Visualization of acoustically-assisted fluid flow in unconsolidated confined porous media

Abstract

Acoustic techniques can deliver a high-power output in a short range, hence the application of acoustic excitation in conjunction with well stimulation and in-situ recovery methods may facilitate hydrocarbon production. In this work, an experimental apparatus is designed to directly vibrate pore fluids and visualize miscible- and immiscible-flood displacements in unconsolidated, confined porous media. A miscible-flood experiment is provided as an example, where iron oxide nanofluid is injected through a water-saturated sandpack, under both sonicated and silent conditions, to investigate how mechanical excitation influences the transport and retention of nanoparticles in porous media. Keywords: Longitudinal dispersion, Mechanical excitation, Nanofluids, Unconsolidated sands