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Our chips are fabricated from glass and silicon, typically in a glass–silicon–glass stack configuration. This combines mechanical stability with optical transparency for high-resolution imaging. Simpler glass–silicon designs are also available.

Standard configurations typically operate safely up to 100 bar, depending on geometry and bonding design. Higher pressures can be achieved using pressure-balancing strategies and optimized holder systems.

Pressure balancing within the chip holder reduces mechanical stress on the chip. Reinforced system integration and optimized design enable operation at significantly higher pressures when required.

Pressure capability depends on:

• Material stack configuration
• Channel geometry and depth
• Bonding quality
• Chip thickness
• Holder design and pressure balancing strategy

Standard lateral channel dimensions can reach down to 2 µm, with typical depths around 50 µm, depending on the application.

Yes. For unconventional applications, channel depth can be reduced into the nanometer range, with minimum depths around 30 nm. Different depth profiles can be integrated on the same chip to resemble realistic pore size distributions.

A standard chip measures approximately 5 cm × 2 cm, with a thickness of 2–3 mm, providing a compact and robust platform suitable for HPHT operation.

In many applications, chips can be reused depending on fluid type, operating conditions, and cleaning procedures. Proper handling ensures consistent performance over multiple experiments.

Yes. Channel layouts, depth profiles, and integration features can be tailored to specific reservoir types or research objectives.

Chips are mounted in dedicated high-pressure holders that provide sealing, pressure control, and thermal management. They integrate seamlessly into automated workflows with controlled injection and data acquisition.

Porous media chips are not direct geological replicas of specific reservoir cores. They are engineered pore-network systems designed to reproduce the governing geometric and capillary characteristics that control displacement behavior.

These include:

• Pore-body to throat aspect ratios
• Throat size distributions
• Network connectivity and coordination number
• Controlled heterogeneity patterns

The objective is not full geological duplication, but controlled investigation of displacement mechanisms under reproducible conditions.

Traditional glass micromodels often use simplified, regular geometries.

Modern porous media chips can incorporate:

• Statistically representative pore networks
• MICP-calibrated throat distributions
• Designed heterogeneity
• Tunable wettability conditions

The focus is on replicating the capillary and mobility behavior that governs multiphase flow rather than purely visual demonstration.

Pore networks can be generated using several approaches:

• Statistically constructed synthetic networks
• Networks calibrated to MICP-derived pore throat size distributions
• Designs targeting defined pore-body/throat aspect ratios
• Engineered heterogeneity patterns (e.g., layering, permeability contrasts)
• Layouts extracted from microCT images of pore structures

When based on MICP data, the dominant throat size distribution — which controls capillary entry pressure — can be translated into controlled microfluidic geometries.

When based on microCT images, pore architecture can be transferred into manufacturable chip layouts for physically grounded visualization studies.

The goal is to reproduce the governing capillary behavior rather than every individual pore in three dimensions.

Yes — when relevant geometric and wetting conditions are reproduced.

Snap-off and trapping are governed primarily by:

• Pore-throat aspect ratio
• Throat constriction geometry
• Wettability
• Interfacial tension
• Capillary number

When pore networks are engineered to reproduce realistic throat constrictions and capillary entry pressures, capillary-driven snap-off and trapping mechanisms can occur and be directly visualized.

Microfluidic porous media systems are typically quasi-2D (2.5D).

While full 3D pore connectivity is not replicated, many dominant displacement mechanisms — including:

• Viscous fingering
• Capillary fingering
• Local trapping
• Mobility contrast effects

are primarily governed by pore-throat geometry and capillary forces.

Three-dimensional geometry influences quantitative scaling, but often not the underlying displacement mechanism.

Microfluidics is therefore highly suitable for comparative and mechanistic studies.

Wettability can be systematically adjusted using specialized surface treatments and coatings.

Depending on the study objective, surfaces may be:

• Functionalized to achieve defined contact angles
• Tuned to reproduce water-wet, oil-wet, or mixed-wet behavior
• Coated with mineral-analog surface layers (e.g., silica-like or carbonate-like characteristics)

This allows controlled investigation of wettability-driven displacement behavior under reproducible laboratory conditions.

Full mineralogical complexity of natural reservoir rock cannot be replicated.

However, simplified mineralogical behavior can be introduced via:

• Surface chemistry modification
• Mineral-analog coatings
• Controlled wettability tuning

Intentional simplification can be advantageous when isolating chemical or interfacial effects that are otherwise masked by geological heterogeneity.

Yes.

Microfluidic systems allow precise control of:

• Flow rates
• Fluid properties
• Geometry

This enables operation across capillary numbers relevant to:

• Waterflooding
• Polymer flooding
• Surfactant flooding
• Gas injection

Capillary scaling and mobility effects can therefore be systematically investigated.

Microfluidic porous media chips offer high repeatability due to:

• Fixed and known geometry
• Controlled surface chemistry
• Absence of uncontrolled geological variability

Natural cores introduce heterogeneity that can complicate mechanism isolation and comparative analysis.

Microfluidics enables statistically robust comparison of formulations and operating conditions.

Coreflooding provides integrated bulk-scale performance validation in natural 3D rock.

Microfluidics provides:

• Direct pore-scale visualization
• Mechanism isolation
• Rapid formulation comparison
• Mobility control assessment

Microfluidics is particularly valuable upstream of core programs to reduce uncertainty and focus testing strategies.

The two approaches are complementary rather than competitive.

Microfluidics enables direct visualization of conformance mechanisms at pore scale and pattern scale under controlled conditions.

It helps evaluate:

• Selective plugging behavior and flow diversion efficiency
• Propagation and placement of gels, polymers, foams, or particulates
• Changes in sweep efficiency across layered or heterogeneous networks
• Injectivity impacts and breakthrough delay under different injection schemes

This provides a fast, mechanism-focused way to compare conformance formulations and optimize strategy before coreflooding and larger-scale validation.

It is especially valuable for:

• EOR formulation screening
• Polymer mobility control studies
• Surfactant performance comparison
• Mechanism investigation
• De-risking and narrowing coreflood programs

It serves as a mechanism-driven decision-support tool.

Porous media microfluidics is not intended for:

• Absolute permeability determination
• Regulatory reporting requiring natural 3D rock validation
• Final large-scale performance confirmation
• Direct reservoir-scale upscaling without supporting data

It is a controlled mechanism-focused platform, not a substitute for integrated reservoir validation tools.

Microfluidic fluid testing uses precisely engineered flow cells to study multiphase fluid behavior under controlled pressure, temperature, and flow conditions.

It enables real-time observation and quantitative analysis of dynamic fluid interactions at the microscale.

Microfluidic testing delivers high-resolution insight into dynamic multiphase behavior.

It enables direct observation and quantification of:

• Phase transition dynamics
• Gas–liquid interactions
• Emulsion formation and stability
• Asphaltene nucleation and deposition
• Flow regime evolution

By resolving spatial and temporal behavior at the microscale, it provides mechanism-level understanding of fluid instability and chemical response under flow.

Yes.

Microfluidic systems allow controlled pressure variation during gas injection while directly observing displacement efficiency and phase behavior.

MMP can be identified as the pressure at which:

• Interfacial tension approaches zero
• Multiphase boundaries disappear
• Displacement transitions to miscible flow

This enables efficient, repeatable MMP screening under controlled laboratory conditions.

Yes.

Our systems can operate at pressures up to 20,000 psi and temperatures up to 250 °C, enabling testing under conditions relevant to deep reservoirs and high-pressure injection processes.

Small internal volumes allow rapid thermal equilibration and stable pressure control during multiphase experiments.

Yes.

Quantitative outputs may include:

• Phase fraction evolution
• Droplet size distributions
• Precipitation onset pressure
• MMP determination
• Flow regime transitions

Image analysis combined with controlled operating conditions enables reproducible measurement rather than qualitative observation alone.

Microfluidic systems enable:

• Direct visualization of nucleation
• Monitoring of particle growth
• Detection of deposition and channel blockage
• Evaluation of inhibitor effectiveness under flow

This supports dynamic assessment of precipitation risk and mitigation strategies.

Microfluidic channels allow controlled generation and observation of:

• Droplet formation
• Coalescence dynamics
• Film stability
• Shear-dependent interfacial behavior

This enables detailed evaluation of emulsion stability and chemical treatment performance.

Microfluidic systems are characterized by:

• Precisely defined geometries and flow paths
• Controlled fluid handling at microliter to milliliter scale
• Well-defined pressure and temperature boundary conditions

Depending on the application, they can enable:

• Reduced reagent consumption
• Controlled and reproducible displacement experiments
• Parallel or sequential screening under consistent conditions

This supports systematic comparison of formulations or operating scenarios with high repeatability — provided that pressure control, temperature stability, and imaging quality are properly managed.

It is particularly valuable for:

• MMP screening
• Chemical formulation comparison
• Asphaltene stability evaluation
• Emulsion behavior analysis
• Flow assurance risk assessment
• Mechanism-focused multiphase studies

It supports early-stage decision making and targeted laboratory programs.

Microfluidic fluid testing is not intended to replace:

• Full standardized PVT reporting for reserves certification
• Large-scale separator validation
• Regulatory compliance testing requiring bulk methods

It is a high-resolution analytical platform designed to complement established laboratory workflows.