Capillary pressure discontinuities and end effects in homogeneous composite cores: Effect of flow rate and wettability

Conference · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:6974127

Hinkley, R E; Davis, L A

The optimum construction methodology of composite cores for multiphase flow tests is an important practical petrophysical concern. The critical feature of construction is the minimization of saturation disturbances which occur due to capillary pressure discontinuities at individual core segment interfaces. The effect of matrix discontinuities on two-phase flow in homogenous composite cores was studied as a function of flow rate and wettability. Five composite cores, representing a range of wettabilities, were prepared. The composite cores were constructed by splicing multiple core segments with bridging materials of differing wettabilities. Saturation profile data we measured with a microwave saturation scanner during imbibition and drainage floods. The interface between core segments had a strong effect on the saturation distributions when capillary contact was not maintained between contiguous segments. Under drainage conditions at low flow rates, each core segment behaved as though it were an independent core experiencing a strong exit end effect. In steady-state fractional flow experiments this occurred only at fractional flows close to unity. The most effective bridging materials for water-wet Berea were thin paper sheets. No bridging material was found to be completely adequate in an oil-wet environment. In the absence of good capillary contact, increasing the flow rate is a practical remedy for the saturation disturbances.

• Research Organization: Texaco Inc.
• OSTI ID: 6974127
• Report Number(s): CONF-861080-
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
DRAINAGE
DRILL CORES
FLOW RATE
FLUID FLOW
FLUID MECHANICS
FLUIDS
HYDRAULICS
MEASURING METHODS
MECHANICS
MULTIPHASE FLOW
OIL SATURATION
OIL WELLS
PRESSURE GRADIENTS
RESERVOIR FLUIDS
RESERVOIR PRESSURE
RESERVOIR ROCK
ROCKS
SANDSTONES
SATURATION
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
STEADY-STATE CONDITIONS
WATER SATURATION
WELLS
WETTABILITY