Arne Skauge

Heriot-Watt University

Immiscible to miscible transition in 3-phase flow

We have seen the need to perform a systematic analysis of three-phase flow. The lack of comprehensive knowledge of full physics of 3-phase displacements in a porous media asked for a more fundamental systematic approach. This was initiated by the development of a physics-based theory of wettability and transition towards miscibility conditions in three phase flow.

The first effort was to apply multiphase flow in a simple bundle of capillary tube (BCT) model to identify pore occupancies and saturation paths at three phase conditions as a function of different wettability and gases properties from immiscible to miscible state. The next step was to compare the BCT pore phase occupancies to results from three-phase flow experiments.

Currently, an expansion into extracted rock network models will be included in this presentation. This enables phase trapping and calculation of flow functions.