Abstract
In recent years, the use of underground rock has been more complicated and diversified than ever before in the preparation of social capital. For example, there are geological disposal of radioactive waste, carbon dioxide capture and storage, resource development of methane hydrate, etc. It is essential to transport resources efficiently and to operate facilities stably. For that purpose, it is necessary to grasp the fluid permeability in the cracked rock in detail. In the underground rock, gas-liquid two-phase flow exists by gas and liquid, but it has not been fully elucidated. Therefore, in this research, we developed gas-liquid two-phase flow experimental apparatus, and conducted a permeability test, an air permeability test, a water saturation test, and a relative permeability test. Then, we evaluated the validity of the experimental values and the utility of gas-liquid two-phase flow experimental apparatus by regression analysis of the relative permeability test results using the Van Genuchten model. The developed device can simultaneously flush water and air, and can simultaneously measure the discharged water and air. Water is controlled by pressure using a regulator, and air is controlled by flow rate using a mass flow controller. The flow rate is measured by an electronic scale, and the exhaust air flow rate is measured by a mass flow meter. The relative permeability is measured using the developed device using Berea sandstone. The results obtained in this study are compared with the previous studies, and it is thought that the utility of the apparatus and the reproducibility of the experiment could be confirmed by showing similar behavior. It is expected that this will make it possible to study gas-liquid two-phase flow simply.
Multiphase flow in porous media has become important issues in the rock mechanics and rock engineering problems such as geologic sequestration of CO2, methane hydrate, geothermal reservoir, oil and gas reservoir, etc. In order to better understand the transport mechanisms of multiphase flow in porous media, further theoretical and experimental research is still needed. In the multiphase flow, the capillary pressure and relative permeability are the important properties to be measured (Manceau et al., 2015).
In this study, the developed experimental apparatus for simulated two-phase flow of the Berea Sandstone is reported. This experimental apparatus was designed to allow water and airflow into the specimen. Finally, the developed experimental apparatus is used to measure the water saturation test and relative permeability test.
