A New Technique for Visualizing the Distribution of Oil, Water, and Quartz Grains in a Transparent, Three-Dimensional, Porous Medium

A new technique for visualizing the distribution and structure of oil, water, and quartz particles in a transparent, three-dimensional (3D), porous medium is presented. A laser light sheet illuminates a slice of a rectangular cell containing a mixture of oil, water, and quartz particles. All three phases have the same refractive index. The quartz particles do not fluoresce. From the different fluorescence colors of water and oil, the cross-sectional distribution of the three phases can be visualized. Photographs of different cross sections are presented that show both the solid grain structure and trapped oil blobs. This technique can be used to study two-phase flow in porous media.