Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Porosity, Hydraulic Conductivity, Strength, and Flow Rate on Fluid Flow in Weakly Cemented Bio-Treated Sands
Fluid injection in a porous medium is the underlying mechanism for many applications in the fields of groundwater hydraulics, hydrology and hydrogeology, and geo-environmental engineering and in the oil and gas industry. Fluid flow experiments in porous media with a viscous fluid at varying injectio...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Hydrology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/9/11/190 |
| _version_ | 1797468064910934016 |
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| author | Charalampos Konstantinou Giovanna Biscontin |
| author_facet | Charalampos Konstantinou Giovanna Biscontin |
| author_sort | Charalampos Konstantinou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Fluid injection in a porous medium is the underlying mechanism for many applications in the fields of groundwater hydraulics, hydrology and hydrogeology, and geo-environmental engineering and in the oil and gas industry. Fluid flow experiments in porous media with a viscous fluid at varying injection rates were conducted in a modified Hele-Shaw setup. The granular media were three-dimensional bio-cemented sands of various grain sizes across various cementation levels, generating a matrix of various hydraulic conductivities, porosities, and strengths. The fluid injection experiments showed that a cavity-like fracture developed, which transitioned to crack-like fractures at higher cementation levels (hence, higher strength). As the flow rate increased, less infiltration was evident and higher breakdown pressure was observed, with propagation pressure reducing to zero. It was harder to induce an opening in cemented specimens with higher hydraulic conductivity and a larger pore network despite their lower strength due to excessive infiltration dominance, which inhibited the build-up of pressure required to generate a fracture. The results of this study suggest that, when designing fluid injection programs, the combined effects of hydraulic conductivity and strength need to be carefully considered. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:02:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-196360b25d8449f888d8d4d77c2d95e7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2306-5338 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:02:14Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Hydrology |
| spelling | doaj.art-196360b25d8449f888d8d4d77c2d95e72023-11-24T04:53:35ZengMDPI AGHydrology2306-53382022-10-0191119010.3390/hydrology9110190Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Porosity, Hydraulic Conductivity, Strength, and Flow Rate on Fluid Flow in Weakly Cemented Bio-Treated SandsCharalampos Konstantinou0Giovanna Biscontin1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Cyprus, 1678 Nicosia, CyprusDepartment of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, UKFluid injection in a porous medium is the underlying mechanism for many applications in the fields of groundwater hydraulics, hydrology and hydrogeology, and geo-environmental engineering and in the oil and gas industry. Fluid flow experiments in porous media with a viscous fluid at varying injection rates were conducted in a modified Hele-Shaw setup. The granular media were three-dimensional bio-cemented sands of various grain sizes across various cementation levels, generating a matrix of various hydraulic conductivities, porosities, and strengths. The fluid injection experiments showed that a cavity-like fracture developed, which transitioned to crack-like fractures at higher cementation levels (hence, higher strength). As the flow rate increased, less infiltration was evident and higher breakdown pressure was observed, with propagation pressure reducing to zero. It was harder to induce an opening in cemented specimens with higher hydraulic conductivity and a larger pore network despite their lower strength due to excessive infiltration dominance, which inhibited the build-up of pressure required to generate a fracture. The results of this study suggest that, when designing fluid injection programs, the combined effects of hydraulic conductivity and strength need to be carefully considered.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/9/11/190flow in porous mediagroundwater hydrologyhydraulic conductivitystrengthporositypore network |
| spellingShingle | Charalampos Konstantinou Giovanna Biscontin Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Porosity, Hydraulic Conductivity, Strength, and Flow Rate on Fluid Flow in Weakly Cemented Bio-Treated Sands Hydrology flow in porous media groundwater hydrology hydraulic conductivity strength porosity pore network |
| title | Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Porosity, Hydraulic Conductivity, Strength, and Flow Rate on Fluid Flow in Weakly Cemented Bio-Treated Sands |
| title_full | Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Porosity, Hydraulic Conductivity, Strength, and Flow Rate on Fluid Flow in Weakly Cemented Bio-Treated Sands |
| title_fullStr | Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Porosity, Hydraulic Conductivity, Strength, and Flow Rate on Fluid Flow in Weakly Cemented Bio-Treated Sands |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Porosity, Hydraulic Conductivity, Strength, and Flow Rate on Fluid Flow in Weakly Cemented Bio-Treated Sands |
| title_short | Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Porosity, Hydraulic Conductivity, Strength, and Flow Rate on Fluid Flow in Weakly Cemented Bio-Treated Sands |
| title_sort | experimental investigation of the effects of porosity hydraulic conductivity strength and flow rate on fluid flow in weakly cemented bio treated sands |
| topic | flow in porous media groundwater hydrology hydraulic conductivity strength porosity pore network |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/9/11/190 |
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