Oil Blobs Spin in a Pore Full of Ferrofluid in a Rotating Magnetic Field

Four oil blobs (bright) are spinning in the EMG 700 water-based ferrofluid (dark) in a pore in a micromodel driven by a rotating magnetic field. It shows the immiscible fluid-ferrofluid two-phase flow in a pore under a rotating magnetic field. Ferrofluid is a potential flooding fluid for enhanced oil recovery and a potential tracer for reservoir characterization. Micromodels are used to visualize and study the flow in porous media at both pore-scale and core-scale. A pair of N52 magnets induce a 2.6 mT 8 rpm rotating magnetic field that provides the driving force.