Pore-Scale Simulation of Calcite Matrix Acidizing with Hydrochloric Acid

Summary A continuum hydrodynamic model with immersed solid/fluid interface is developed for simulating calcite dissolution by hydrochloric acid (HCl) at the pore scale, and is most accurate for a mass-transfer-controlled dissolution regime under laminar flow conditions. The model uses averaged Navier-Stokes equations to model momentum transfer in porous media and adopts a theoretically developed mass-transfer formulation with assumptions. The model includes no fitting parameter and is validated using experimental results. The findings of previous research and existing models are briefly discussed and their shortcomings and advantages are elucidated. The present model is used in some pore-scale simulations on hypothetical but realistic cases, investigating the evolution of Darcy-scale permeability. Darcy-scale permeability exhibits totally different functionality of porosity in different dissolution regimes.