Browsing by Author "Bray, J. M."

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Magnetic resonance measurement of fluid dynamics and transport in tube flow of a near-critical fluid
(2014-07) Bray, J. M.; Rassi, Erik M.; Seymour, Joseph D.; Codd, Sarah L.
An ability to predict fluid dynamics and transport in supercritical fluids is essential for optimization of applications such as carbon sequestration, enhanced oil recovery, â€œgreenâ€ solvents, and supercritical coolant systems. While much has been done to model supercritical velocity distributions, experimental characterization is sparse, owing in part to a high sensitivity to perturbation by measurement probes. Magnetic resonance (MR) techniques, however, detect signal noninvasively from the fluid molecules and thereby overcome this obstacle to measurement. MR velocity maps and propagators (i.e., probability density functions of displacement) were acquired of a flowing fluid in several regimes about the critical point, providing quantitative data on the transport and fluid dynamics in the system. Hexafluoroethane (C2F6) was pumped at 0.5 ml/min in a cylindrical tube through an MR system, and propagators as well as velocity maps were measured at temperatures and pressures below, near, and above the critical values. It was observed that flow of C2F6 with thermodynamic properties far above or below the critical point had the Poiseuille flow distribution of an incompressible Newtonian fluid. Flows with thermodynamic properties near the critical point exhibit complex flow distributions impacted by buoyancy and viscous forces. The approach to steady state was also observed and found to take the longest near the critical point, but once it was reached, the dynamics were stable and reproducible. These data provide insight into the interplay between the critical phase transition thermodynamics and the fluid dynamics, which control transport processes.
NMR study comparing capillary trapping in Berea sandstone of air, carbon dioxide, and supercritical carbon dioxide after imbibition of water
(2016-02) Prather, Cody A.; Bray, J. M.; Seymour, Joseph D.; Codd, Sarah L.
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques were used to study the capillary trapping mechanisms relevant to carbon sequestration. Capillary trapping is an important mechanism in the initial trapping of supercritical CO2 in the pore structures of deep underground rock formations during the sequestration process. Capillary trapping is considered the most promising trapping option for carbon sequestration. NMR techniques noninvasively monitor the drainage and imbibition of air, CO2, and supercritical CO2 with DI H2O at low capillary numbers in a Berea sandstone rock core under conditions representative of a deep underground saline aquifer. Supercritical CO2 was found to have a lower residual nonwetting (NW) phase saturation than that of air and CO2. Supercritical CO2 behaves differently than gas phase air or CO2 and leads to a reduction in capillary trapping. NMR relaxometry data suggest that the NW phase, i.e., air, CO2, or supercritical CO2, is preferentially trapped in larger pores. This is consistent with snap-off conditions being more favorable in macroscale pores, as NW fluids minimize their contact area with the solid and hence prefer larger pores.