title: Photopatterned oil-reservoir micromodels with tailored wetting properties.
abstract: Micromodels with a simplified porous network that represents geological porous media have been used as experimental test beds for multiphase flow studies in the petroleum industry. We present a new method to fabricate reservoir micromodels with heterogeneous wetting properties. Photopatterned, copolymerized microstructures were fabricated in a bottom-up manner. The use of rationally designed copolymers allowed us to tailor the wetting behavior (oleophilic/phobic) of the structures without requiring additional surface modifications. Using this approach, two separate techniques of constructing microstructures and tailoring their wetting behavior are combined in a simple, single-step ultraviolet lithography process. This microstructuring method is fast, economical, and versatile compared with previous fabrication methods used for multi-phase micromodel experiments. The wetting behaviors of the copolymerized microstructures were quantified and demonstrative oil/water immiscible displacement experiments were conducted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Hyundo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Seung Goo
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Patrick S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Doyle