Journal Article

Mineral dissolution and wormholing from a pore-scale perspective

Kovscek, Anthony, Roman, Sophie, Soulaine, Cyprien, Tchelepi, Hamdi A.

2017

Overview

A micro-continuum approach is proposed to simulate the dissolution of solid minerals at the pore scale under single-phase flow conditions. The approach employs a Darcy–Brinkman–Stokes formulation and locally averaged conservation laws combined with immersed boundary conditions for the chemical reaction at the solid surface. The methodology compares well with the arbitrary-Lagrangian–Eulerian technique. The simulation framework is validated using an experimental microfluidic device to image the dissolution of a single calcite crystal. The evolution of the calcite crystal during the acidizing process is analysed and related to the flow conditions. Macroscopic laws for the dissolution rate are proposed by upscaling the pore-scale simulations. Finally, the emergence of wormholes during the injection of acid in a two-dimensional domain of calcite grains is discussed based on pore-scale simulations.

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press,Cambridge University Press (CUP)
• Subject: Aquifers / bio-inspired, mechanical behavior, carbon sequestration / Boundary conditions / Calcite / Chemical reactions / Computational fluid dynamics / Conservation laws / Dissolution / Dissolving / Engineering / Finite volume method / Fluids / Frameworks / Minerals / Navier-Stokes equations / Oil recovery / Permeability / Physics / Simulation / Single-phase flow / Stokes law (fluid mechanics) / Stone / Wormholes