Integrating Laboratory-Measured Contact Angles into Time-Dependent Wettability-Adjusted LBM Simulations for Oil–Water Relative Permeability

Integrating Laboratory-Measured Contact Angles into Time-Dependent Wettability-Adjusted LBM Simulations for Oil–Water Relative Permeability

Oil–water relative permeability is essential for reservoir development and enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Traditional core displacement experiments assume static wettability, whereas in real reservoirs, wettability evolves over time due to waterflooding and rock–fluid interactions, significantly alter...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chenglin Liu, Changwei Sun, Ling Dai, Guanqun Wang, Haipeng Shao, Wei Li, Wei Long
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
relative permeability
time-dependent wettability
digital rock
lattice Boltzmann method
contact angle
waterflooding
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/9/2404
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Summary:Oil–water relative permeability is essential for reservoir development and enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Traditional core displacement experiments assume static wettability, whereas in real reservoirs, wettability evolves over time due to waterflooding and rock–fluid interactions, significantly altering flow behavior. Existing numerical methods, including conventional lattice Boltzmann models (LBM), fail to account for these changes and lead to inaccurate predictions. This study integrates laboratory-measured contact angles into a time-dependent wettability-adjusted LBM framework, ensuring real-time wettability updates during simulation. Micro-CT imaging captures oil–water displacement and contact angle evolution at different flooding stages, which are incorporated into the Shan–Chen LBM model. Results show that neglecting the time-dependent wettability overestimates the residual oil saturation and underestimates the water-phase permeability. In contrast, our method reduces the residual oil saturation by up to 35% and expands the two-phase flow region by 15%, aligning closely with experimental observations. This approach enhances the accuracy of relative permeability modeling, providing a more reliable tool for optimizing waterflooding strategies and improving oil recovery efficiency.
ISSN:1996-1073

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