Regensburg 2013 – scientific programme
Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help
CPP: Fachverband Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik
CPP 34: Poster: Wetting, Micro and Nano Fluidics
CPP 34.11: Poster
Wednesday, March 13, 2013, 16:30–18:30, Poster C
Effect of Wettability on Water-Oil Front Progression in Porous Media — •alen kabdenov1,2, hagen scholl1, kamaljit singh2,3, marco di michiel3, mario scheel3, stephan herminghaus2, and ralf seemann1,2 — 1Saarland University, Experimental Physics, D-66041 Saarbrücken, Germany — 2Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, D-37073 Göttingen, Germany — 3European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, BP 220, F-38043 Grenoble, France
The effect of wettability on the three dimensional water-oil front progression in an initially oil filled porous medium during a water flood is observed in situ using ultrafast synchrotron X-ray tomography. The wettability of the porous media was controlled by using different cleaning and coating procedures, using different bead material or by using a variety of combinations of experimental fluids. It is shown that for smaller contact angles, the front progresses in a compact shape without any oil trapping and a single pore-volume of water flood is sufficient to reach the final state. By contrast, the front roughens in the case of larger contact angles, and forms several enlarged fingers due to front stopping at smaller throats. These fingers bypass several oil filled pore-pockets leading towards significant oil trapping and water flooding of more than three pore-volumes is required to achieve the final oil distribution. The trapped oil ganglia remain in place due to strong interfacial forces which is difficult to overcome in the tested regime of small capillary numbers.