Linking continuum-scale state of wetting to pore-scale contact angles in porous media

TL;DR

This paper establishes a theoretical and experimental link between continuum-scale wetting states and pore-scale contact angles in porous media, using geometrical constraints and measurements from micro-tomography and simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of the Gauss-Bonnet theorem to connect capillary pressure data with pore-scale contact angles, enabling better prediction of wetting states from continuum data.

Findings

Mean pore-scale contact angles can be predicted from petrophysical data.

The framework links continuum-scale measurements to pore-scale geometrical states.

Experimental and simulation data support the proposed geometrical constraints.

Abstract

Wetting phenomena play a key role in flows through porous media. Relative permeability and capillary pressure-saturation functions show a high sensitivity to wettability, which has different definitions at the continuum- and pore-scale. At the continuum-scale, the state of wetting is defined as Amott-Harvey or USBM (United States Bureau of Mines) by capillary pressure drainage and imbibition cycles. At the pore-scale, the concept of contact angle is used, which until recently was not experimentally possible to determine within an opaque porous medium. Recent progress on measurements of pore-scale contact angles by X-ray computed micro-tomography has therefore attracted significant attention in various research communities. In this work, the Gauss-Bonnet theorem is applied to provide a direct link between capillary pressure saturation $P_c(S_w)$ data and measured distributions of pore-scale contact angles. We propose that the wetting state of a porous medium can be described in terms of geometrical arguments that constrain the morphological state of immiscible fluids. The constraint describes the range of possible contact angles and interfacial curvatures that can exist for a given system. We present measurements in a tested sandstone for which the USBM index, $P_c(S_w)$, and pore-scale contact angles are measured. Additional studies are also performed using two-phase Lattice Boltzmann simulations to test a wider range of wetting conditions. We show that mean pore-scale contact angle measurements can be predicted from petrophysical data within a few differences. This provides a general framework on how continuum-scale data can be used to describe the geometrical state of fluids within porous media.