Modified Particle Detachment Model for Colloidal Transport in Porous Media

Abstract

Particle detachment from the rock during suspension transport in porous media was widely observed in laboratory corefloods and for flows in natural reservoirs. A new mathematical model for detachment of particles is based on mechanical equilibrium of a particle positioned on the internal cake or matrix surface in the pore space. The torque balance of drag, electrostatic, lifting and gravity forces, acting on the particle from the matrix and the moving fluid, is considered. The torque balance determines maximum retention concentration during the particle capture. The particle torque equilibrium is determined by the dimensionless ratio between the drag and normal forces acting on the particle. The maximum retention function of the dimensionless ratio (dislodging number) closes system of governing equations for colloid transport with particle release. One-dimensional problem of coreflooding by suspension accounting for limited particle retention, controlled by the torque sum, allows for exact solution under the assumptions of constant filtration coefficient and porosity. The explicit formulae permit the calculation of the model parameters (maximum retention concentration, filtration and formation damage coefficients) from the history of the pressure drop across the core during suspension injection. The values for maximum retention concentration, as obtained from two coreflood tests, have been matched with those calculated by the torque balance on the micro scale.