Tomography to Visualize Nanoparticle-Assisted Multiphase Flow in Porous Media

In recent years, the use of nanoparticles for enhanced oil recovery has received interest from numerous researchers, however there still are large knowledge gaps to fill in such a vast and developing field. This paper aims to highlight the effect of nanofluids on flow behaviour and oil recovery by the application of electrical resistance tomography as a monitoring tool. Electrical resistance tomography works by producing a distribution of electrical conductivity in the domain of interest, and furthermore various flows can be differentiated on the principle that each fluid has different electrical properties. Although, electrical resistance tomography may not have the spatial resolution of other imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography, it does have the ability to perform reconstructions in real time due to the advent of fast data acquisition systems. Additionally, the use of cross-correlation software allows for the extraction of local velocity and volumetric flow data. This work reports a study on silicon dioxide nanoparticle assisted water-flooding through a number of electrical resistance tomography coupled sand-packed columns. The use of a gravity feed system to introduce pulsations of flooding fluids allows electrical resistance tomography to track local movements of dispersed phase flow signatures in multiphase flows of oil, water, and nanofluid.