Capillary Tube Surfactant Screening for Rapid Imbibition Oil Displacement

The patent creates a simplified copy of the core displacement experiment using a capillary tube model system. Instead of using actual low-permeability core samples requiring high-pressure equipment, the invention uses a capillary tube that replicates the essential capillary imbibition phenomenon. This model system can be quickly assembled and tested without specialized laboratory equipment, reducing experiment time from over three days to a much shorter duration while maintaining the ability to evaluate surfactant performance for imbibition displacement.

The patent extracts the essential measurement function from the complex high-pressure core displacement experiment. By isolating and measuring only the capillary imbibition phenomenon in a simplified capillary tube system, the invention removes the need for complex high-pressure equipment, core sample preparation facilities, and specialized laboratory infrastructure. The extraction focuses solely on measuring the imbibition rate and surfactant concentration effects, eliminating unnecessary experimental complexity while preserving measurement accuracy for the specific purpose of evaluating imbibition displacement.

The patent employs simple, inexpensive, and easily replaceable components in the capillary tube experiment system. The capillary tubes are low-cost items that can be readily obtained and replaced, eliminating the need for expensive specialized laboratory equipment. This approach makes the experiment accessible to field personnel and ordinary laboratories without requiring access to specialized facilities, significantly improving ease of operation and accessibility while maintaining sufficient measurement precision for surfactant evaluation.