Mechanical Engineering Seminar by Dr. Shima Parsa, 10/13/17
When: Friday,
October 13, 2017
2:00 PM
-
3:00 PM
Where: Textiles Building 101E
Description: Mechanical Engineering Seminar
DATE:
October 13, 2017
TIME:
2:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m.
LOCATION:
Textile Building, Room 101E
SPEAKER:
Dr. Shima Parsa, Postdoctoral Fellow Harvard University, School for Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)
TOPIC:
Polymer Flooding for Enhanced Oil Recovery, a Pore Level Study
ABSTRACT:
Nearly two third of crude oil remains in reservoir after conventional recovery methods are exhausted. To recover the remaining oil, different methods of enhanced recovery are practiced. I directly measure the effects of polymer flooding in enhanced oil recovery using confocal microscopy in 3D micromodel of porous media. Enhanced oil recovery is achieved when using polymers with large molecular weight and concentration above overlap concentration in solution. By matching the index of refraction of the fluids to the porous medium, we are able to visualize the trapped oil ganglia in 3D along with measuring the velocities of the displacing fluid. We find that after polymer flooding the local velocities of the displacing fluid changes heterogeneously in different pores, resulting in additional pressure gradient across some of the trapped oil ganglia and mobilize them. These findings answer one of the fundamental questions about efficacy of polymer flooding of heavy oils and provide direct evidence for the pore level phenomenon resulting in additional oil recovery.
SHORT BIO:
Shima Parsa is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. She studies the dynamics of two phase flow in porous media with application in enhanced oil recovery. She has developed experimental procedure to mimic reservoir recovery in lab at smaller scales with the ability to do full dynamic measurement using optical microscopy. She received her PhD in Physics from Wesleyan university in 2013, where she has investigated the rotation of anisotropic particles in fully developed turbulence. Her research interests are in the areas of fluid mechanics, nonlinear dynamics and soft matter at the intersection of Physics, Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering. http://people.seas.harvard.edu/~sparsa/
For more information please contact:
Dr. Jun Li, MNE Seminar Coordinator
(jun.li@umassd.edu, 508-999-8692)
All are welcome and light refreshments will be served.
Students in MNE-500 are REQUIRED to attend! All other MNE students are encouraged to attend.
Thank you,
Sue Cunha, Administrative Assistant
scunha@umassd.edu
508-999-8492
DATE:
October 13, 2017
TIME:
2:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m.
LOCATION:
Textile Building, Room 101E
SPEAKER:
Dr. Shima Parsa, Postdoctoral Fellow Harvard University, School for Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)
TOPIC:
Polymer Flooding for Enhanced Oil Recovery, a Pore Level Study
ABSTRACT:
Nearly two third of crude oil remains in reservoir after conventional recovery methods are exhausted. To recover the remaining oil, different methods of enhanced recovery are practiced. I directly measure the effects of polymer flooding in enhanced oil recovery using confocal microscopy in 3D micromodel of porous media. Enhanced oil recovery is achieved when using polymers with large molecular weight and concentration above overlap concentration in solution. By matching the index of refraction of the fluids to the porous medium, we are able to visualize the trapped oil ganglia in 3D along with measuring the velocities of the displacing fluid. We find that after polymer flooding the local velocities of the displacing fluid changes heterogeneously in different pores, resulting in additional pressure gradient across some of the trapped oil ganglia and mobilize them. These findings answer one of the fundamental questions about efficacy of polymer flooding of heavy oils and provide direct evidence for the pore level phenomenon resulting in additional oil recovery.
SHORT BIO:
Shima Parsa is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. She studies the dynamics of two phase flow in porous media with application in enhanced oil recovery. She has developed experimental procedure to mimic reservoir recovery in lab at smaller scales with the ability to do full dynamic measurement using optical microscopy. She received her PhD in Physics from Wesleyan university in 2013, where she has investigated the rotation of anisotropic particles in fully developed turbulence. Her research interests are in the areas of fluid mechanics, nonlinear dynamics and soft matter at the intersection of Physics, Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering. http://people.seas.harvard.edu/~sparsa/
For more information please contact:
Dr. Jun Li, MNE Seminar Coordinator
(jun.li@umassd.edu, 508-999-8692)
All are welcome and light refreshments will be served.
Students in MNE-500 are REQUIRED to attend! All other MNE students are encouraged to attend.
Thank you,
Sue Cunha, Administrative Assistant
scunha@umassd.edu
508-999-8492
Topical Areas: Faculty, General Public, Students, University Community, College of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Lectures and Seminars