Homogenization of Wall-Slip Gas Flow Through Porous Media

The permeability of reservoir rocks is most commonly measured with an atmospheric gas. Permeability is greater for a gas than for a liquid. The Klinkenberg equation gives a semi-empirical relation between the liquid and gas permeabilities. In this paper, the wall-slip gas flow problem is homogenized. This problem is described by the steady state, low velocity Navier–Stokes equations for a compressible gas with a small Knudsen number. Darcy's law with a permeability tensor equal to that of liquid flow is shown to be valid to the lowest order. The lowest order wall-slip correction is a local tensorial form of the Klinkenberg equation. The Klinkenberg permeability is a positive tensor. It is in general not symmetric, but may under some conditions, which we specify, be symmetric. Our result reduces to the Klinkenberg equation for constant viscosity gas flow in isotropic media.     

Mathematical Model of Coalbed Gas Flow with Klinkenberg Effects in Multi-Physical Fields and its Analytic Solution

The deep-mining coal seam impacted by high in situ stress, where Klinkenberg effects for gas flow were very obvious due to low gas permeability, could be regarded as a porous and tight gas-bearing media. Moreover, the Klinkenberg effects had a significant effect on gas flow behavior of deep-mining coal seam. Based on the gas flow properties of deep-mining coal seams affected by in situ stress field, geothermal temperature field and geo-electric field, a new mathematical model of coalbed gas flow, which reflected the impact of Klinkenberg effects on coalbed gas flow properties in multi-physical fields, was developed by establishing the flow equation, state equation, and continuity equation and content equation of coalbed gas. The analytic solution was derived for the model of one-dimensional steady coalbed gas flow with Klinkenberg effects affected by in situ stress field and geothermal temperature field, and a sensitivity analysis of its physical parameters was carried out by comparing available analytic solutions and the measured values. The results show that the analytic solutions of this model of coalbed gas flow with Klinkenberg effects are closer to the measured values compared to those without Klinkenberg effects, and this model can reflect more accurately gas flow of deep-mining coal seams. Moreover, the analytic solution of this model is more sensitive to the change of Klinkenberg factor b and temperature grad G than depth h.     

Microvisual Study of Multiphase Gas Condensate Flow in Porous Media

Gas condensate reservoirs constitute a significant portion of hydrocarbon reserves worldwide. The liquid drop-out in these reservoirs may lead to recovery problems such as near wellbore permeability impairment and uncertainty in the actual location of the target condensate. Such technical issues can be addressed through improved understanding of the formation of condensate and the multiphase flow of gas/condensate/water in the reservoir as characterized by relative permeability curves. The appropriate relative permeability curves in turn can be used in reservoir simulators to assist in optimization of field development. This paper reports results of experiments conducted in micromodels, in support of possible core flow tests, using reservoir fluids under reservoir conditions. In particular, visualizations of condensate formation with and without connate water are presented and the differences between the two cases as well as the possible implications for the relative permeability measurements are discussed. Furthermore, the flow of gas and condensate at different force ratios (capillary and Bond numbers) are presented. It is postulated that a single dimensionless number may not be sufficient to characterize the multiphase flow in gas condensate reservoirs. The physical mechanisms occurring under various field conditions are examined in the light of these observations.     

可压缩气体定常非Darcy渗流的流动分析及其应用

气体通过多孔介质的非Darcy流动具有广泛的工程应用背景，因此对多孔介质中的气体非Darcy流动进行流动分析有着非常重要的意义。然而，在通常的研究中，一般都将气体考虑为不可压缩流体，很少考虑气体的压缩性。对于高压气体以较高的速度通过多孔介质的情况，在进行流动分析时，不仅要考虑非Darcy效应，还必须考虑气体的压缩性。在本文中，对可压缩气体通过多孔介质的定常非Darcy流动进行了一维流动分析，得出了多孔介质中气体的压力分布和速度分布。还进一步给出了在高压差和高流速情况下，测定多孔介质材料渗透率和惯性系数的方法，以及多孔介质材料前后压力差与材料厚度的比Δp/L和材料有气流速度u1的解析关系。     

The Use of Fick's Law for Modeling Trace Gas Diffusion in Porous Media

Two models for combined gas-phase diffusion and advection in porous media, the advective-diffusive model (ADM) and the dusty-gas model (DGM), are commonly used. The ADM is based on a simple linear addition of advection calculated by Darcy's law and ordinary diffusion using Fick's law with a porosity–tortuosity–gas saturation multiplier to account for the porous medium. The DGM applies the kinetic theory of gases to the gaseous components and the porous media (or dust) to develop an approach for combined transport due to diffusion and advection that includes porous medium effect. The ADM and Fick's law are considered to be generally inferior for gas diffusion in porous media, and the more mechanistic DGM is preferred. Under trace gas diffusion conditions, Fick's law overpredicts the gas diffusion flux compared to the DGM. The difference between the two models increases as the permeability decreases. In addition, the difference decreases as the pressure increases. At atmospheric pressure, the differences are minor (<10%) for permeabilities down to about 10^–13 m². However, for lower permeabilities, the differences are significant and can approach two orders of magnitude at a permeability of 10^–18 m². In contrast, at a pressure of 100 atm, the maximum difference for a permeability of 10^–18 m² is only about a factor of 2. A molecule–wall tortuosity coefficient based on the DGM is proposed for trace gas diffusion using Fick's law. Comparison of the Knudsen diffusion fluxes has also been conducted. For trace gases heavier than the bulk gas, the ADM mass flux is higher than the DGM. Conversely, for trace gases lighter than the bulk gas, the ADM mass flux is lower than the DGM. Similar to the ordinary diffusion variation, the differences increase as the permeability decreases, and get smaller as the pressure increases. At atmospheric pressure, the differences are small for higher permeabilities (>10^–13 m²) but may increase to about 2.7 for He at lower permeabilities of about 10^–18 m². A modified Klinkenberg factor is suggested to account for differences in the models.     

Effects of Relative Permeability History Dependence on Two-Phase Flow in Porous Media

Hysteresis phenomena in multi-phase flow in porous media has been recognized by many researchers and widely believed to have significant effects on the flow. In an attempt to account for these effects, a theoretical model for history-dependent relative permeabilities is considered. This model is incorporated into 1-D two-phase nondiffusive flow system and the corresponding flow is predicted. Flow history is observed to have a notable impact on the saturation profile and fluids breakthrough.     

Effect of Hydrogen Sulfide on Condensation and Flow of Gas Condensate Fluids in Porous Media

Condensation and flow experiments were conducted at subsurface conditions in a glass micromodel using reservoir fluids with and without the hydrogen sulfide component. It has been noted that the formation of the condensing phase as well as modes of condensate flow are similar for both fluids. Furthermore, an additional condensate transport mechanism, termed lamella flow, was observed with the sour fluid. It has been concluded that core flow experiments conducted with sweet reservoir fluid should reproduce the flow of sour fluid to a large extent.     

Electrical Resistivity Index in Multiphase Flow through Porous Media

The simultaneous flow of two phases through a three-dimensional porous medium is calculated by means of a Lattice-Boltzmann algorithm. The time-dependent phase configurations can be derived and also macroscopic quantities such as the relative permeabilities. When one phase only is supposed to be conductive, the Laplace equation which governs electrical conduction can be solved in each phase configuration; an instantaneous value of the macroscopic conductivity is obtained and it is averaged over many configurations. The influence of saturation on the resistivity index is studied for six different samples and two viscosity ratios. The saturation exponent is systematically determined. The numerical results are also compared to other possible models and also to experimental results; finally, they are discussed and criticized.     

The Local Geometry of Gas Injection into Saturated Homogeneous Porous Media

The injection of gases into liquid saturated porous media is of theoretical and practical interest (e.g., air sparging for the removal of volatile organic compounds from contaminated aquifer sediments). The influence of the rate of gas delivery and the vertical distance from the source are developed. The concept of a “near-injection region” is presented in which the pressure gradients exceed buoyant gradients and thus exhibits largely radial flow. The near-injection size is shown to have an area required to carry the injected gas flow under unit gradient. The parabolic movement of gas outside of this area which has often been observed is explained as reflecting the sum of many realizations of gas channels following random lateral movements as they precede upward independent of flux. These concepts are confirmed through comparison with published and experimental data of air injection into slabs consisting of saturated sands of a range of textures.     

Flow in Random Porous Media

Flow in a porous medium with a random hydraulic conductivity tensor K(x) is analyzed when the mean conductivity tensor (x) is a non-constant function of position x. The results are a non-local expression for the mean flux vector (x) in terms of the gradient of the mean hydraulic head (x), an integrodifferential equation for (x), and expressions for the two point covariance functions of q(x) and (x). When K(x) is a Gaussian random function, the joint probability distribution of the functions q(x) and (x) is determined.     

Network Model of Flow,Transport and Biofilm Effects in Porous Media

In this paper, we develop a network model to determine porosity and permeability changes in a porous medium as a result of changes in the amount of biomass. The biomass is in the form of biofilms. Biofilms form when certain types of bacteria reproduce, bond to surfaces, and produce extracellular polymer (EPS) filaments that link together the bacteria. The pore spaces are modeled as a system of interconnected pipes in two and three dimensions. The radii of the pipes are given by a lognormal probability distribution. Volumetric flow rates through each of the pipes, and through the medium, are determined by solving a linear system of equations, with a symmetric and positive definite matrix. Transport through the medium is modeled by upwind, explicit finite difference approximations in the individual pipes. Methods for handling the boundary conditions between pipes and for visualizing the results of numerical simulations are developed. Increases in biomass, as a result of transport and reaction, decrease the pipe radii, which decreases the permeability of the medium. Relationships between biomass accumulation and permeability and porosity reduction are presented.     

A Mathematical Model for Hysteretic Two-Phase Flow in Porous Media

We develop a mathematical model for hysteretic two-phase flow (of oil and water) in waterwet porous media. To account for relative permeability hysteresis, an irreversible trapping-coalescence process is described. According to this process, oil ganglia are created (during imbibition) and released (during drainage) at different rates, leading to history-dependent saturations of trapped and connected oil. As a result, the relative permeability to oil, modelled as a unique function of the connected oil saturation, is subject to saturation history. A saturation history is reflected by history parameters, that is by both the saturation state (of connected and trapped oil) at the most recent flow reversal and the most recent water saturation at which the flow was a primary drainage. Disregarding capillary diffusion, the flow is described by a hyperbolic equation with the connected oil saturation as unknown. This equation contains functional relationships which depend on the flow mode (drainage or imbibition) and the history parameters. The solution consists of continuous waves (expansion waves and constant states), shock waves (possibly connecting different modes) and stationary discontinuities (connecting different saturation histories). The entropy condition for travelling waves is generalized to include admissible shock waves which coincide with flow reversals. It turns out that saturation history generally has a strong influence on both the type and the speed of the waves from which the solution is constructed.     

Relative Permeabilities for Strictly Hyperbolic Models of Three-Phase Flow in Porous Media

Traditional mathematical models of multiphase flow in porous media use a straightforward extension of Darcys equation. The key element of these models is the appropriate formulation of the relative permeability functions. It is well known that for one-dimensional flow of three immiscible incompressible fluids, when capillarity is neglected, most relative permeability models used today give rise to regions in the saturation space with elliptic behavior (the so-called elliptic regions). We believe that this behavior is not physical, but rather the result of an incomplete mathematical model. In this paper we identify necessary conditions that must be satisfied by the relative permeability functions, so that the system of equations describing three-phase flow is strictly hyperbolic everywhere in the saturation triangle. These conditions seem to be in good agreement with pore-scale physics and experimental data.     

Modelling Foamy Oil Flow in Porous Media

This paper describes a dynamic model for the simulation of foamy oil flow in porous media. The model includes expressions for the rate processes of nucleation, bubble growth and disengagement of dispersed gas bubbles from the oil. The model is used to simulate experimental results pertaining to primary depletion tests conducted in a sand pack. Using the model to interpret experimental results indicated that, although the lifetimes of supersaturation and dispersed gas bubbles may be short, supersaturated conditions are likely to exist, and dispersed gas bubbles are likely to be present during the entire production period, as long as the pressure continues to decline at a high rate. The model developed in this paper gave better agreement with experimental data than other proposed models. The effect of foamy oil flow increases as the rate of pressure decline increases.     

Inertia Effects in High-Rate Flow Through Heterogeneous Porous Media

The paper deals with the effects of large scale permeability–heterogeneity on flows at high velocities through porous media. The media is made of a large number of homogeneous blocks where the flow is assumed to be governed by the Forchheimer equation with a constant inertial coefficient. By assuming the validity of the Forchheimer equation at the large scale, an effective inertial coefficient is deduced from numerical simulations. Different media are investigated: serial-layers, parallel-layers and correlated media. The numerical results show that: (i) for the serial-layers, the effective inertial coefficient is independent of the Reynolds number and decreases when the variance and the mean permeability ratio increases; (ii) for the parallel-layers and the correlated media, the effective inertial coefficient is function of the Reynolds number and increases when the variance and the mean permeability ratio increases. Theoretical relationships are proposed for the inertial coefficient as function of the Reynolds number and the characteristics of the media.     

Real-Space Renormalization Estimates for Two-Phase Flow in Porous Media

We present a spatial renormalization group algorithm to handle immiscibletwo-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media. We call this algorithmFRACTAM-R, where FRACTAM is an acronym for Fast Renormalization Algorithmfor Correlated Transport in Anisotropic Media, and the R stands for relativepermeability. Originally, FRACTAM was an approximate iterative process thatreplaces the L × L lattice of grid blocks, representing the reservoir,by a (L/2) × (L/2) one. In fact, FRACTAM replaces the original L× L lattice by a hierarchical (fractal) lattice, in such a way thatfinding the solution of the two-phase flow equations becomes trivial. Thistriviality translates in practice into computer efficiency. For N=L ×L grid blocks we find that the computer time necessary to calculatefractional flow F(t) and pressure P(t) as a function of time scales as N^1.7 for FRACTAM-R. This should be contrasted with thecomputational time of a conventional grid simulator N^2.3. The solution we find in this way is an accurateapproximation to the direct solution of the original problem.     

Mechanistic Model of Steady-State Two-Phase Flow in Porous Media Based on Ganglion Dynamics

Recent experimental work has shown that the pore-scale flow mechanism during steady-state two-phase flow in porous media is ganglion dynamics (GD) over a broad and practically significant range of the system parameters. This observation suggests that our conception and theoretical treatment of fractional flow in porous media need careful reconsideration. Here is proposed a mechanistic model of steady-state two-phase flow in those cases where the dominant flow regime is ganglion dynamics. The approach is based on the ganglion population balance equations in combination with a microflow network simulator. The fundamental information on the cooperative flow behavior of the two fluids at the scale of a few hundred pores is expressed through the system factors, which are functions of the system parameters and are calculated using the simulator. These system factors are utilized by the population balance equations to predict the macroscopic behavior of the process. The dependence of the conventional relative permeability coefficients not only on the wetting fluid saturation S_wbut also on the capillary number, Ca, the viscosity ratio the wettability (⁰ a, ⁰ r), the coalescence factor, Co, as well as the porous medium geometry and topology is explained and predicted on a mechanistic basis. Sample calculations have been performed for steady-state fully developed (SSFD) and steady-state nonfully developed (SSnonFD) flow conditions. The number distributions of the moving and the stranded ganglia, the mean ganglion size, the fraction of the nonwetting fluid in the form of mobile ganglia, the ratio of the conventional relative permeability coefficients and the fractional flows are studied as functions of the system parameters and are correlated with the flow phenomena at pore level and the system factors.     

A Lattice Gas Automaton Simulation of the Nonlinear Diffusion Equation: A Model for Moisture Flow in Unsaturated Porous Media

We investigate a two-dimensional lattice gas automaton (LGA) for simulating the nonlinear diffusion equation in a random heterogeneous structure. The utilility of the LGA for computation of nonlinear diffusion arises from the fact that, the diffusion coefficient in the LGA depends on the local density of fluid particles which statistically determines the collision rate and thus, the mean free path of the particles at the microscopic scale. The LGA may therefore be used as a physical analogue to simulate moisture flow in unsaturated porous media. The capability of the LGA to account for unsaturated flow is tested through a set of numerical experiments simulating one-dimensional infiltration in a simplified semi-infinite homogenous isotropic porous material. Different mechanisms of interactions are used between the fluid and the solid phase to simulate various fluid–solid interfaces. The heterogeneous medium, initially at low density is submitted to a steep density gradient by continuously injecting fluid particles at high concentration and zero velocity along one face of the model. The propagation of the infiltration front is visualized at different time steps through concentration profiles parallel to the applied concentration gradient and the infiltration rate is measured continuously until steady-state flow is reached. The numerical results show close agreement with the classical theory of flow in unsaturated porous media. The cumulative absorption exhibits the expected t ^1/2 dependence. The evolution of the effective diffusion coefficient with the particle concentration is estimated from the measured density profiles for the various porous materials. Depending on the applied fluid–solid interactions, the macroscopic effective diffusivity may vary by more than two orders of magnitude with density.