HPFA

The HPFA High Pressure Foam Analyzer is the world’s only measuring instrument for simultaneously analyzing the amount and structure of liquid foams under high pressure. The instrument provides various options for investigating foam behavior under the real process conditions of foam-assisted flooding methods in EOR as well as hydraulic fracturing.

Simultaneous foam height and structure analysis

During and after foaming-up by means of gas flow, two high-resolution cameras operating in parallel record the foam height and images of the foam lamellae. Supported by the real-time image evaluation of our ADVANCE software, the HPFA determines the foamability and the foam decay. Within one and the same measurement, it also captures the change in bubble count per area and the absolute bubble size as well as its statistical distribution.

Simulation of oil reservoir and production conditions

The measuring cell works at pressures up to 350 bar and temperatures up to 120 °C, thus making it possible to observe the foam behavior under reservoir conditions. Sensors continuously transmit the pressure and the temperature to the ADVANCE software.

Filters with different pore sizes or even drill cores can be used for foaming to enable different lamella dimensions to be investigated. This option can be used to approach foaming conditions inside a particular reservoir with its characteristic rock porosity. Foaming can be carried out with air as well as carbon dioxide or nitrogen, which are frequently used for gas flooding.

Additional dosing during the experiment

How stable does aqueous foam remain when it comes into contact with a foam-inhibiting oil phase? A heatable dosing system enables this question to be answered. As the analysis progresses, liquids can be dosed into the foam from above or into the liquid phase from below while maintaining the pressure. The effects on the foam can be observed live and based on the continuous data recording.