Wettability  and  contact angle

Imaging two-phase fluid distributions under different wettability states and measuring the contact angles in situ.

Imaging and modelling dissolution

Dynamic imaging and numerical simulation of reactive transport through porous media.

intermittency

Quantification of connectivity of non-wetting phase ganglia in (quasi) steady-state two-phase flow

Direct simulation of two-phase flow through porous media at at small scales

The Imperial College Consortium on Pore-Scale Modelling and Imaging uses innovative methods to image rock samples at micron resolution, and the fluids within the pore spaces, at reservoir conditions of temperature and pressure.  These images are analysed in combination with averaged measurements of pressure differential to obtain both a pore-scale understanding of displacement processes as well as averaged properties, such as relative permeability, curvatures, contact angles, interfacial areas, connectivity and capillary pressure.  The second main strand of our research is to develop a suite of modelling tools – including direct simulation and pore network modelling – to interpret and predict our results, and to explore behaviour outside the range of conditions studied experimentally.  We study multiphase flow in porous media, the effects of wettability and reactive transport.

Deliverables

  • Access to all software developed.
  • Six-monthly project meetings.
  • Copies of all preprints and theses.

Current group members

Martin Blunt, Professor of Flow in Porous Media – overall supervision and theories of multiphase flow in porous media
Branko Bijeljic Principal Research Fellow – multiphase flow and reactive transport
Sajjad Foroughi, Post-doctoral researcher – pore-scale modelling
Sati Asli Gundogar, Post-doctoral researcher – pore-scale modelling and analysis
Linqi Zhu, Visiting Post-doctoral researcher – pore-scale imaging and experiments.
Abdulla Alhosani, 3rd year PhD student – imaging of near-miscible three-phase flow
Luke Giudici, 3rd year PhD student – pore-scale modelling and the effect of wettability
Sepideh Goodarzi, 2nd year PhD student – analysis of hysteresis
Hussein Alzahrani, 2nd year PhD student – surfactant flooding
Abdulaziz Alsaleh, 2nd year PhD student – simulation of polymer flooding
Ademola Adebimpe, 1st year PhD student – pore-scale modelling of intermittency
Jack Ma, 1st year PhD student – application of machine learning to pore-scale modelling
Waleed Dokhon, 1st Year PhD student – hydrogen storage
Ahmed Alzaabi, 1st Year PhD student – carbon dioxide and hydrogen storage
Min Li, Visiting PhD student – modelling flow in gas diffusion layers

Funding

Funding from a consortium of companies is requested at a level of £30,000 per year. The Consortium at present has support from the following companies:

SHELL

JOGMEC

TOTAL

ADNOC

Saudi Aramco

BP

WintershallDEA

INPEX

irocktech

Petricore