Patent ID: 7464582

Claim:
A method for performing at least an evaluation of the inlet capillary pressure value of a porous medium, from a displacement experiment wherein a first fluid saturating a sample of said medium is caused to flow by injection of a second fluid at the level of a face of the sample referred to as “inlet” face, characterized in that said method comprises the following stages: applying to the sample a constant pressure allowing said second fluid to flow into said sample; drawing a curve of the volume of the first fluid expelled from said sample as a function of time; continuously measuring as a function of time a local differential pressure DP t i between said inlet face and at least one point located at a distance L i from the inlet face, this distance being greater than the distance between said inlet face and an interface between the two fluids within the sample; calculating at least one differential pressure of the first fluid DP w i by means of distance L i and of said curve; and determining at least one inlet capillary pressure value from local differential pressure DP t i and the differential pressure value DP w i of the first fluid.