Category: Disordered Systems

Categories
image analysis Porous Media

Quantitative Analysis of Experimental and Synthetic Microstructures for Sedimentary Rock

B. Biswal, C. Manwart, R. Hilfer, S. Bakke, P.E. Øren

Physica A 273, 452 (1999)
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4371(99)00248-4

submitted on
Monday, May 17, 1999

A quantitative comparison between the experimental microstructure of a sedimentary rock and three theoretical models for the same rock is presented. The microstructure of the rock sample (Fontainebleau sandstone) was obtained by microtomography. Two of the models are stochastic models based on correlation function reconstruction, and one model is based on sedimentation, compaction and diagenesis combined with input from petrographic analysis. The porosity of all models closely match that of the experimental sample and two models have also the same two point correlation function as the experimental sample. We compute quantitative differences and similarities between the various microstructures by a method based on local porosity theory. Differences are found in the degree of anisotropy, and in fluctuations of porosity and connectivity. The stochastic models differ strongly from the real sandstone in their connectivity properties, and hence need further refinement when used to model transport.



For more information see

url

url
pdf

pdf
html

more
Categories
Porous Media review article Transport Processes

Local Porosity Theory and Stochastic Reconstruction for Porous Media

R. Hilfer

in: Räumliche Statistik und Statistische Physik
edited by: D. Stoyan and K. Mecke
Springer, Berlin, 203 (2000)
10.1007/3-540-45043-2
ISBN: 978-3-642-08725-7

submitted on
Tuesday, February 23, 1999

The paper reviews recent developments in local porosity theory, and discusses its application to the analysis of stochastic reconstruction models for sedimentary rocks. Special emphasis is placed on the geometric observables in local porosity theory and their relation with the Hadwiger theorem from stochastic geometry. In addition recent results for the exact calculation of effective physical transport properties are given for a Fontainebleau sandstone. The calculations pertain to potential type problems such as electrical conduction, dielectric relaxation, diffusion or Darcy flow. The exact results are compared to the approximate parameterfree predictions from local porosity, and are found to be in good agreement.



For more information see

url

url
pdf

pdf
html

html
html

more
Categories
dielectric relaxation electrical conductivity fluid flow Porous Media

Exact and Approximate Calculations for Conductivity of Sandstones

J. Widjajakusuma, C. Manwart, B. Biswal, R. Hilfer

Physica A 270, 325 (1999)
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4371(99)00141-7

submitted on
Tuesday, January 5, 1999

We analyze a three-dimensional pore space reconstruction of Fontainebleau sandstone and calculate from it the effective conductivity using local porosity theory. We compare this result with an exact calculation of the effective conductivity that solves directly the disordered Laplace equation. The prediction of local porosity theory is in good quantitative agreement with the exact result.



For more information see

url

url
pdf

pdf
html

more
Categories
dielectric relaxation diffusion electrical conductivity fluid flow Heterogeneous Materials Porous Media

Quantitative Prediction of Effective Material Properties of Heterogeneous Media

J. Widjajakusuma, B. Biswal, R. Hilfer

Computational Materials Science 16, 70 (1999)
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0927-0256(99)00047-6

submitted on
Thursday, October 8, 1998

Effective electrical conductivity and electrical permittivity of water-saturated natural sandstones are evaluated on the basis of local porosity theory (LPT). In contrast to earlier methods, which characterize the underlying microstructure only through the volume fraction, LPT incorporates geometric information about the stochastic microstructure in terms of local porosity distribution and local percolation probabilities. We compare the prediction of LPT and of traditional effective medium theory with the exact results. The exact results for the conductivity and permittivity are obtained by solving the microscopic mixed boundary value problem for the Maxwell equations in the quasistatic approximation. Contrary to the predictions from effective medium theory, the predictions of LPT are in better quantitative agreement with the exact results.



For more information see

url

url
pdf

pdf
html

more
Categories
Porous Media Simulations

Reconstruction of Random Media Using Monte Carlo Methods

C. Manwart, R. Hilfer

Physical Review E 59, 5596 (1999)
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.59.5596

submitted on
Tuesday, September 8, 1998

A simulated annealing algorithm is applied to the reconstruction of two-dimensional porous media with prescribed correlation functions. The experimental correlation function of an isotropic sample of Fontainebleau sandstone and a synthetic correlation function with damped oscillations are used in the reconstructions. To reduce the numerical effort we follow a proposal suggesting the evaluation of the correlation functions only along certain directions. The results show that this simplification yields significantly different microstructures as compared to a full evaluation of the correlation function. In particular, we find that the simplified reconstruction method introduces an artificial anisotropy that is originally not present.



For more information see

url

url
pdf

pdf
html

more
Categories
image analysis Porous Media Simulations

Microstructure Analysis of Reconstructed Porous Media

B. Biswal, R. Hilfer

Physica A 266, 307 (1999)
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4371(98)00607-4

submitted on
Wednesday, July 15, 1998

We compare the quantitative microstructural properties of Berea Sandstone with stochastic reconstructions of the same sandstone. The comparison is based on local porosity theory. The reconstructions employ Fourier space filtering of Gaussian random fields and match the average porosity and two-point correlation function of the experimental model. Connectivity properties of the stochastic models differ significantly from the experimental model. Reconstruction models with different levels of coarse graining also show different average local connectivity.



For more information see

url

url
pdf

pdf
html

more
Categories
Porous Media Two-Phase Flow

Trapping and Mobilization of Residual Fluid During Capillary Desaturation in Porous Media

L. Anton, R. Hilfer

Physical Review E 59, 6819 (1999)
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.59.6819

submitted on
Tuesday, April 21, 1998

We discuss the problem of trapping and mobilization of nonwetting fluids during immiscible two-phase displacement processes in porous media. Capillary desaturation curves give residual saturations as a function of capillary number. Interpreting capillary numbers as the ratio of viscous to capillary forces the breakpoint in experimental curves contradicts the theoretically predicted force balance. We show that replotting the data against a novel macroscopic capillary number resolves the problem for discontinuous mode displacement.



For more information see

url

url
pdf

pdf
html

more
Categories
image analysis Porous Media Simulations

Threedimensional Local Porosity Analysis of Porous Media

B. Biswal, C. Manwart, R. Hilfer

Physica A 255, 221 (1998)
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4371(98)00111-3

submitted on
Thursday, February 5, 1998

A quantitative comparison of the pore space geometry for three natural sandstones is presented. The comparison is based on local porosity theory which provides a geometric characterization of stochastic microstructures. The characterization focusses on porosity and connectivity fluctuations. Porosity fluctuations are measured using local porosity distributions while connectivity fluctuations are measured using local percolation probabilities. We report the first measurement of local percolation probability functions for experimentally obtained three-dimensional pore space reconstructions. Our results suggest the use of local porosity distributions and percolation probabilities as a quantitative method to compare microstructures of models and experiment.



For more information see

url

url
pdf

pdf
html

more
Categories
Porous Media Two-Phase Flow

Macroscopic Equations of Motion for Two Phase Flow in Porous Media

R. Hilfer

Physical Review E 58, 2090 (1998)
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.58.2090

submitted on
Tuesday, January 20, 1998

The usual macroscopic equations of motion for two-phase immiscible displacement in porous media are known to be physically incomplete because they do not contain the surface tension and surface areas governing capillary phenomena. Therefore, a more general system of macroscopic equations is derived here that incorporates the spatiotemporal variation of interfacial energies. These equations are based on the theory of mixtures in macroscopic continuum mechanics. They include wetting phenomena through surface tensions instead of the traditional use of capillary pressure functions. Relative permeabilities can be identified in this approach that exhibit a complex dependence on the state variables. A capillary pressure function can be identified in equilibrium that shows the qualitative saturation dependence known from experiment. In addition, the proposed equations include a description of the spatiotemporal changes of residual saturations during immiscible displacement.



For more information see

url

url
pdf

pdf
html

more
Categories
fluid flow Porous Media Two-Phase Flow

Old Problems and New Solutions for Multiphase Flow in Porous Media

R. Hilfer, H. Besserer

in: Porous Media: Physics, Mo\-dels, Simulation
edited by: A. Dmitrievsky and M. Panfilov
World Scientific Publ. Co., Singapore, 133-144 (2000)
https://doi.org/10.1142/9789812817617_0008
ISBN: 978-981-02-4126-1

submitted on
Thursday, November 20, 1997

The existing macroscopic equations of motion for multiphase flow in porous media are unsatisfactory in two general respects. On the one hand characteristic experimental features, such as relationships between capillary pressure and saturations, cannot be predicted. On the other hand the theoretical derivation of the equations from the well-known laws of hydrodynamics has not yet been accomplished. In this paper we discuss these deficiencies and present an alternative description which is based on energy balances. Our description includes surface tensions as parameters and interface areas as a new macroscopic state variable. The equations are obtained from general multiphase mixture theory by explicitly accounting for the pairwise character of interfacial energies. For the special case of two immiscible fluids in a porous medium the most important ingredient is the distinction between a connected and a disconnected subphase of each fluid phase. In this way it becomes possible to handle also the spatiotemporal variation of residual saturations. The connection between the new approach and the established formulation is given by identifying a generalized Darcy Law with generalized relative permeabilities. The new equations reproduce qualitatively the saturation dependent behaviour of capillary pressure in gravitational equilibrium.



For more information see

url

url
pdf

pdf
html

more
Categories
Heterogeneous Materials Percolation Porous Media

Local Entropy Characterization of Correlated Random Microstructures

C. Andraud, A. Beghdadi, E. Haslund, R. Hilfer, J. Lafait, B. Virgin

Physica A 235, 307 (1997)
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4371(96)00354-8

submitted on
Tuesday, August 13, 1996

A rigorous connection is established between the local porosity entropy introduced by Boger et al. (Physica A 187 (1992) 55) and the configurational entropy of Andraud et al. (Physica A 207 (1994) 208). These entropies were introduced as morphological descriptors derived from local volume fluctuations in arbitrary correlated microstructures occurring in porous media, composites or other heterogeneous systems. It is found that the entropy lengths at which the entropies assume an extremum become identical for high enough resolution of the underlying configurations. Several examples of porous and heterogeneous media are given which demonstrate the usefulness and importance of this morphological local entropy concept.



For more information see

url

url
pdf

pdf
html

more
Categories
Percolation Porous Media

Local Percolation Probabilities for a Natural Sandstone

R. Hilfer, T. Rage, B. Virgin

Physica A 241, 105 (1997)
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4371(97)00067-8

submitted on
Thursday, July 25, 1996

Local percolation probabilities are used to characterize the connectivity in porous and heterogeneous media. Together with local porosity distributions they allow to predict transport properties. While local porosity distributions are readily obtained, measurements of the local percolation probabilities are more difficult and have not been attempted previously. First measurements of three-dimensional local porosity distributions and percolation probabilities from the pore space reconstruction of a natural sandstone show that theoretical expectations and experimental results are consistent.



For more information see

url

url
pdf

pdf
html

more
Categories
Disordered Systems Fractals Porous Media

Probabilistic Methods, Upscaling and Fractal Statistics in Porous Media

R. Hilfer

Zentralblatt für Geologie und Paläontologie, Teil I 11/12, 1035 (1997)

submitted on
Friday, May 24, 1996

This contribution gives a brief introduction to local porosity theory. It is shown that fractal porosity fluctuations may arise for macroscopic media in a suitable upscaling limit.

html

more
Categories
Percolation Porous Media

Rescaling Relations between Two- and Three Dimensional Local Porosity Distributions for Natural and Artificial Porous Media

B. Virgin, E. Haslund, R. Hilfer

Physica A 232, 1-10 (1996)
https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-4371(96)00131-8

submitted on
Friday, March 29, 1996

Local porosity distributions for a three-dimensional porous medium and local porosity distributions for a two-dimensional plane-section through the medium are generally different. However, for homogeneous and isotropic media having finite correlation lengths, a good degree of correspondence between the two sets of local porosity distributions can be obtained by rescaling lengths, and the mapping associating corresponding distributions can be found from two-dimensional observations alone. The agreement between associated distributions is good as long as the linear extent of the measurement cells involved is somewhat larger than the correlation length, and it improves as the linear extent increases. A simple application of the central limit theorem shows that there must be a correspondence in the limit of very large measurement cells, because the distributions from both sets approach normal distributions. A normal distribution has two independent parameters: the mean and the variance. If the sample is large enough, LPDs from both sets will have the same mean. Therefore corresponding distributions are found by matching variances of two and three dimensional local porosity distributions. The variance can be independently determined from correlation functions. Equating variances leads to a scaling relation for lengths in this limit. Three particular systems are examined in order to show that this scaling behavior persists at smaller length-scales.



For more information see

url

url
pdf

pdf
html

more
Categories
Percolation Porous Media

Local Porosity Theory for the Transition from Microscales to Macroscales in Porous Media

R. Hilfer, B. Virgin, T. Rage

ERCOFTAC Bull. 28, 6 (1996)

submitted on
Monday, February 12, 1996

A quantitative understanding of fluid flow and other transport processes in porous media remains a prerequisite for progress in many disciplines such as hydrology, petroleum technology, chemical engineering, environmental protection, nuclear waste storage, drug transport in biological tissues, catalysis, paleontology, filtration and separation technology to name but a few. While the microscopic equations governing flow and transport in porous media are often well known, the macroscopic laws are usually different and much less understood. Most approaches in computational fluid dynamics for porous media avoid to discuss or control the problems arising in the transition from a microscale (pores) to the macroscale (field or laboratory). As a consequence the upscaling of transport processes, particularly for immiscible fluid-fluid displacement, has remained difficult.



For more information see

url

url
html

more
Categories
Porous Media Transport Processes

Transport and Relaxation Phenomena in Porous Media

R. Hilfer

Advances in Chemical Physics XCII, 299 (1996)
ISBN: 978-0-470-14204-2

submitted on
Tuesday, May 9, 1995

Almost all studies of transport and relaxation in porous media are motivated by one central question. How are the effektive macroscopic transport parameters influenced by the microscopic geometric structure of the medium?



For more information see

url

url
pdf

pdf
html

html
html

more
Categories
dielectric relaxation Disordered Systems Porous Media

Measurement of Local Porosities and Dielectric Dispersion for a Water Saturated Porous Medium

E. Haslund, B.D. Hansen, R. Hilfer, B. Nøst

Journal of Applied Physics 76, 5473 (1994)
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.357205

submitted on
Monday, October 4, 1993

The frequency‐dependent conductivity and dielectric constant of a salt‐water‐saturated porous glass specimen have been measured. The measurements cover the full frequency range of the Maxwell–Wagner dispersion. The experimental results have been compared with the recently introduced local porosity theory and with previous theories. For the purpose of comparing with the local porosity theory experimental measurements of local porosity distributions from digitized pore space images are presented. These experimental porosity distributions are then used for a first experimental test of local porosity theory. The comparison with previous theoretical expressions for the frequency‐dependent effective dielectric function shows that local porosity theory constitutes a significant improvement in the quantitative agreement.



For more information see

url

url
pdf

pdf
html

more
Categories
Disordered Systems fluid flow Porous Media Transport Processes

Local Porosity Theory for Flow in Porous Media

R. Hilfer

Physical Review B 45, 7115 (1992)
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.45.7115

submitted on
Thursday, March 28, 1991

A recently introduced geometric characterization of porous media based on local-porosity distributions and local-percolation probabilities is used to calculate dc permeabilities for porous media. The disorder in porous media is found to be intimately related to the percolation concept. The geometric characterization is shown to open a possibility for understanding experimentally observed scaling relations between permeability, formation factor, specific internal surface, and porosity. In particular, Kozeny’s equation relating effective permeability and bulk porosity and the power lawrelation between permeability and formation factor are analyzed. A simple and general consolidation model is introduced. It is based on the reduction of local porosities and emphasizes the general applicability and flexibility of the local-porosity concept. The theoretical predictions are compared with the experimentally observed range for the exponents, and are found to be in excellent agreement.



For more information see

url

url
pdf

pdf
html

more
Categories
dielectric relaxation Porous Media

Geometric and Dielectric Characterization of Porous Media

R. Hilfer

Physical Review B 44, 60 (1991)
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.44.60

submitted on
Friday, October 12, 1990

This paper introduces local porosity distributions and local percolation probabilities as well-defined and experimentally observable geometric characteristics of general porous media. Based on these concepts the dielectric response is analyzed using the effective-medium approximation and percolation scaling theory. The theoretical origin of static and dynamic scaling laws for the dielectric response including Archie’s law in the low-porosity limit are elucidated. The zero-frequency real dielectric constant is found to diverge as as a power law in the high-porosity limit with an exponent analogous to the cementation exponent. Model calculations are presented for the interplay between geometric characteristics and the frequency-dependent dielectric response. Three purely geometric mechanisms are identified, each of which can give rise to a large dielectric enhancement.



For more information see

url

url
pdf

pdf
html

html
html

more
Categories
Disordered Systems

Frequency Dependent Response and Dynamic Disorder

R. Hilfer

Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids 131–133, 213 (1991)
https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3093(91)90303-N

submitted on
Wednesday, June 20, 1990

This paper discusses selected aspects of the application of dynamic percolation models to ionic transport in mixed-ion superionic conductors. The discussion is based on an AB lattice gas model with hard-core repulsions and a ratio r between the transition rates of particles A and B. The frequency-dependent conductivity for a tracer particle is calculated within an effective-medium theory. The motion of the background B-particles is regarded as providing a fluctuating disordered environment for the tracer particles A. A crossover frequency separating high-frequency and low-frequency response is found which scales with the negative square root of r. The results for the dc-limit are compared with simulations and are found to be in very good agreement.



For more information see

url

url
pdf

pdf
html

more