Low Pressure Gas Percolation Characteristic in Ultra-low Permeability Porous Media

Low pressure gas percolation characteristic in ultra-low permeability porous media is investigated in this article through core flow experiments. The results show that the wall-slip layer covers more than 10% of the average porous channel radius on account of minimum pore size when the permeability is below 0.1 × 10^?3μ m ² order, and seepage behavior is contrasted to that in mid-high permeability pore media. When the gas pressure is not high enough, the flow regime turns into transitional flow instead of slip flow, and nonlinear relationship between the measured gas permeability and the reciprocal of average pressure exists. The gas measuring permeability experiment would be influenced by the non-linear relationship. If Klinkenberg-corrected method is applied to speculate the equivalent liquid permeability, the extrapolated value will become less or minus. Simultaneously, actual gas flow velocity at the outlet is beyond the calculated value with Klinkenberg formula. A new gas seepage model based on the general slip boundary condition is derived from the homogenization technique in this article. At last the flow model is examined to be suitable for representing the gas flow behavior in ultra-low permeability media and estimating the absolute permeability from single-point, steady-states measurements.     

Analytical Solutions for Multicomponent,Two-Phase Flow in Porous Media with Double Contact Discontinuities

This article presents the first instance of a double contact discontinuity in analytical solutions for multicomponent, two-phase flow in porous media. We use a three-component system with constant equilibrium ratios and fixed injection and initial conditions, to demonstrate this structure. This wave structure occurs for two-phase injection compositions. Such conditions were not considered previously in the development of analytical solutions for compositional flows. We demonstrate the stability of the double contact discontinuity in terms of the Liu entropy condition and also show that the resulting solution is continuously dependent on initial data. Extensions to four-component and systems with adsorption are presented, demonstrating the more widespread occurrence of this wave structure in multicomponent, two-phase flow systems. The developments in this article provide the building blocks for the development of a complete Riemann solver for general initial and injection conditions.     

Effective Correlation of Apparent Gas Permeability in Tight Porous Media

Gaseous flow regimes through tight porous media are described by rigorous application of a unified Hagen–Poiseuille-type equation. Proper implementation is accomplished based on the realization of the preferential flow paths in porous media as a bundle of tortuous capillary tubes. Improved formulations and methodology presented here are shown to provide accurate and meaningful correlations of data considering the effect of the characteristic parameters of porous media including intrinsic permeability, porosity, and tortuosity on the apparent gas permeability, rarefaction coefficient, and Klinkenberg gas slippage factor.     

Gas Flow in Porous Media With Klinkenberg Effects

Gas flow in porous media differs from liquid flow because of the large gas compressibility and pressure-dependent effective permeability. The latter effect, named after Klinkenberg, may have significant impact on gas flow behavior, especially in low permeability media, but it has been ignored in most of the previous studies because of the mathematical difficulty in handling the additional nonlinear term in the gas flow governing equation. This paper presents a set of new analytical solutions developed for analyzing steady-state and transient gas flow through porous media including Klinkenberg effects. The analytical solutions are obtained using a new form of gas flow governing equation that incorporates the Klinkenberg effect. Additional analytical solutions for one-, two- and three-dimensional gas flow in porous media could be readily derived by the following solution procedures in this paper. Furthermore, the validity of the conventional assumption used for linearizing the gas flow equation has been examined. A generally applicable procedure has been developed for accurate evaluation of the analytical solutions which use a linearized diffusivity for transient gas flow. As application examples, the new analytical solutions have been used to verify numerical solutions, and to design new laboratory and field testing techniques to determine the Klinkenberg parameters. The proposed laboratory analysis method is also used to analyze data from steady-state flow tests of three core plugs from The Geysers geothermal field. We show that this new approach and the traditional method of Klinkenberg yield similar results of Klinkenberg constants for the laboratory tests; however, the new method allows one to analyze data from both transient and steady-state tests in various flow geometries.     

Analytical Solution to the Riemann Problem of Three-Phase Flow in Porous Media

In this paper we study one-dimensional three-phase flow through porous media of immiscible, incompressible fluids. The model uses the common multiphase flow extension of Darcys equation, and does not include gravity and capillarity effects. Under these conditions, the mathematical problem reduces to a 2 × 2 system of conservation laws whose essential features are: (1) the system is strictly hyperbolic; (2) both characteristic fields are nongenuinely nonlinear, with single, connected inflection loci. These properties, which are natural extensions of the two-phase flow model, ensure that the solution is physically sensible. We present the complete analytical solution to the Riemann problem (constant initial and injected states) in detail, and describe the characteristic waves that may arise, concluding that only nine combinations of rarefactions, shocks and rarefaction-shocks are possible. We demonstrate that assuming the saturation paths of the solution are straight lines may result in inaccurate predictions for some realistic systems. Efficient algorithms for computing the exact solution are also given, making the analytical developments presented here readily applicable to interpretation of lab displacement experiments, and implementation of streamline simulators.     

A Boundary Element-Finite Element Equation Solutions to Flow in Heterogeneous Porous Media

Abstract. A coupled boundary element-finite element procedure, namely, the Green element method (GEM) is applied to the solution of mass transport in heterogeneous media. An equivalent integral equation of the governing differential equation is obtained by invoking the Green's second identity, and in a typical finite element fashion, the resulting equation is solved on each generic element of the problem domain. What is essentially unique about this procedure is the recognition of the particular advantages and particular features possessed by the two techniques and their effective use for the solution of engineering problems.By utilizing this approach, we observe that the range of applicability of the boundary integral methods is enhanced to cope with problems involving media heterogeneity in a straightforward and realistic manner. The method has been used to investigate problems involving various functional forms of heterogeneity, including head variations in a stream-heterogeneous aquifer interaction and in all these cases encouraging results are obtained without much difficulty.     

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.     

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.     

Transient Heat Transport in Gas Flow Through Granular Porous Media

Models are developed to describe the time-evolution of gas and solid temperature profiles in a class of granular porous media; this time-dependence being the result of a heat source supplying energy uniformly to the gas as it flows into the medium. The solid-phase is treated as a fixed, axi-symmetric bed of randomly packed spheres of uniform size and material properties. An analytic expression for the locally averaged surface temperature of the solid phase is formulated in terms of the time history of the corresponding local gas temperature. This approach avoids the need to assume locally uniform temperatures within the solid phase, and provides a coupled model for the thermal energy transport in the system. A numerical scheme for treating the resulting transport equations is outlined, and results presented. A quasi-steady approximation is proposed, and this approximation is assessed by reference to numerical results obtained from the numerical scheme. One application of the work is to fixed-bed catalytic reactors and absorbers, and results are presented indicating how the regeneration times of such systems depend on operating parameters.     

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.     

Flow and Transport Properties of Deforming Porous Media. I. Permeability

Transport in Porous Media - Estimating flow and transport properties of porous media that undergo deformation as a result of applying an external pressure or force is important to a wide variety of...     

Surface Permeability of Particulate Porous Media

The dispersion process in particulate porous media at low saturation levels takes place over the surface elements of constituent particles and, as we have found previously by comparison with experiments, can be accurately described by superfast nonlinear diffusion partial differential equations. To enhance the predictive power of the mathematical model in practical applications, one requires the knowledge of the effective surface permeability of the particle-in-contact ensemble, which can be directly related with the macroscopic permeability of the particulate media. We have shown previously that permeability of a single particulate element can be accurately determined through the solution of the Laplace–Beltrami Dirichlet boundary value problem. Here, we demonstrate how that methodology can be applied to study permeability of a randomly packed ensemble of interconnected particles. Using surface finite element techniques, we examine numerical solutions to the Laplace–Beltrami problem set in the multiply-connected domains of interconnected particles. We are able to directly estimate tortuosity effects of the surface flows in the particle ensemble setting.

     

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.     

Solution Construction to a Class of Riemann Problems of Multiphase Flow in Porous Media

Transport in Porous Media - Fluid displacement in porous media can usually be formulated as a Riemann problem. Finding the solution to such a problem helps shed light on the dynamics of flow and...     

Influence of Relative Permeability on the Stability Characteristics of Immiscible Flow in Porous Media

Relative permeability functions for immiscible displacements in porous media show a wide range of profiles. Although, this behavior is well known, its impact on the stability of the displacement process is unexplored. Our analysis clearly demonstrates for the first time that the viscous instability characteristics of two-phase flows are governed not only by their end point values, but are strongly dependent on the actual profile of relative permeability functions. Linear stability analysis predicts the capacity of the flow to develop large scale fingers which can result in substantial bypassing of the resident fluid. It is observed that relative permeability functions attributed to drainage processes yield a more unstable displacement as compared to functions related to imbibition processes. Moreover, instability is observed to increase for those relative permeability functions which result from increased wettability of the wetting fluid. High accuracy numerical simulations show agreement with these predictions and demonstrate how large amplitude viscous fingers result in significant bypassing for certain relative permeability functions. In the nonlinear regime, the finger amplitude grows at a rate ∝ t^1/2 initially, drops to t^1/4 at a later time and finally grows ∝ t. The basic mechanisms of finger interaction, however, are not substantially influenced by relative permeability functions.     

Applicability of the Linearized Governing Equation of Gas Flow in Porous Media

In order to make the non-linear gas flow Equation tractable, the linearization treatment has been commonly applied in many subsurface gas flow problems such as natural gas production, soil vapor extraction, barometric, and pneumatic pumping. In this study, the accuracies of two representative linearization methods denoted as the conventional and the Wu solutions (Wu et al. Transp. Porous Media 32(1):117–137, 1998), are investigated quantitatively based on a numerical solution. The conventional solution uses a linearized constant gas diffusivity, while the Wu solution employs a spatially averaged but time-dependent gas diffusivity. The numerical solution is obtained by implementing the stiff solver ODE15s in MATLAB to deal with the time derivative and using the finite-difference method to approximate the spatial derivative in the non-linear gas flow equation. Two scenarios, the one-dimensional gas flow with constant pressure difference between two boundaries and the one-dimensional radial gas flow with constant mass injection rate at the origin of the coordinate system, are considered. The percentage error, defined as the ratio of difference between the numerical solution and the linearization solution to the ambient pressure, is calculated. It is founded that the Wu solution generally provides more accurate pressure evaluation than the conventional solution. The conventional solution always underestimates the pressure, while the Wu solution generally underestimates the pressure near the higher pressure boundary and overestimates the pressure near the lower pressure boundary. The maximal percentage error of the conventional solution is insensitive to time. This observation can be explained through the property of the complementary error function involved in the convention solution. For the one-dimensional flow example, the maximal percentage error of the conventional solution is 1.7, 25.5, and 90% when the pressure at one boundary suddenly rises above the ambient pressure by 50, 200, and 400%, respectively. While for the same example, the maximal percentage error of the Wu solution is 1.1, 14, and 44%, respectively.     

Permeability of the Fluid-Filled Inclusions in Porous Media

In this article, we propose an approach to obtain the equivalent permeability of the fluid-filled inclusions embedded into a porous host in which a fluid flow obeys Darcy’s law. The approach consists in the comparison of the solutions for one-particle problem describing the flow inside the inclusion, firstly, by the Stokes equations and then by using Darcy’s law. The results obtained for spheres (3D) and circles (2D) demonstrate that the inclusion equivalent permeability is a function of its radius and, additionally, depends on the host permeability. Based on this definition of inclusion permeability and using effective medium method, we have calculated the effective permeability of the double-porosity medium composed of the permeable matrix (with small scale pores) and large scale secondary spherical pores.     

The Discontinuous Solutions of the Transport Equations for Compositional Flow in Porous Media

In the present paper we consider a multicomponent multiphase isothermal flow in porous media with mass exchange between phases. The system of equations of multiphase multicomponent flow has discontinuous solutions, but is not hyperbolic, except some particular cases. For this general, non-hyperbolic system, we propose a free energy condition to select unique physically admissible discontinuous solutions. We also develop a geometrical procedure which provides a tool to analyze the free energy condition. For a two-component mixture, analytical formulae are obtained for the allowed discontinuities.