Cham, 2016.
DOI

Patankar, S. Numerical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow. Boca Raton, USA, CRC Press, 2018.
DOI

Pirzada, M. A., Zoorabadi, M., Lamei Ramandi, H., et al. CO2 sorption induced damage in coals in unconfined and confined stress states: A micrometer to core scale investigation. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2018, 198: 167-176.
DOI Google Scholar

Porta, G., Chaynikov, S., Riva, M., et al. Upscaling solute transport in porous media from the pore scale to dual- and multicontinuum formulations: Upscaling solute transport to dual continuum formulation. Water Resources Research, 2013, 49(4): 2025-2039.
DOI Google Scholar
Regenauer-Lieb, K., Karrech, A., Chua, H., et al. Entropic bounds for multi-scale and multi-physics coupling in earth sciences, in Beyond the Second Law. edited by R. C. Dewar, C. H. Lineweaver, R. K. Niven, et al. Springer, Berlin, pp. 323-335, 2014.
DOI

Shapoval, A., Alzahrani, M., Xue, W., et al. Oil-water interactions in porous media during fluid displacement: Effect of potential determining ions (PDI) on the formation of in-situ emulsions and oil recovery. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2022, 210: 110079.
DOI Google Scholar

Singh, A., Regenauer-Lieb, K., Walsh, S. D. C., et al. On representative elementary volumes of grayscale micro-CT images of porous media. Geophysical Research Letters, 2020, 47(15): e2020GL088594.
DOI Google Scholar

Werth, C. J., Zhang, C., Brusseau, M. L., et al. A review of non-invasive imaging methods and applications in contaminant hydrogeology research. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 2010, 113(1-4): 1-24.
DOI Google Scholar

Xiao, Y., He, Y., Zheng, J., et al. Modeling of two-phase flow in heterogeneous wet porous media. Capillarity, 2022, 5(3): 41-50.
DOI Google Scholar

Zhao, B., MacMinn, C. W., Primkulov, B. K., et al. Comprehensive comparison of pore-scale models for multiphase flow in porous media. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2019, 116(28): 13799-13806.
DOI Google Scholar
Publication history
Copyright
Acknowledgements
Rights and permissions

Publication history

Received: 01 August 2023
Revised: 16 August 2023
Accepted: 02 September 2023
Published: 05 September 2023
Issue date: October 2023

Copyright

© The Author(s) 2023.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

Shaheryar T. Hussain would like to acknowledge the support from Australian Government and University of New South Wales for providing RTP scholarship of his PhD.

Rights and permissions

This article is distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY-NC-ND) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Return