Numerical Simulation of Permeability Change in Wellbore Cement Fractures after Geomechanical Stress and Geochemical Reactions Using X‑ray Computed Tomography Imaging

X-ray microtomography (XMT) imaging combined with three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling technique was used to study the effect of geochemical and geomechanical processes on fracture permeability in composite Portland cement–basalt caprock core samples. The effect of flui...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2016-06, Vol.50 (12), p.6180-6188
Main Authors: Kabilan, Senthil, Jung, Hun Bok, Kuprat, Andrew P, Beck, Anthon N, Varga, Tamas, Fernandez, Carlos A, Um, Wooyong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon Dioxide - chemistry
Carbon Sequestration
Cement
Chemical reactions
CO2 storage
Construction Materials
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory
Flow velocity
Fluid dynamics
Geochemistry
geomechanical process
Permeability
Tomography
Viscosity
Wellbore cement
X-Ray Microtomography
XCT
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Summary:X-ray microtomography (XMT) imaging combined with three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling technique was used to study the effect of geochemical and geomechanical processes on fracture permeability in composite Portland cement–basalt caprock core samples. The effect of fluid density and viscosity and two different pressure gradient conditions on fracture permeability was numerically studied by using fluids with varying density and viscosity and simulating two different pressure gradient conditions. After the application of geomechanical stress but before CO2-reaction, CFD revealed fluid flow increase, which resulted in increased fracture permeability. After CO2-reaction, XMT images displayed preferential precipitation of calcium carbonate within the fractures in the cement matrix and less precipitation in fractures located at the cement–basalt interface. CFD estimated changes in flow profile and differences in absolute values of flow velocity due to different pressure gradients. CFD was able to highlight the profound effect of fluid viscosity on velocity profile and fracture permeability. This study demonstrates the applicability of XMT imaging and CFD as powerful tools for characterizing the hydraulic properties of fractures in a number of applications like geologic carbon sequestration and storage, hydraulic fracturing for shale gas production, and enhanced geothermal systems.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/acs.est.6b00159