We developed a novel technique based upon time-lapse infrared (IR) images to relate the effects of crude-oil oxidation kinetics on flow during one-dimensional homogeneous and heterogeneous laboratory-scale combustion tube experiments. We performed combustion tube experiments under variable conditions including different sands (i.e., grain-size distribution), air injection rate history (constant versus variable), degree of packing heterogeneity, and reaction heterogeneity. The latter is achieved by using reaction enhancing nanoparticles in controlled packing configurations. During every experiment, we obtain high-resolution IR images of the outer wall of the combustion tube that we calibrate using point-wise temperature measurements from a thermocouple. Here, a new experimental workflow that uses these images and combines knowledge obtained from kinetic cell experiments is used to isolate the spatial zones within the tube where so-called low-temperature and high-temperature oxidation (pseudoreaction regimes) occurs during combustion tube experiments for the first time. Additionally, the IR imaging technique is shown to provide new insight into the propagation of the combustion front in homogeneous and heterogeneous systems and, importantly, visualizes gravity drainage of hot oil.

中文翻译：

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热成像技术可可视化和表征多孔介质中的燃烧前沿

我们开发了一种基于延时红外（IR）图像的新技术，以关联一维均质和非均质实验室规模燃烧管实验中原油氧化动力学对流动的影响。我们在可变条件下进行了燃烧管实验，包括不同的沙子（即，粒度分布），空气注入速率历史（恒定与可变），填充不均匀度和反应不均匀性。后者是通过以受控堆积构型使用反应增强纳米颗粒来实现的。在每个实验中，我们都获得了燃烧管外壁的高分辨率IR图像，该图像使用来自热电偶的逐点温度测量值进行了校准。这里，一种新的实验工作流程，利用这些图像并结合了从动态细胞实验中获得的知识，用于隔离在燃烧管实验期间首次发生所谓的低温和高温氧化（伪反应状态）的管内空间区域。时间。此外，红外成像技术还显示出燃烧前沿在均质和非均质系统中的传播的新见解，并且重要的是可视化了热油的重力排放。