MINISTERE DE L'ENSEIGNEMENT SUPERIEUR ET DE LA RECHERCHE

SCIENTIFIQUE

UNIVERSITE KASDI-MERBAH OUARGLA

THE FACULTY OF HYDROCARBONS, RENEWABLE ENERGIES,

RENEWABLE

EARTH AND UNIVERSE SCIENCES

PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT

Level: 1st year Master Production Academic

Group: 02+01
Presentation on
Notion of capillary pressure in two-phase equilibrium in a
porous medium

Realized by:

• ABSI Manar
• TAABLI Djouheyna
• ZENNANI Walid
• BEKHDIDJA Abdelfatah

Teacher :_ DJEBASSE

2019/2020
Introduction:

Everybody has seen the flow flow of water into a piece of cloth when it comes into
contact with water or the flow ow of coffee into a sugar cube. All these
phenomena involve movement of two or more immiscible fluids uids in a porous
material, which is referred to as multiphaseflow
multiphase ow in porous media. We can also
find two-phase flow ow in porous media in many technical applications such as fuel
cells, paper pulp drying, food industry, oil recovery, textile industry,

I. DEFINITION OF CAPILLARY PRESSURE :

When two immiscible fluids are in contact,
cont there is a pressure

Discontinuity between the two fluids which depends upon the curvature of the

Interface separating the two fluids. This pressure difference or excess

Pressure is known as the capillary pressure. The pressure on the concave side

Of the
he interface is higher than that on the convex side of the interface. Figure I.1

Shows a curve interface between to immisicible fluids labeled 1 and 2. The

Pressure P2 is greater than P1. The capillary pressure is given by Laplace

Equation (sometimes referred

red to as Young-Laplace
Young equation) as

In Eq.I.1,, r1 and r2 are referred to as the principal radii of curvature of the

Interface. They are mutually perpendicular. The curvature of the interface is

Given by
 Figure I.1.Equilibrium
ibrium at a curved interface between two immiscible fluids.

II. CAPILLARY PRESSURE-SATURATION

PRESSURE SATURATION RELATIONSHIP FOR A
POROUS MEDIUM

Before considering the capillary pressure versus saturation relationship

for a porous medium, it is instructive to consider the relationship for an

idealized medium consisting of a bundle of capillary tubes of varied radii. In

this case, the capillary pressure versus wetting phase saturation relationship

can be calculated. Let the bundle of capillary tubes medium be dipped into

the wetting phase and allowed to attain capillary equilibrium as shown in

Figure I.2.. The wetting fluid will rise to a different elevation (z) above the free

wetting fluid level in each tube depending on its radius as shown in the figure.

Let the model consist of ten capillary tubes with their radii as shown in Table

I.1.
.1. Let the wetting fluid be water with a surface tension of 72 dynes/cm and
a contact angle of 0 with the solid. The non-wetting
non phase is air. The

Equilibrium height of water in each capillary tube can be calculated with

The capillary pressure in each tube is given by Laplace equation as

Figure I.2.. Capillary rise experiment for a bundle of capillary tubes medium.

.1. Capillary Pressure versus Wetting Phase Saturation for Bundle of Capillary Tubes Model.
Table I.1.
Laboratory methods of measuring capillary pressure

Three generally accepted methods of measuring capillary pressure in the laboratory are:

a) The Porous Diaphragm (or restored state) Method

b) The Centrifugal Method

c) The Mercury Injection Method

All three tests are conducted on core plugs cut from reservoir whole core samples. Drilling fluids,
coring fluids, coring procedure, core handling and transportation, storage and experimental
processes can alter the natural state of the core. Therefore, special precautions are necessary to
avoid altering the natural state of the core. If the natural state of saturation of the core had been
altered, then it must be restored to its natural state before conducting any capillary pressure tests.

What Causes Capillary Pressure?

Capillary pressure is as a result of the interfacial tension existing at the interface separating two
immiscible fluids. The interfacial tension itself is caused by the imbalance in the molecular forces of
attraction experienced by the molecules at the surface as shown below.
Conclusion :

Capillary pressure concepts can be used by geologists, petrophysicists, and petroleum engineers to
evaluate the following:

• Reservoir rock quality

• Pay versus nonpaid

• Expected fluid saturations

• Seal capacity (thickness of hydrocarbon column a seal can hold before it leaks)

• Depth of the reservoir fluid contacts

• Thickness of the transition zone

• An approximation of the recovery efficiency during primary or secondary recovery.

Evaluating capillary pressure of potential reservoir and seal rocks is important because capillarity controls
the static distribution of fluids in the reservoir prior to production and remaining hydrocarbons after primary
production