Investigation of Water Imbibition Behavior in Nanopores in Shale Reservoirs

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dc.contributor.advisorChen, Zhangxing (John)
dc.contributor.authorZhang, Linyang
dc.contributor.committeememberHassanzadeh, Hassan
dc.contributor.committeememberSarma, Hemanta
dc.contributor.committeememberKusalik, Peter
dc.contributor.committeememberTsai, Amy
dc.contributor.committeememberChen, Nancy
dc.date2021-06
dc.date.accessioned2021-04-12T20:36:12Z
dc.date.available2021-04-12T20:36:12Z
dc.date.issued2021-04-08
dc.description.abstractShale gas is emerging as an important source of energy supply worldwide. The economic production of shale gas has become feasible because of the increasing global energy demand and advanced multistage hydraulic fracturing technologies. A huge amount of a fracturing fluid is usually injected into a shale formation during a fracturing process, but only a small fraction of the fracturing fluid can be recovered. The main reason for the low recovery of a fracturing fluid is the spontaneous imbibition of the fracturing water into the shale matrix. The current understanding of the water imbibition behavior in shale is still poor, since a pore network of shales is usually complex and heterogeneous, consisting of abundant nanopores. At such confined conditions, a surface to volume ratio is very large and surface forces dominate over volume forces. Therefore, the characteristics of a solid surface have crucial effects on flow properties, and macroscopic hydrodynamic models are insufficient to be applied to water imbibition behavior in shale. To investigate water imbibition behavior in shale and develop its theoretical models, unique properties should be considered, including the slip behavior, an increased viscosity effect, a dynamic contact angle, and the propagation of precursor films. In this thesis, the dynamics of water flow in a quasi-continuum flow regime are investigated. The mechanisms of friction at a liquid-solid interface are firstly investigated, and a relationship between the friction and the slip velocity is established. Moreover, a theoretical model for the effective viscosity of water in nanopores is proposed based on a molecular kinetic Theory, and the factors that affect the effective viscosity are discussed. Besides, a unified model in a quasi-continuum flow regime is established by inserting the effective viscosity model and a slip length model into the traditional Hagen-Poiseuille model. The impact of the wettability condition on the effective viscosity is investigated. Furthermore, the spreading of precursor films is investigated. A model for water imbibition in nanopores is proposed, considering the propagation of the precursor films ahead of a main meniscus. All the models proposed in this thesis have been validated by experimental and simulation results in the literature. The research results in this thesis can be beneficial to an understanding of the water flow behavior in nanopores and will have many applications in the chemical and petroleum industry.en_US
dc.identifier.citationZhang, L. (2021). Investigation of Water Imbibition Behavior in Nanopores in Shale Reservoirs (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/38718
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/113226
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisher.facultySchulich School of Engineeringen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.en_US
dc.subjectfracturing fluiden_US
dc.subjectspontaneous imbibitionen_US
dc.subjectnanoporesen_US
dc.subject.classificationEnergyen_US
dc.subject.classificationEngineering--Chemicalen_US
dc.subject.classificationEngineering--Industrialen_US
dc.subject.classificationEngineering--Petroleumen_US
dc.titleInvestigation of Water Imbibition Behavior in Nanopores in Shale Reservoirsen_US
dc.typedoctoral thesisen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineEngineering – Chemical & Petroleumen_US
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgaryen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrueen_US
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