Quantification of immiscible displacement in a rough-walled fracture through direct visualization

Subsurface substance migration in the fractured rock aquifer is mainly controlled by fractures, and immiscible fluid-fluid displacement in fractures is important to many geophysical processes and engineering activities. Using a fracture-visualization system, we present the qualitative and quantitative assessment of fracture geometry associated with fluid movement and distribution in the rough fracture. Based on fracture geometry and statistical analysis, we first conducted a quantitative study of fracture surface roughness and aperture distribution. Then, fractal dimensions of displacement front and residual oil distribution were determined by image processing procedures. Influenced by wettability and micro-scale roughness, at the end of the displacement, residual oil saturation of molded sample is lower (6.45%-25.74%), and displacement pattern is more uniform, indicating that displacement effect is better. Due to smaller differences in residual oil saturation (9.08%) under different injection directions, the impact of wettability on the displacement process is greater than that of anisotropic roughness. Additionally, the fractal dimension of the displacement front increased under low injection rates initially but decreased when the rate was increased later. Overall, visualized temporal monitoring of experimental images enabled us to provide a preliminary assessment of the impact of anisotropic roughness and the material constituting the fracture wall on invading fluid saturation and the fractal dimension of the displacement front under various injection rates.