Using Microfluidic Device to Study Rheological Properties of Heavy Oil

In this study, capillary-driven flow of different pure liquids and diluted bitumen samples were studied using microfluidic channel (width of 30 um and depth of 9 um). Capillary filling kinetics of liquids as a function of time were evaluated and compared with theoretical predictions. For pure liquids including water, toluene, hexane, and methanol experimental results agreed well with theoretical predictions. However, for bitumen samples, as concentration of bitumen increased the deviation between theoretical and experimental results became larger. The higher deviation for high concentrations (i.e. above 30%) can be due to the difference between dynamic contact angle and bulk contact angle. Microchannels are suitable experimental devices to study the flow of heavy oil and bitumen in porous structure such as those of reservoirs.