Spatially Distributed Wettability Characterization in Porous Media
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866909673185083392 |
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| author | Aljaberi, Faisal Belhaj, Hadi Foroughi, Sajjad Al-Kobaisi, Mohammed Blunt, Martin |
| author_facet | Aljaberi, Faisal Belhaj, Hadi Foroughi, Sajjad Al-Kobaisi, Mohammed Blunt, Martin |
| contents | An enhanced geometric algorithm for automated pore-by-pore contact angle measurement from micro-CT images, is presented that achieves superior accuracy compared to existing methods through robust fluid-fluid and solid-fluid interface extrapolation. Using this high resolution data, we generate spatially distributed contact angle maps that reveal previously hidden wettability heterogeneity. Our analysis of mixed-wet systems demonstrates the severe limitations of averaged metrics: a sample with a mean contact angle of 64.7 degrees, conventionally classified as uniformly weakly water-wet, exhibits 40% of its pore space in the intermediate-wetting regime (70-110 degrees). This heterogeneity explains the presence of minimal surface interfaces and fundamentally different pore-filling mechanisms operating within the same sample. By providing open-source tools for spatially-resolved wettability characterization, this work enables more accurate predictions of multiphase flow behavior in heterogeneous porous materials, essential for optimizing subsurface energy storage and recovery processes. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_01617 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Spatially Distributed Wettability Characterization in Porous Media Aljaberi, Faisal Belhaj, Hadi Foroughi, Sajjad Al-Kobaisi, Mohammed Blunt, Martin Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science An enhanced geometric algorithm for automated pore-by-pore contact angle measurement from micro-CT images, is presented that achieves superior accuracy compared to existing methods through robust fluid-fluid and solid-fluid interface extrapolation. Using this high resolution data, we generate spatially distributed contact angle maps that reveal previously hidden wettability heterogeneity. Our analysis of mixed-wet systems demonstrates the severe limitations of averaged metrics: a sample with a mean contact angle of 64.7 degrees, conventionally classified as uniformly weakly water-wet, exhibits 40% of its pore space in the intermediate-wetting regime (70-110 degrees). This heterogeneity explains the presence of minimal surface interfaces and fundamentally different pore-filling mechanisms operating within the same sample. By providing open-source tools for spatially-resolved wettability characterization, this work enables more accurate predictions of multiphase flow behavior in heterogeneous porous materials, essential for optimizing subsurface energy storage and recovery processes. |
| title | Spatially Distributed Wettability Characterization in Porous Media |
| topic | Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.01617 |