Engineering Multiphase Flow in Fractures Using Silica Sol Gels as Blocking Agents

This thesis experimentally and numerically investigates underground deployment of silica gels as a barrier to flow for mitigating CO2 leakage from the near wellbore region in storage reservoirs. This work includes: I) small-scale laboratory experiments to investigate the ability of silica gels to seal the fracture environment, II) small-scale modelling studies to characterize multiphase flow in fractures, and III) field-scale simulation of underground silica gel deployment.