Development of experimental and numerical models to predict the behavior of Kinetic Interface Sensitive (KIS) tracers for multiphase flow in porous media systems - A novel reactive tracer to measure fluid-fluid interfacial area in both static and dynamic conditions
by Hiwa Abdullah
Date of Examination:2024-01-08
Date of issue:2024-04-12
Advisor:Prof. Dr. Martin Sauter
Referee:Prof. Dr. Inga Moeck
Referee:Prof. Dr. Leonhard Ganzer
Referee:Prof. Dr. Volker Thiel
Referee:Dr. Alexandru Tatomir
Referee:Dr. Bettina Wiegand
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Abstract
English
An important aspect of understanding the behavior of a two-phase flow system is detecting and measuring the Fluid-Fluid Interfacial Area (FIFA). For example, in underground Gas/Oil/CO2 storage where two phases can co-exist, evaluating FIFA can be critical to assess capillary trapping and remaining oil in place. Therefore, a novel reactive tracer named Kinetic Interface Sensitive Tracer (KIS) is developed to measure the FIFA in both static and dynamic conditions in a porous media during two-phase flow. In this thesis, we present a series of column-scale static and dynamic experiments, along with numerical investigations to explore the reactive transport of the KIS tracer and validate its effectiveness in detecting and quantifying FIFA. At the column scale, a series of column experiments are performed to assess the FIFA in steady-state two-phase co-flow conditions. The specific capillary-associated FIFA is measured for well-characterized glass beads by recording the KIS tracer’s by-product at different saturations. The measured capillary-associated FIFA is found to be consistent with literature data, therefore validating the concept of the KIS tracer applied in steady-state conditions. Furthermore, a batch of drainage column experiments are performed employing the KIS tracer on numerous porous media comprised of natural sand and glass beads, which have different sizes, roughness, and surface texture. The experiments measure the specific capillary associated FIFA by analyzing the breakthrough curve (BTC) of the KIS tracer, and the interpretation of the curve can indicate the type of porous media. The measured specific capillary associated FIFA was found to be larger for sands with smaller grain sizes and sands with rougher surfaces. Through these experiments, the concept of the KIS tracer is validated, and the application of the tracer is expanded to a more complex porous medium. Additionally, a macro-scale reactive transport model is employed to study the impact of flow regimes and heterogeneity in a 2D sand flume compromised of two different porous media. An analysis of the BTC of the KIS tracer demonstrates the changes of the slope of the BTC caused by the different flow regimes and the heterogenous media, and a relationship between the deformed slope and the average FIFA is found. Besides, a pore scale study is perfomed to investigate the capillary associated interfacial area during primary drainage in different flow regimes. Three cases are considered that belong to the regimes of stable displacement, crossover zone and viscous-fingering.
Keywords: Steady-state two phase flow; kinetic interface-sensitive tracer; Reactive tracers