Jason E. Heath’s research while affiliated with Sandia National Laboratories and other places

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Publications (98)


Utilizing Heat of Wetting to Estimate Physical Properties of Tuff
  • Preprint

January 2024

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5 Reads

Kristopher Kuhlman

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Forest T Good

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Melissa M Mills

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[...]

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Brittney D Seaburn

During characterization efforts of complex sites and geologies, it is important to estimate material properties efficiently and robustly. We present data and modeling related to the heat of wetting process during spontaneous imbibition, as observed in zeolitic tuff. The heat of wetting is due to adsorption of liquid water and water vapor to an oven-dry core sample and results in an observable temperature rise. The fitting of numerical models to imbibition observations allows simultaneous constraint of single-phase (porosity, permeability), two-phase (van Genuchten m and alpha), thermal (thermal diffusivity), and transport (tortuosity) properties from a single imbibition test. Petrographic analysis informs how microstructure connectivity and pore-lining phases affect the imbibition process. Estimating multiple properties simultaneously from a single test on a core sample helps ensure consistency in interpreted material properties. SNL is managed and operated by NTESS under DOE NNSA contract DE-NA0003525 (SAND2023-07021A).



Control of Cement Timing, Mineralogy, and Texture on Hydro-chemo-mechanical Coupling from CO2 Injection into Sandstone: A Synthesis
  • Article
  • Full-text available

December 2023

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116 Reads

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2 Citations

Energies

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) has been widely applied to enhance oil recovery (CO2-EOR). A thorough investigation of the impact of injecting CO2 into a heterogeneous reservoir is critical to understanding the overall reservoir robustness and storage performance. We conducted fifteen flow-through tests on Morrow B sandstone that allowed for chemical reactions between a CO2-rich brackish solution and the sandstones, and four creep/flow-through tests that simultaneously allowed for chemical reactions and stress monitoring. From fluid chemistry and X-ray computed tomography, we found that the dissolution of disseminated cements and the precipitation of iron-rich clays did not significantly affect the permeability and geomechanical properties. Minor changes in mechanical properties from Brazilian and creep tests indicated that the matrix structure was well-supported by early diagenetic quartz overgrowth cement and the reservoir’s compaction history at deep burial depths. However, one sample experienced a dissolution of poikilotopic calcite, leading to a permeability increase and significant tensile strength degradation due to pore opening, which overcame the effect of the early diagenetic cements. We concluded that the Morrow B sandstone reservoir is robust for CO2 injection. Most importantly, cement timing, the abundance and texture of reactive minerals, and the reservoir’s burial history are critical in predicting reservoir robustness and storage capacity for CO2 injection.

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Analytical Solution and Parameter Estimation for Heat of Wetting and Vapor Adsorption During Spontaneous Imbibition in Tuff

January 2023

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14 Reads

An analytical expression is derived for the thermal response observed during spontaneous imbibition of water into a dry core of zeolitic tuff. Sample tortuosity, thermal conductivity, and thermal source strength are estimated from fitting an analytical solution to temperature observations during a single laboratory test. The closed-form analytical solution is derived using Green's functions for heat conduction in the limit of "slow" water movement; that is, when advection of thermal energy with the wetting front is negligible. The solution has four free fitting parameters and is efficient for parameter estimation. Laboratory imbibition data used to constrain the model include a time series of the mass of water imbibed, visual location of the wetting front through time, and temperature time series at six locations. The thermal front reached the end of the core hours before the visible wetting front. Thus, the predominant form of heating during imbibition in this zeolitic tuff is due to vapor adsorption in dry zeolitic rock ahead of the wetting front. The separation of the wetting front and thermal front in this zeolitic tuff is significant, compared to wetting front behavior of most materials reported in the literature. This work is the first interpretation of a thermal imbibition response to estimate transport (tortuosity) and thermal properties (including thermal conductivity) from a single laboratory test.




Using petrographically observable microstructure to predict hydromechanical changes in a complex siliciclastic storage site during CO2 injection

September 2022

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50 Reads

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6 Citations

International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control

The complex geologic history of sandstone CO2 storage sites can result in separate rock units that control chemomechanical weakening. Here we document the chemical and mechanical changes that may occur during CO2 injection operations, linking potential mechanical instability to diagenesis and burial history. Using Southwest Partnership Morrow B sandstone, we combined flow of either a CO2-rich formation water or formation water through experimental cores followed by four indirect tensile strength tests per sample on siderite-chlorite- and kaolinite-cemented lithofacies. Coupled experiments were informed using petrography and µ-X-ray computed tomography. We found alteration of ankerite, siderite, chlorite, and calcite cement, and precipitation of an iron-rich phase in reacted samples. Alteration caused changes in hydraulic properties and elastic velocity, but no change in tensile strength. Tensile strength was maintained due to the low abundance and non-load-bearing texture of ankerite, the stability and precipitation of siderite prior to compaction, and the precipitation of calcite both before and during/after compaction. Results suggests that alteration of the Morrow B sandstone due to CO2 injection will enhance permeability near the wellbore with no increased risk of tensile failure, although intervals cemented with early diagenetic carbonate cement may be more susceptible to compaction. No weakening supports the long term sustainability of CO2 injection for EOR and climate change mitigation in the Farnsworth Unit.


Citations (54)


... Reductions in wave velocity and the dynamic elastic moduli of CO 2 -treated sandstone were reported in studies using ultrasonic wave velocity [78,88,125]. Similar results noting a reduction in the wave velocity of calcite-bearing sandstones after flooding with CO 2 saturated brine was reported by Lamy-Chappuis [116]. ...

Reference:

A Review of Coupled Geochemical–Geomechanical Impacts in Subsurface CO2, H2, and Air Storage Systems
Paragenetic controls on CO2-fluid-rock interaction and weakening in a macroporous-dominated sandstone
  • Citing Article
  • July 2023

Applied Geochemistry

... This implies that the removal and migration of the cement and grains in Upper Morrow B Sandstone do not degrade its mechanical properties. This interpretation is in agreement with Wu et al. (2020) and Simmons et al. (2022) that Upper Morrow B Sandstone is not susceptible to chemo-mechanical interference. In Fig. 12c, we observed a slight trend of Young's modulus decreases with clay content in most rock facies, except for Berea Sandstone and Cane Creek clastic. ...

Using petrographically observable microstructure to predict hydromechanical changes in a complex siliciclastic storage site during CO2 injection
  • Citing Article
  • September 2022

International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control

... It involves intricate molecular interactions between two fluids situated at a solid surface interface and is presented as the movement of fluids in connected pore spaces. It is a significant aspect of fluid dynamics (Lu et al. 2004) and is observed extensively during flow in porous media, including but not limited to, hydrocarbon production in unconventional rocks (Dehghanpour et al. 2013;Abd et al. 2019;Zhou et al. 2023), solute transport in the vadose zone (Kuhlman et al. 2022;Zahasky and Benson 2022), CO 2 storage (Zahasky and Benson 2019;Haghi et al. 2021), and ink wicking on paper during inkjet printing (Aslannejad et al. 2017;Yin et al. 2018). Multiple factors influence spontaneous imbibition including fluid properties such as interfacial tension and density, the contact angle formed at the solid-liquid interface, and the cross-sectional area open to flow (Mason and Morrow 2013). ...

Parameter estimation from spontaneous imbibition into volcanic tuff

... However, the maximum change was about 0.0003% reduction, reinforcing the observation that geochemical reactions did not have significant effects on the caprock. Recent core and thin section analyses have revealed the presence of additional minerals such as siderite, dolomite, and feldspar 31,51 . Therefore, future works should include these minerals. ...

Quantifying chemomechanical reservoir sensitivity to CO2 injection using paragensis flow-through experiments and strength testing at in situ conditions Farnsworth Unit Texas.
  • Citing Conference Paper
  • November 2020

... Much research has shown that reservoir physical parameters, salinity, and boundary conditions all affect pressure changes and CO 2 storage efficiency during CO 2 injection and saline water extraction, and the formation pressure is an important factor limiting CO 2 storage capacity [26][27][28][29][30]. In addition, the injection and output parameters (i.e., maximum injection of CO 2 and the maximum production of salt water) have shown strong differences as the CO 2 -EWR injection production mode changes [31][32][33]. ...

Multiscale Assessment of Caprock Integrity for Geologic Carbon Storage in the Pennsylvanian Farnsworth Unit, Texas, USA

Energies

... The focus of this study was the quantification of the CO 2 and brine leakage potential of legacy wells within the FWU. Geo-cellular models created with characterization data, along with advanced approaches, have been employed to improve the effectiveness of risk quantification [16,22,23]. This manuscript reviews the key conclusions regarding leakage risk and uncertainty assessment and provides insights from the SWP project. ...

Quantitative analysis of the influence of capillary pressure on geologic carbon storage forecasts case study: CO2-EOR in the Anadarko basin, Texas
  • Citing Article
  • July 2021

International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control

... Second, we do not account for many other relevant processes covered in other publications such as detailed chemistry [37,38], multiphase flow [4,39], thermal effects [4,40], and atmospheric conditions [4,7]. These processes are needed to make accurate predictions of breakthroughs following underground explosions, are available within the described modeling framework, and will be included in the future. ...

Heterogeneous multiphase flow properties of volcanic rocks and implications for noble gas transport from underground nuclear explosions

... Stauffer et al. 18 used borehole monitoring data to create a conceptual model of the Pajarito Plateau and the transport of vapor-phase 1,1,1trichloroethane within the Bandelier Tuff. The best fit diffusion coefficients within the Qbt2 tuff ranged from 3−4 × 10 −6 m 2 /s 66 reported experimental values ranging from 1.6 × 10 −8 to 4.9 × 10 −7 m 2 /s for xenon diffusivity within a variety of dry tuffs (strongly welded, partially welded, and zeolitic samples), which are about an order of magnitude lower than our results, possibly due to differences in the structure as tuff is very heterogeneous. FEHM is also used to simulate diffusion in sandstone, where sorption effects are expected to be less than those in tuff at 9 In the sandstone, sorption does not appear to have significant control over transport. ...

An Experimental Method to Measure Gaseous Diffusivity in Tight and Partially Saturated Porous Media via Continuously Monitored Mass Spectrometry

Transport in Porous Media

... This implies that the removal and migration of the cement and grains in Upper Morrow B Sandstone do not degrade its mechanical properties. This interpretation is in agreement with Wu et al. (2020) and Simmons et al. (2022) that Upper Morrow B Sandstone is not susceptible to chemo-mechanical interference. In Fig. 12c, we observed a slight trend of Young's modulus decreases with clay content in most rock facies, except for Berea Sandstone and Cane Creek clastic. ...

Chemo‐mechanical Alterations Induced From CO2 Injection in Carbonate‐Cemented Sandstone: An Experimental Study at 71 °C and 29 MPa

... Persistent homology has been previously used to describe porous materials when the pore space is a complicated network-like shape [25][26][27], further enabling the study of physical processes in disordered materials [28,29]. Topological data analysis has also been used to predict the physical properties of the effective elastic modulus of porous media in rocks [30,31]. ...

Statistical Inference Over Persistent Homology Predicts Fluid Flow in Porous Media