Automatic method for estimation of in situ effective contact angle from X-ray micro tomography images of two-phase flow in porous media

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2017.02.005
• Publication Date: 2017-02-08T13:45:16Z
• Authors: Alessio Scanziani; Kamaljit Singh; Martin J. Blunt; Alberto Guadagnini
• Keywords: Capillary pressure; Gaussian curvature; Multiphase flow

Multiphase flow in porous media is strongly influenced by the wettability of system, which affects arrangement interfaces different phases residing pores. We present a method for estimating effective contact angle, quantifies and controls local capillary pressure within complex pore space natural rock samples, based on physical constraint constant curvature interface between two fluids. This algorithm able to extract large number measurements from single core, resulting characteristic distribution situ angle that modelled as truncated Gaussian probability density distribution. The first validated synthetic images, where exact known analytically; then results obtained samples imaged at resolution few microns are compared direct manual assessment. Finally applied X-ray micro computed tomography (micro-CT) scans Ketton cores after waterflooding, display water-wet mixed-wet behaviour. angles characterized terms mixture densities.