Imperial College London
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DrBrankoBijeljic

Faculty of Engineering, Department of Earth Science & Engineering

Principal Research Fellow
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 6420b.bijeljic

 
 
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Location

 

2.53Royal School of MinesSouth Kensington Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Alhosani:2021:10.1029/2021wr031147,
author = {Alhosani, A and Selem, AM and Lin, Q and Bijeljic, B and Blunt, MJ},
doi = {10.1029/2021wr031147},
journal = {Water Resources Research},
pages = {1--26},
title = {Disconnected gas transport in steadystate threephase flow},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2021wr031147},
volume = {57},
year = {2021}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - We use high-resolution three-dimensional X-ray microtomography to investigate fluid displacement during steady-state three-phase flow in a cm-sized water-wet sandstone rock sample. The pressure differential across the sample is measured which enables the determination of relative permeability; capillary pressure is also estimated from the interfacial curvature. Though the measured relative permeabilities are consistent, to within experimental uncertainty, with values obtained without imaging on larger samples, we discover a unique flow dynamics. The most non-wetting phase (gas) is disconnected across the system: gas flows by periodically opening critical flow pathways in intermediate-sized pores. While this phenomenon has been observed in two-phase flow, here it is significant at low flow rates, where capillary forces dominate at the pore-scale. Gas movement proceeds in a series of double and multiple displacement events. Implications for the design of three-phase flow processes and current empirical models are discussed: the traditional conceptualization of three-phase dynamics based on analogies to two-phase flow vastly over-estimates the connectivity and flow potential of the gas phase.
AU  - Alhosani,A
AU  - Selem,AM
AU  - Lin,Q
AU  - Bijeljic,B
AU  - Blunt,MJ
DO  - 10.1029/2021wr031147
EP  - 26
PY  - 2021///
SN  - 0043-1397
SP  - 1
TI  - Disconnected gas transport in steadystate threephase flow
T2  - Water Resources Research
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2021wr031147
UR  - https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021WR031147
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/93274
VL  - 57
ER  -
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