Studies

Liquid displacement: Pattern formed by one liquid displacing another in a flat, porous medium. In this experiment, every continuous area of liquid has its own color. Picture courtesy: Department of Physics, UiO.

PoreLab offers projects for both PhD and Master degrees. PhD positions are announced regularly under www.jobbnorge.no and other medias. Master students who are interested in developing a project with PoreLab are invited to take contact with the Center members / Project Initiators (PIs). Examples of master projects are given at the bottom of this page.

Two special courses are offered as part of the PhD program. The courses are offered at both universities, UiO and NTNU, with a double code.

PoreLab course 1: FYS4465/FYS9465 at UiO or KJ8210 at NTNU

Theory and simulation of flows in complex media

Background assumed: Equilibrium statistical mechanics. Some students may know about diffusion/Langevin equations/basic theory of Onsager reciprocity relations, others will know the Boltzmann equation. Goal: Bring the student to understand the hydrodynamics of flows in porous media, including thermal gradients and concentration gradients. Also, the student will get a toolbox to simulate the flow in porous media on different scales. The course will support the experimental course in PoreLab.

During the fall 2018, the courses are held in Oslo at the 4th floor in the west wing of the Physics Building (V414), University of Oslo, with a video connection in Trondheim from our meeting room at our PoreLab offices (S.P. Andersens vei 15 B, PTS2, 2nd floor.) every Monday and Wednesday from 10:15 to 12:15.

The compendium for the course is available here.

PoreLab course 2: FYS4420/FYS9420 at UiO or PG8605/TPG4565 at NTNU

PoreLab course 2 is organised through 2 courses, one at UiO and the other one at NTNU.

Experimental techniques in condensed matter physics (FYS4420/FYS9420 at UiO)

The course contains four projects that will give students introduction to important experimental techniques in the field of condensed matter physics. The course is adapted to the center of excellence PoreLab with a special focus on porous media physics.

Dual Porosity reservoirs (PG8605 at NTNU) or Petroleum Engineering, Specialization Course (TPG4565 at NTNU)

Methods for analyzing flow of fluids in dual porosity (fractured) reservoirs. Subjects covered are: Classification of reservoirs with dual porosity. Physical properties with emphasis on absolute and relative permeability and capillary pressure. Modeling of one- and two-phase flow. Drive mechanisms with emphasis on water drive (spontaneous and forced imbibition). Production models.

Within the research fields of PoreLab, NTNU and UiO offer as well the following courses:

TPG4112 – Geomechanics and Flow in Porous Media, at the Department of Geoscience and Petroleum, NTNU
TKJ4200 – Irreversible Thermodynamics, at the department of Chemistry, NTNU
FYS4130 – Statistical Mechanics, at the department of Physics, University of Oslo
TFY4230 – Statistical Physics, at the department of Physics, NTNU
PG8607 – Numerical Methods in Reservoir Simulation, at the Department of Geoscience and Petroleum, NTNU
TPG 4115 – Reservoir Property Determination by Core Analysis and Well Testing, at the Department of Geoscience and Petroleum, NTNU
TPG 4160 – Reservoir Simulation, at the Department of Geoscience and Petroleum, NTNU

Examples of master degree projects

Pressure fluctuations in porous media flows, UiO

Influence of flow speed on the pore invasion dynamics, UiO

Projects in Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics, NTNU

Steady state two phase flow experiments in 3D, UiO

CO₂ storage and stability of convection plumes in model aquifers, UiO

Modeling a cyclic granular plug formation process, UiO

Fast deformation and fracturing during fluid injection into a porous reservoir model, UiO

Granular plug dynamics in confined geometry, UiO

Steady state two phase flow in a gravitational field, UiO

From statistical distribution of the two-phase system to the overall permeability, NTNU

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On March the 19th, Benoit Cordonnier, researcher at the section of Physics of Geological Processes at UiO, specialist for CT studies in porous media, will give a presentation at 14:00 with the following title: Investigation of porous rocks under X-ray and neutron sources.

Summary:

Investigation of the flow properties in porous rocks is critical for the understanding of groundwater movement, the displacement of contaminants, subsurface waste storage, geothermal energy, enhanced oil and gas recovery, and natural and induced seismicity. Key parameters which control the variability of fluid flow and the movement of dissolved chemical species are i) the local hydraulic conductivity controlled by the porous media characteristics and the evolution of its permeability, and ii) the local adsorption properties of the dissolved chemical species which interacts with the solid matrix. These parameters can be constrained through tomography imaging of rock samples subjected to fluid injection at imposed flow rate and pressure. X-ray imaging allows fine spatial and temporal characterization and is ideal for mechanical tests. Neutron imaging is more oriented to explore the effect of fluid localization in porous materials due to its high sensitivity to hydrogen. However, until recently, this technique was underused in geology because of its large acquisition time.

It is not rare on imaging scientific sites to have both X-rays and neutrons options. However, if most neutron beamlines offer simultaneous X-ray imaging with small commercial sources, there exists not yet a full coupling of synchrotrons and neutron sources. Hence a choice of the method is still required before applying for beamtime. Resolution, experimental conditions, scan frequency and image post-processing are all key-parameter one must consider for selecting the optimal choice.

Here are presented in-situ X-ray and neutron tomographies results of mechanical tests and single-phase flow experiments for various porous rocks (limestone and sandstone) or fractured crystalline rock (granite and peridotite). We discuss the advantages and limits of both methods (hardware characteristics, measurement techniques and post-processing of the data). X-ray tomographies were acquired from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. Time-lapse 2D radiographies and 3D neutron tomographies of the samples were acquired on two neutron beamlines (ILL, France and SinQ, Switzerland) and demonstrate the feasibility of in-situ 3D imaging of fluid-rock interactions.

On March the 20th at 13:00, Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Patrick Huber from the Institute of Materials Physics and Technology, Hamburg University of Technology, Germany, will give a presentation on “Soft Matter in Nanoporous Media: From Nanoscale Physics to Metamaterials’ Science“

Cover story for Entropy

The paper from Mariá Barragán, Kim Kristiansen and Signe Kjelstrup entitled "Perspectives on Thermoelectric Energy Conversion in Ion-Exchange Membranes" was selected as the cover story for ENTROPY Volume 20. Read the paper here

Mechanisms of the Flying Chain Fountain

When a chain is released by one end from a container, it forms a striking arch extending well above the container. Watch the video of this curious phenomenon here and read more about the physics behind it here

50th Anniversary of the Nobel Prize to Lars Onsager

On Thursday 22 November, an exhibition on Lars Onsager opened at the Natural Science Library. It is now 50 years since he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Plan S: På høy tid at dette skjer

Professor og leder for SFF ’en Porelab, Alex Hansen, gir Plan S sin fulle tilslutning. Forslaget om at all offentlig finansiert forskning skal publiseres i tidsskrifter med åpen tilgang er eneste riktige, slår han fast.

The Sound of Science