Pore network modeling of drainage process in patterned porous media: a quasi-static study

Abstract

This work represents a preliminary investigation on the role of wettability conditions on the flow of a two-phase system in porous media. Since such effects have been lumped implicitly in relative permeability-saturation and capillary pressure-saturation relationships, it is quite challenging to isolate its effects explicitly in real porous media applications. However, within the framework of pore network models, it is easy to highlight the effects of wettability conditions on the transport of two-phase systems. We employ quasi-static investigation in which the system undergo slow movement based on slight increment of the imposed pressure. Several numerical experiments of the drainage process are conducted to displace a wetting fluid with a non-wetting one. In all these experiments the network is assigned different scenarios of various wettability patterns. The aim is to show that the drainage process is very much affected by the imposed pattern of wettability. The wettability conditions are imposed by assigning the value of contact angle to each pore throat according to predefined patterns.