Eventos Anais de eventos
ENCIT 2022
19th Brazilian Congress of Thermal Sciences and Engineering
New approaches in the study of water-oil flow in a PDMS-based porous media micromodel
Submission Author:
Jesús Daniel Fernández , RJ , Venezuela
Co-Authors:
Jesús Daniel Fernández, Clarice de Amorim, Amanda C. S. N. Pessoa, Jorge Antonio Avendaño Benavides, Marcio CARVALHO
Presenter: Jesús Daniel Fernández
doi://10.26678/ABCM.ENCIT2022.CIT22-0268
Abstract
Porous media micromodels have been widely used for pore-scale multiphase flow visualization as they provide a qualitative description of fluid displacement mechanisms through microchannels, constrictions and pores. Besides a refined visualization, the accurate measurement of the pressure drop due exclusively to the porous media is also essential for understanding the physics of fluid mobilization processes. In this research the study of water-oil flow in a PDMS-based porous media micromodel with a random array of straight and constricted microchannels and in-situ pressure drop measurement is presented. Several water-oil injection experiments were performed, monitoring the dynamics of the pressure gradient with coupled transducers, and visualizing the fluid displacement in the porous medium by fluorescence microscopy. The results include steady-state relative permeability curves and non-steady state waterflooding performances. Both oil recovery factors and phase distribution profiles are described based on the operation flow rate, viscosity ratio and surface wettability. Direct observation of the fluid mobilization phenomena at the pore scale improved the physical understanding of the capillary and viscous effects associated with the flow of water and oil in a simple and well-characterized micromodel. This approach opens new opportunities to systematically study pore scale processes in more complex porous networks and fluid systems.
Keywords
Porous media, Micromodels, Two-Phase Flows of Oil and Water, relative permeability, Microfluidics
