Pore-scale contact angle measurements at reservoir conditions using X-ray microtomography
File(s)Andrew et al AWR 2014.pdf (2.61 MB)
Published version
Author(s)
Andrew, Matthew
Bijeljic, Branko
Blunt, Martin J
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Contact angle is a principal control of the flow of multiple fluid phases through porous media; however its measurement on other than flat surfaces remains a challenge. A new method is presented for the measurement of the contact angle between immiscible fluids at the pore scale at reservoir conditions (10 MPa and 50 °C) inside a quarry limestone through the use of X-ray microtomography. It is applied to a super-critical CO2–brine–carbonate system by resampling the micro-CT data onto planes orthogonal to the contact lines, allowing for vectors to be traced along the grain surface and the CO2–brine interface. A distribution of contact angles ranging from 35° to 55° is observed, indicating that the CO2–brine–carbonate system is weakly water-wet. This range of contact angles can be understood as the result of contact angle hysteresis and surface heterogeneity on a range of length scales. Surface heterogeneity is examined by comparison of micro-CT results with optical thin sections and SEM images.
Date Issued
2014-06-01
Date Acceptance
2014-02-25
Citation
Advances in Water Resources, 2014, 68 (1), pp.24-31
ISSN
0309-1708
Publisher
Elsevier
Start Page
24
End Page
31
Journal / Book Title
Advances in Water Resources
Volume
68
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-SA license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/)
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000334856200003&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Water Resources
Porescale
Micro-CT
Reservoir condition
Contact angle
CAPILLARY-PRESSURE
INTERFACIAL-TENSION
HYDRATE FORMATION
CARBON-DIOXIDE
CO2
WETTABILITY
SURFACTANT
SYSTEM
WATER
SEQUESTRATION
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2014-03-12