Investigation of the rheology and transport of polymers in porous media using network models
Polymers have been used in improved oil recovery operations as mobility control agents in surfactant and polymer flooding and in gel treatments. In order to predict the outcome of such processes, it is necessary to have a good understanding of the rheology and transport of polymer solutions in porous media. The rheological behavior refers essentially to the pressure drop/flow rate relationship observed for the polymer solution in the porous medium. It is relatively straightforward to measure rheological properties of bulk polymer solutions such as the viscosity/shear rate behavior or, for elastic fluids, the normal stress differences. However, the pressure drop/flow rate behavior of the polymers in flow through porous media may be either qualitatively quite similar or very different from bulk flow behavior as measured, for example, in a capillary viscometer. In both the rheology and dispersion behavior of polymers in porous media, they see that the phenomenon being observed macroscopically is a result of the interaction between a fluid or molecular property and the stochastic nature of the porous medium at the microscopic level. If one views the porous medium as a network of joined capillaries, then the rheological behavior in each capillary will be quite well defined, e.g. through a single constitutive relationship. In the investigation of hydrodynamic dispersion of polymer and tracer in porous media, the role of the stochastic nature of the medium is clearly evident.
- Research Organization:
- AEE Winfrith, Dorchester, Dorset DT2 8DH (GB)
- OSTI ID:
- 6681281
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-880659-
- Journal Information:
- Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Pet. Chem., Prepr.; (United States), Vol. 33:1; Conference: ACS symposium on advances in oil field chemistry, Toronto, Canada, 5 Jun 1988
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
HYDROPHYLIC POLYMERS
RHEOLOGY
PETROLEUM
ENHANCED RECOVERY
POROUS MATERIALS
FLUID FLOW
CHLORIDES
CONTROL
DISPERSIONS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
MICROEMULSION FLOODING
MOBILITY
OIL WELLS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
VISCOSITY
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
COLLOIDS
DATA
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GELS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
MATERIALS
MISCIBLE-PHASE DISPLACEMENT
NUMERICAL DATA
POLYMERS
RECOVERY
WELLS
020300* - Petroleum- Drilling & Production
400201 - Chemical & Physicochemical Properties