A. Mennella et Nr. Morrow, POINT-BY-POINT METHOD OF DETERMINING CONTACT ANGLES FROM DYNAMIC WILHELMY PLATE DATA FOR OIL BRINE SOLID SYSTEMS, Journal of colloid and interface science, 172(1), 1995, pp. 48-55
The wetting behavior of crude-oil/brine/rock systems can have a domina
nt effect on processes by which oil is recovered from underground rese
rvoirs. A working knowledge of the crude-oil/brine/solid interactions
that govern wetting behavior is needed. Application of the dynamic Wil
helmy plate technique to a variety of wettability conditions induced b
y adsorption from crude oil shows that the conventional method of dete
rmining advancing and receding contact angles from force-distance reco
rds is not always applicable. A point-by-point interpretation is prese
nted and applied to a variety of situations. These include slippage of
the three-phase line of contact and time-dependent wetting phenomena
related to adsorption kinetics. For such complex wetting conditions, d
irect observation of the behavior of the three-phase line of contact i
s a necessary part of ensuring that interpretations of the force-dista
nce record are reasonable. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.