34 research outputs found

    The Brooks and Corey Capillary Pressure Model Revisited from Pore Network Simulations of Capillarity-Controlled Invasion Percolation Process

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    Relating the macroscopic properties of porous media such as capillary pressure with saturation is an on-going problem in many fields, but examining their correlations with microstructural traits of the porous medium is a challenging task due to the heterogeneity of the solid matrix and the limitations of laboratory instruments. Considering a capillarity-controlled invasion percolation process, we examined the macroscopic properties as functions of matrix saturation and pore structure by applying the throat and pore network model. We obtained a relationship of the capillary pressure with the effective saturation from systematic pore network simulations. Then, we revisited and identified the microstructure parameters in the Brooks and Corey capillary pressure model. The wetting phase residual saturation is related to the ratio of standard deviation to the mean radius, the ratio of pore radius to the throat length, and pore connectivity. The size distribution index in the Brooks and Corey capillary pressure model should be more reasonably considered as a meniscus size distribution index rather than a pore size distribution index, relating this parameter with the invasion process and the structural properties. The size distribution index is associated with pore connectivity and the ratio of standard deviation to mean radius (σ0/r¯), increasing with the decline of σ0/r¯ but the same for networks with same σ0/r¯. The identified parameters of the Brooks and Corey model might be further utilized for correlations with other transport properties such as permeability

    Discrimination between Pore and Throat Resistances against Single-Phase Flow in Porous Media

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    This study investigates the critical agents that cause non-Darrian flow in porous media. Four porous media different in morphology but similar in topology were studied numerically. By varying the throat diameters, the distinct roles of pores and throats in total dissipation were investigated using direct numerical simulation. Forchheimer model was selected to analyze the non-Darcian flow. In our simplified geometry, the ratio KappKD can best be correlated by non-Darcy effect (E). Total dissipation is directly related to the porous medium resistance against fluid flow. The energy dissipated in pores and throats was calculated by summing the dissipation in each computational segment. Pores are more prone to disobey the Darcy model than throats due to irregularity in fluid flow, and they are introduced as the cause of Darcy-model cessation. By increasing the pore-to-throat ratio, the non-Darcian flow in the pores begins sooner. The results show that the energy dissipation due to eddies is negligible. The dissipation in pores and throats was simulated through separate power-law equations, and their exponents were also extracted. The exponent for the pore body is equal to two when the viscous forces are dominant, and it increases by increasing the inertia force. The dissipation due to pore bodies is more apparent when the size of pore and throats are of the same order of magnitude. The relative losses of pore body increase as the velocity increases, in contrast to throats
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