Core and pore scale investigations on immiscible displacement and enhanced oil/heavy-oil recovery under ultrasonic waves

Previous theoretical and experimental works described the acoustic stimulation as a potential method for enhancement of oil recovery. Several mechanisms have been suggested to govern the process of additional oil recovery under acoustic energy; nevertheless more research is needed to understand the exact physics behind the process.;The main focus of this work is to investigate the effects of ultrasonic radiation on immiscible oil displacement in porous media at both pore and core scale and also the influence of ultrasonic energy on enhanced oil recovery. To achieve this, an experimental program investigating (a) oil recovery due to spontaneous imbibition, (b) immiscible oil displacement of oil by water in 2-D sand pack models, (c) pore scale displacement mechanism using nanotechnology-based micro-model, and (d) penetration of ultrasonic waves in different media was designed. In each series of experiments various parameters were changed to monitor their influence on the process. Those parameters include fluid properties (mainly viscosity), porous medium characteristics (mainly wettability), and ultrasonic wave properties (frequency and intensity).;The results helped clarify the effects of ultrasonic energy on oil recovery and---immiscible---displacement mechanics for different rock and fluid properties. We were also able to identify some of the governing oil recovery mechanisms caused by ultrasonic energy for different conditions and limiting factors to apply this technology. This work is hoped to be another footstep for research in this area.