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Effects of Velocity and Permeability on Tracer Dispersion in Porous Media

Authors :
Yulong Yang
Tongjing Liu
Yanyue Li
Yuqi Li
Zhenjiang You
Mengting Zuo
Pengxiang Diwu
Rui Wang
Xing Zhang
Jinhui Liang
Source :
Applied Sciences, Vol 11, Iss 10, p 4411 (2021)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2021.

Abstract

During micro-scale tracer flow in porous media, the permeability and fluid velocity significantly affect the fluid dispersion properties of the media. However, the relationships between the dispersion coefficient, permeability, and fluid velocity in core samples are still not clearly understood. Two sets of experiments were designed to study the effects of tracer fluid flow velocity and porous medium permeability on the dispersion phenomenon in a core environment, using natural and sand-filled cores, respectively. From experimental data-fitting by a mathematical model, the relationship between the dispersion coefficient, flow velocity, and permeability was identified, allowing the analysis of the underlying mechanism behind this phenomenon. The results show that a higher volumetric flow rate and lower permeability cause a delay in the tracer breakthrough time and an increase in the dispersion coefficient. The core experimental results show that the dispersion coefficient is negatively correlated with the permeability and positively correlated with the superficial velocity. The corresponding regression equations indicate linear relations between the dispersion coefficient, core permeability, and fluid velocity, resulting from the micron scale of grain diameters in cores. The combination of high velocity and low permeability yields a large dispersion coefficient. The effects of latitudinal dispersion in porous media cannot be ignored in low-permeability cores or formations. These findings can help to improve the understanding of tracer flow in porous media, the design of injection parameters, and the interpretation of tracer concentration distribution in inter-well tracer tests.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20763417
Volume :
11
Issue :
10
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Applied Sciences
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.fa3546b1ffcc4c96a0f933ed88c3acb3
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/app11104411