Computation of three-phase capillary entry pressures and arc menisci configurations in pore geometries from 2D rock images: A combinatorial approach

We present a semi-analytical, combinatorial approach to compute three-phase capillary entry pressures for gas invasion into pore throats with constant cross-sections of arbitrary shapes that are occupied by oil and/or water. For a specific set of three-phase capillary pressures, geometrically allowed gas/oil, oil/water and gas/water arc menisci are determined by moving two circles in opposite directions along the pore/solid boundary for each fluid pair such that the contact angle is defined at the front circular arcs. Intersections of the two circles determine the geometrically allowed arc menisci for each fluid pair. The resulting interfaces are combined systematically to allow for all geometrically possible three-phase configuration changes. The three-phase extension of the Mayer and Stowe – Princen method is adopted to calculate capillary entry pressures for all determined configuration candidates, from which the most favorable gas invasion configuration is determined. The model is validated by comparing computed three-phase capillary entry pressures and corresponding fluid configurations with analytical solutions in idealized triangular star-shaped pores. It is demonstrated that the model accounts for all scenarios that have been analyzed previously in these shapes. Finally, three-phase capillary entry pressures and associated fluid configurations are computed in throat cross-sections extracted from segmented SEM images of Bentheim sandstone. The computed gas/oil capillary entry pressures account for the expected dependence of oil/water capillary pressure in spreading and non-spreading fluid systems at the considered wetting conditions. Because these geometries are irregular and include constrictions, we introduce three-phase displacements that have not been identified previously in pore-network models that are based on idealized pore shapes. However, in the limited number of pore geometries considered in this work, we find that the favorable displacements are not generically different from those already encountered in network models previously, except that the size and shape of oil layers that are surrounded by gas and water are described more realistically. The significance of the results for describing oil connectivity in porous media accurately can only be evaluated by including throats with more complex cross-sections in three-phase pore-network models.     

Micro-scale experimental investigation of the effect of flow rate on trapping in sandstone and carbonate rock samples

We present the results of a pore-scale experimental study of residual trapping in consolidated sandstone and carbonate rock samples under confining stress. We investigate how the changes in wetting phase flow rate impacts pore-scale distribution of fluids during imbibition in natural, water-wet porous media. We systematically study pore-scale trapping of the nonwetting phase as well as size and distribution of its disconnected globules. Seven sets of drainage-imbibition experiments were performed with brine and oil as the wetting and nonwetting phases, respectively. We utilized a two-phase miniature core-flooding apparatus integrated with an X-ray microtomography system to examine pore-scale fluid distributions in small Bentheimer sandstone (D = 4.9 mm and L = 13 mm) and Gambier limestone (D = 4.4 mm and L = 75 mm) core samples. The results show that with increase in capillary number, the residual oil saturation at the end of the imbibition reduces from 0.46 to 0.20 in Bemtheimer sandstone and from 0.46 to 0.28 in Gambier limestone. We use pore-scale displacement mechanisms, in-situ wettability characteristics, and pore size distribution information to explain the observed capillary desaturation trends. The reduction was believed to be caused by alteration of the order in which pore-scale displacements took place during imbibition. Furthermore, increase in capillary number produced significantly different pore-scale fluid distributions during imbibition. We explored the pore fluid occupancies and studied size and distribution of the trapped oil clusters during different imbibition experiments. The results clearly show that as the capillary number increases, imbibition produces smaller trapped oil globules. In other words, the volume of individual trapped oil globules decreased at higher brine flow rates. Finally, we observed that the pore space in the limestone sample was considerably altered through matrix dissolution at extremely high brine flow rates. This increased the sample porosity from 44% to 62% and permeability from 7.3 D to 80 D. Imbibition in the altered pore space produced lower residual oil saturation (from 0.28 to 0.22) and significantly different distribution of trapped oil globules.     

Impact of chlorites on the wettability of tight oil sandstone reservoirs in the Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation,Ordos Basin,China

Wettability is an essential property of reservoirs that is of great importance for enhancing oil recovery(EOR) and oil migration. The wettability of reservoirs is generally believed to be strongly affected by mineral compositions but it is not always the case. An integrated study of petrography and wettability was carried out to determine the impact of chlorite minerals on the wettability of the sandstone reservoirs in the Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation. Chlorites are found to be commonly present in the reservoir sandstones as detrital grains, rim-shaped cements, and biotite-chloritized forms with the pore peripheries being largely coated by chlorite, which is the main mineral in direct contact with pores. At pore scale, the wetting state of chlorites can either be oil-wet or water-wet in the tight sandstone reservoirs depending on wettability alteration by oil charge. Chlorites in contact with pores occupy a large of proportions of oil-wet pore walls and are crucial for the formation of oil-wetting state of reservoir sandstones. At core scale, the contents of chlorites in direct contact with pores do not correlate well with the AmottHarvey index due to other factors such as heterogeneity, oil-bearing degrees of samples.     

The effect of wettability on capillary trapping in carbonates

We use an organic acid (cyclohexanepentanoic acid) to alter the wettability of three carbonates: Estaillades, Ketton and Portland limestones, and observe the relationship between the initial oil saturation and the residual saturation. We take cores containing oil and a specified initial water saturation and waterflood until 10 pore volumes have been injected. We record the remaining oil saturation as a function of the amount of water injected. In the water-wet case, with no wettability alteration, we observe, as expected, a monotonic increase in the remaining oil saturation with initial saturation. However, when the wettability is altered, we observe an increase, then a decrease, and finally an increase in the trapping curve for Estaillades limestone with a small, but continued, decrease in the remaining saturation as more water is injected. This behavior is indicative of mixed-wet or intermediate-wet conditions, as there is no spontaneous imbibition of oil and water. In contrast, Ketton did not show indications of a significant wettability alteration with a similar observed trapping profile to that observed in the water-wet case. Portland limestone also showed a monotonic increasing trend in remaining saturation with initial saturation but with a higher recovery, and less trapping, than the water-wet case. Again, this is intermediate-wet behavior with no spontaneous imbibition of either oil or water, and slow production of oil after water breakthrough. Finally, we repeat the same experiments but instead we age the three carbonates with a high asphaltenic content and high viscosity crude oil at 70 °C mimicking reservoir conditions. The results show a monotonic increase in residual saturation as a function of initial saturation but with higher recovery than the water-wet cases for Estaillades and Portland, with again no indication of wettability alteration for Ketton. We discuss the results in terms of pore-scale recovery process and contact angle hysteresis. In these experiments, water-saturated micro-porosity appears to protect the solid surfaces from a strong wettability alteration, particularly in Ketton.     

A practical model for mobile, residual, and entrapped NAPL in water-wet porous media

Flow of nonvolatile nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) and aqueous phases that account for mobile, entrapped, and residual NAPL in variably saturated water-wet porous media is modeled and compared against results from detailed laboratory experiments. Residual saturation formation in the vadose zone is a process that is often ignored in multifluid flow simulators, which might cause an overestimation of the volume of NAPL that reaches the ground water. Mobile NAPL is defined as being continuous in the pore space and flows under a pressure gradient or gravitational body force. Entrapped NAPL is defined as being occluded by the aqueous phase, occurring as immobile ganglia surrounded by aqueous phase in the pore space and formed when NAPL is replaced by the aqueous phase. Residual NAPL is defined as immobile, nonwater entrapped NAPL that does not drain from the pore spaces and is conceptualized as being either continuous or discontinuous. Free NAPL comprises mobile and residual NAPL. The numerical model is formulated on mass conservation equations for oil and water, transported via NAPL and aqueous phases through variably saturated porous media. To account for phase transitions, a primary variable switching scheme is implemented for the oil-mass conservation equation over three phase conditions: (1) aqueous or aqueous-gas with dissolved oil, (2) aqueous or aqueous-gas with entrapped NAPL, and (3) aqueous or aqueous gas with free NAPL. Two laboratory-scale column experiments are modeled to verify the numerical model. Comparisons between the numerical simulations and experiments demonstrate the necessity to include the residual NAPL formation process in multifluid flow simulators.     

Structure of residual oil as a function of wettability using pore-network modelling

In the water flooding of mixed-wet porous media, oil may drain down to relatively low residual oil saturations (S_or). Various studies have indicated that such low saturations can only be reached when oil layers in pore corners are included in the pore-scale modelling. These processes within a macroscopic porous medium can be modelled at the pore-scale by incorporating the fundamental physics of capillary dominated displacement within idealised pore network models. Recently, the authors have developed thermodynamic criteria for oil layer existence in pores with non-uniform wettability which takes as input geometrically and topologically representative networks, to calculate realistic S_or values for mixed-wet and oil-wet sandstones [16, 21]. This previous work is developed in this paper to include (i) the visualisation of the 3D structure of this residual oil, and (ii) a statistical analysis of this “residual/remaining” oil. Both the visualisation and the statistical analysis are done under a wide range of wettability conditions, which is reported for the first time in this paper.The structure of residual oil for strongly water wet systems is well known (where residual = remaining oil) and our model agrees with this but this structure changes radically for mixed wet systems (where residual ≠ remaining) and this has not yet been visualised experimentally. We find that for more water-wet systems high final residual oil saturations are reached at relatively small amounts of water injected and this oil is present in the pores as bulk oil. On the other hand, for more oil-wet systems we find a slow decrease of the amount of remaining oil with increasing amounts of injected water. During the process, the remaining connectivity of the oil phase is increasingly provided by oil layers only, hence the slow drainage. The final residual oil saturation, only reached in the theoretical limit of an infinite amount of injected water, is almost entirely contained in large number of (relatively low volume) oil layers, which are present in pores of most radius sizes.     

A three-scale cracking criterion for drying soils

Cracking is a most unwanted development in soil structures undergoing periodic drying and wetting. Desiccation cracks arise in an apparent absence of external forces. Hence, either an internal, self-equilibrated stress pattern resulting from kinematic incompatibilities, or a stress resulting from reaction forces at the constraints appear as a cracking cause, when reaching tensile strength. At a meso-scale, tubular drying pores are considered in the vicinity of a random imperfection, inducing a stress concentration in the presence of significant pore suction. This approach allows one to use the effective stress analysis, which otherwise, away from the stress concentration, usually yields compressive effective stress and hence a physically incompatible criterion for a tensile crack. Recent experiments on idealized configurations of clusters of grains provide geometrical data suggesting that an imperfection as a result of air entry deep into the granular medium penetrates over 4 to 8 internal radii of a typical pore could yield a tensile effective stress sufficient for crack propagation.     

油水双相饱和孔隙模型核磁特性理论研究

利用特征函数展开方法，给出了基于扩散效应的核磁共振Bloch控制方程的弛豫模式解表达式, 在此基础上分别给出了水饱和与油水双相饱和孔隙模型的核磁共振特性模拟结果. 结果表明，孔隙流体的核磁弛豫与孔隙大小、孔隙表面弛豫率、孔隙流体的扩散能力以及含油饱和度等有密切的关系. 对于水饱和孔隙，弛豫时间主要由孔隙大小控制. 当孔隙较大时，即使均匀大小孔隙，孔隙流体的弛豫也会表现为多指数弛豫. 而且最小模式弛豫时间与孔隙大小为非线性关系. 对于油水双相饱和孔隙，在孔隙较小时，含油饱和度对弛豫的影响主要表现在弛豫时间随含油饱和度的增加而线性减小；但在孔隙较大时，含油饱和度的增加对弛豫影响表现在两个方面，其一，孔隙水弛豫由多个弛豫模式控制逐渐转变为由最小弛豫模式控制；其二，孔隙水弛豫时间与含油饱和度表现为非线性关系. 对由实际岩芯抽象出的孔隙模型，采用本文获得的理论公式，在油水双相饱和时进行了正反演模拟. 计算结果与已有的实验结果较为一致.     

Effects of wettability and pore-level displacement on hydrocarbon trapping

We use a three-dimensional mixed-wet random network model representing Berea sandstone to extend our previous work on relative permeability hysteresis during water-alternating-gas (WAG) injection cycles [Suicmez, VS, Piri, M, Blunt, MJ, 2007, Pore-scale simulation of water alternate gas injection, Transport Porous Med 66(3), 259–86]. We compute the trapped hydrocarbon saturation for tertiary water-flooding, which is water injection into different initial gas saturations, S_gi, established by secondary gas injection after primary drainage. Tertiary water-flooding is continued until all the gas and oil is trapped. We study four different wettability conditions: water-wet, weakly water-wet, weakly oil-wet and oil-wet. We demonstrate that the amounts of oil and gas that are trapped show surprising trends with wettability that cannot be captured using previously developed empirical trapping models. We show that the amount of oil that is trapped by water in the presence of gas increases as the medium becomes more oil-wet, which is opposite from that seen for two-phase flow. It is only through a careful analysis of displacement statistics and fluid configurations that these results can be explained. This illustrates the need to have detailed models of the displacement processes that represent the three-phase displacement physics as carefully as possible. Further work is needed to explore the full range of behavior as a function of wettability and displacement path.     

A physical model for dynamic analysis of wine barrel stacks

This paper deals with the earthquake response of wine barrel stacks using a physical model of rigid‐body components with discrete flexible and damped contact elements. An analytical 3D formulation of the complex dynamic behavior of different barrel stack configurations is presented. Such behavior includes the real geometry of the bodies, large displacements and rotations, the use of non‐linear contact elements to account for impact and sliding between bodies, and the resulting local energy dissipation at contact. The parameters defining the physical and mathematical model were calibrated experimentally, and the dynamic behavior of a benchmark barrel stack configuration was compared with the experimental results obtained from the literature. It was found that the model is able to predict the exact mode of collapse and the overall behavior of the system. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An approach to combined rock physics and seismic modelling of fluid substitution effects

The aim of seismic reservoir monitoring is to map the spatial and temporal distributions and contact interfaces of various hydrocarbon fluids and water within a reservoir rock. During the production of hydrocarbons, the fluids produced are generally displaced by an injection fluid. We discuss possible seismic effects which may occur when the pore volume contains two or more fluids. In particular, we investigate the effect of immiscible pore fluids, i.e. when the pore fluids occupy different parts of the pore volume. The modelling of seismic velocities is performed using a differential effective‐medium theory in which the various pore fluids are allowed to occupy the pore space in different ways. The P‐wave velocity is seen to depend strongly on the bulk modulus of the pore fluids in the most compliant (low aspect ratio) pores. Various scenarios of the microscopic fluid distribution across a gas–oil contact (GOC) zone have been designed, and the corresponding seismic properties modelled. Such GOC transition zones generally give diffuse reflection regions instead of the typical distinct GOC interface. Hence, such transition zones generally should be modelled by finite‐difference or finite‐element techniques. We have combined rock physics modelling and seismic modelling to simulate the seismic responses of some gas–oil zones, applying various fluid‐distribution models. The seismic responses may vary both in the reflection time, amplitude and phase characteristics. Our results indicate that when performing a reservoir monitoring experiment, erroneous conclusions about a GOC movement may be drawn if the microscopic fluid‐distribution effects are neglected.     

非均匀动压冲击和停止后产生的瞬时重联过程

在非均匀动压冲击期间和冲击突然停止,可引起等离子体边界层的局部瞬时重联过程．本文用二维可压缩ＭＨＤ数值模拟方法研究了这两个过程．结果表明：当大尺度的均匀横向流从一侧边冲击边界层时,磁力线不弯曲,也不发生磁场重联,只是边界层被推着向下游运动;当局部的非均匀动压（特别是横向剪切流）冲击边界层时,被冲击的同向磁场区磁力线逐渐弯曲,在弯曲的反磁场区,出现磁岛,然后在电流片区发生磁场重联,且逐渐形成准稳态的“反Ｋ型”重联结构;当横向剪切流冲击停止后,边界层区变为非常不稳定的系统,产生多种流体涡旋和流型,并相应地产生多种类型的磁场重联结构,直到涡旋消失变为湍动状态时,磁场拓扑才逐渐恢复到未扰动状态。我们提出,外力作用的突然停止,可能是驱动重联的一种新机制,并对这种重联过程在磁层物理中可能的应用进行了讨论．     

基于Matlab和IPP的黄土孔隙微观结构研究

黄土的孔隙结构是区别于其他土类的重要特点之一,黄土的湿陷、震陷等宏观力学表现与其孔隙结构密切相关。本文开发了利用Matlab和IPP(Image-Pro Plus)软件相结合的方法对黄土微结构图像进行处理,提出了一种基于灰度计算土的三维孔隙率方法,并对青海西宁、甘肃永登、甘肃兰州、宁夏西吉和山西芮城五处场地的原状黄土微观结构进行了定性与定量分析。结果表明:不同地区的Q3黄土微结构往往与地域、深度以及气候条件密切相关。在定性方面,六盘山附近及以东的地区降雨量较为丰富,颗粒以集粒和凝块为主;而六盘山以西的地区气候较为干旱,颗粒之间接触面较小,易形成架空孔隙。在定量方面,在空间上自西北向东南,黄土大孔隙含量增加;在深度上自上至下,黄土颗粒相互靠拢,粒间距离减小,大孔隙含量减小;随着深度的增加,地应力逐渐增大,黄土颗粒和孔隙受到挤压发生转动和变形,中孔隙和大孔隙的椭圆率变小,其中大孔隙变化显著;土体发生重塑,孔隙排列变得有序,孔隙大小以及孔隙面积在各个区域分布相对均匀,分维数和概率熵减小,玫瑰图曲线变得圆滑。     

低渗透复杂润湿性储层电阻率实验及导电机理研究

低渗透岩性油气藏发育的黏土膜吸附原油造成了储层亲油,电阻率异常高,高阻油水层、水层的存在给储层流体性质识别带来了很大挑战.为了明确不同润湿性储层的电阻率响应特征以及微观导电机理,本文选取了鄂尔多斯盆地西部三叠系延长组长8段的岩心,模拟了油驱水、老化和水驱油过程,并测量了岩心薄片洗油后的接触角.实验结果表明,洗油后异常高阻岩心已表现为不完全亲水,然而,其测量的胶结指数m与正常电阻率岩心相差很小.油驱水至束缚水时,正常电阻率岩心的电阻增大率I_r与含水饱和度Sw的关系在双对数坐标下基本表现为直线的关系,而异常高阻岩心则表现为明显的凸曲线特征.且老化过程前后,异常高阻岩心的电阻率基本不变.结合对异常高阻岩心不同状态下的核磁共振T_2谱的分析,表明在油驱水过程中,岩石的润湿性已经向亲油方向发生转变,老化过程对润湿性的改变影响很小.水驱油至残余油时,异常高阻岩心的I_r-S_w曲线表现为近似直线特征,反映出水驱油过程中岩石的导电结构并未发生改变.基于实验结果的分析与讨论,明确了一种适用于低渗透复杂润湿性储层的成藏模式及其导电机理,说明了高阻水层主要是亲油润湿性条件下的连续导电路径遭到破坏造成的.     

Optimized earthquake response of multi‐storey buildings with seismic isolation at various elevations

The response of multi‐storey structures can be controlled under earthquake actions by installing seismic isolators at various storey levels. By vertically distributing isolation devices at various elevations, the designer is provided with numerous options to appropriately adjust the seismic performance of a building. However, introducing seismic isolators at various storey levels is not a straightforward task, as it may lead to favourable or unfavourable structural behaviour depending on a large number of factors. As a consequence, a rather chaotic decision space of seismic isolation configurations arises, within which a favourable solution needs to be located. The search for favourable isolators' configurations is formulated in this work as a single‐objective optimization task. The aim of the optimization process is to minimize the maximum floor acceleration of the building under consideration, while constraints are specified to control the maximum interstorey drift, the maximum base displacement and the total seismic isolation cost. A genetic algorithm is implemented to perform this optimization task, which selectively introduces seismic isolators at various elevations, in order to identify the optimal configuration for the isolators satisfying the pre‐specified constraints. This way, optimized earthquake response of multi‐storey buildings can be obtained. The effectiveness of the proposed optimization procedure in the design of a seismically isolated structure is demonstrated in a numerical study using time‐history analyses of a typical six‐storey building. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

海城、唐山两大地震前后油井生产动态的变化

地震孕育过程可能会影响毗邻震源区的油田,并在其油井的生产动态中有所反映或出现异常.而油井生产过程中产量、压力的变化均受人为因素的影响和控制.只要排除干扰,就可能发现油井动态异常与地震的关系.动态异常主要表现在能量增加、抽油变自喷产液量突增,实质上反映了地震孕育过程中应力积累导致的孔隙液压的变化.如能合理布设深井,长期观测孔隙液压的变化,用来预报地震是有希望的.      

天然气水合物形成条件与含量影响因素的半定量分析

天然气水合物形成条件及其含量的研究是天然气水合物调查研究中最为关心的两个问题.从天然气水合物形成过程的热动力学理论模型出发,半定量地探讨了不同因素（温度、压力、气体组成、孔隙水盐度、沉积物孔隙大小等）对天然气水合物形成作用及含量的影响程度.结果显示,气体组成特别是丙烷的加入对天然气水合物形成的温度和压力条件影响最大,孔隙水盐度也会对天然气水合物形成的温度和压力条件产生重要影响,沉积物孔隙在一定范围内（1×10^-6m～4×10^-8m）对天然气水合物形成的温度和压力条件影响有限.天然气水合物含量受孔隙大小和盐度影响较小,主要只与气体的供应大小有关.