Research Activities of Zuleima Karpyn

Research Interest Areas:

My research interest is in reservoir characterization, and multiphase transport phenomena in porous media. Areas of application include reservoir engineering, secondary recovery techniques, underground hydrology, and environmental remediation.

I conduct experiments and numerical simulation of fluid flow through porous and fractured rocks to study the effects of capillarity, gravity, and viscous forces on transport mechanisms. I am particularly interested in:

• Counter-current flow in porous media
• Capillary-driven flow
• Characterization of fracture structures
• Multi-phase flow in rough fractures
• Solid/liquid interfaces and wettability

Other expertise:

X-ray Computed Tomography and image processing techniques.

Selected Publications:

Basbug, B., and Karpyn, Z.T., 2008. “Absolute permeability estimation from pore-scale characteristics of carbonate reservoirs using artificial intelligence”. International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology, in press.

Petchsingto, T., and Karpyn, Z., 2007. “Deterministic modeling of fluid flow through a CT-scanned fracture using computational fluid dynamics”. Energy Sources, Part A,in press.

Karpyn, Z., Alajmi, A., Radaelli, F., Halleck, P., and Grader, A., 2007. “X-ray CT and hydraulic evidence for a relationship between fracture conductivity and adjacent matrix porosity”. Engineering Geology, in press.

Ayala, L.F., and Karpyn, Z.T., 2007. “On the calculation of static bottom-hole pressures in gas wells”. Petroleum Science and Technology,25(8): 1099-1104.

Karpyn, Z., and Piri, M., 2007. “Prediction of fluid occupancy in fractures using network modeling and X-ray microtomography. I: Data conditioning and model description”. Physical Review E,76(1), 016315: 1-13.

Piri, M., and Karpyn, Z.T., 2007. “Prediction of fluid occupancy in fractures using network modeling and X-ray microtomography. II: Results”. Physical Review E,76(1), 016316: 1-11.

Karpyn, Z.T., Grader, A.S. and Halleck, P.M., 2007. “Visualization of fluid occupancy in a rough fracture using micro-tomography”. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 307(1): 181-187.

Li, G., Karpyn, Z.T., Halleck, P.M., and Grader, A.S., 2006. “Modeling the formation of fluid banks during counter-current flow in porous media”. Transport in Porous Media, 62(2): 125-138.

Karpyn, Z.T., Li, G., Grader, A.S., and Halleck, P.M., 2006. “Experimental conditions favoring the formation of fluid banks during counter-current flow in porous media”. Transport in Porous Media, 62(1): 109-124.

Li, G., Karpyn, Z.T., Halleck, P.M., and Grader, A.S., 2005. “Numerical simulation of a CT-scanned counter-current flow experiment”. Transport in Porous Media, 60(2): 225-240.

Back to Faculty Directory