Imperial College London
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ProfessorMartinBlunt

Faculty of Engineering, Department of Earth Science & Engineering

Chair in Flow in Porous Media
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 6500m.blunt Website

 
 
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Location

 

2.38ARoyal School of MinesSouth Kensington Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Mukherjee:2023:10.2118/209445-PA,
author = {Mukherjee, S and Johns, RT and Foroughi, S and Blunt, MJ},
doi = {10.2118/209445-PA},
journal = {SPE Journal},
pages = {653--663},
title = {Fluid-Fluid Interfacial Area and Its Impact on Relative Permeability: A Pore Network Modeling Study},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/209445-PA},
volume = {28},
year = {2023}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Relative permeability (kr) is commonly modeled as an empirical function of phase saturation. Although current empirical models can provide a good match of one or two measured relative permeabilities using saturation alone, they are unable to predict relative permeabilities well when there is hysteresis or when physical properties such as wettability change. Further, current models often result in relative permeability discontinuities that can cause convergence and accuracy problems in simulation. To overcome these problems, recent research has modeled relative permeability as a state function of both saturation (S) and phase connectivity (X). Pore network modeling (PNM) data, however, show small differences in relative permeability for the same S-X value when approached from a different flow direction. This paper examines the impact of one additional Minkowski parameter (Mecke and Arns 2005), the fluid-fluid interfacial area, on relative permeability to identify if that satisfactorily explains this discrepancy. We calculate the total fluid-fluid interfacial areas (IA) during two-phase (oil/water) flow in porous media using PNM. The area is calculated from PNM simulations using the areas associated with corners and throats in pore elements of different shapes. The pore network is modeled after a Bentheimer sandstone, using square, triangular prism, and circular pore shapes. Simulations were conducted for numerous primary drainage (PD) and imbibition cycles at a constant contact angle of 0° for the wetting phase. Simultaneous measurements of capillary pressure, relative permeability, saturation, and phase connectivity are made for each displacement. The fluid-fluid IA is calculated from the PNM capillary pressure, the fluid location in the pore elements, and the pore element dimensional data. The results show that differences in the relative permeability at the same (S, X) point are explained well by differences in the fluid-fluid interfacial area (IA). That is, f
AU  - Mukherjee,S
AU  - Johns,RT
AU  - Foroughi,S
AU  - Blunt,MJ
DO  - 10.2118/209445-PA
EP  - 663
PY  - 2023///
SN  - 1086-055X
SP  - 653
TI  - Fluid-Fluid Interfacial Area and Its Impact on Relative Permeability: A Pore Network Modeling Study
T2  - SPE Journal
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/209445-PA
VL  - 28
ER  -
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