Development of photo-patterned composite structures in microchannels for oil reservoir research

Abstract

Starting from unstructured glass microchannels, we develop a new method of micromodel fabrication. We build composite structures in a bottom-up manner with ultraviolet projection lithography where the composite structures are composed of tricyclodecane dimethanol diacrylate and stearic-acid treated calcium carbonate particles. This lithographic method is simple, fast, economical, and versatile compared with previous fabrication methods used for two-phase porous media micromodel experiments. With the micromodels developed in this way, we conduct oil-water two-phase flow experiments around a single cylindrical post with controlled oleophilic/hydrophilic wetting behavior.