Filtration of live oil in the presence of phase transitions in a porous medium with inhomogeneous permeability

The radial angular temperature distribution in a porous medium with inhomogeneous permeability is investigated by numerical simulation of nonisothermal filtration of live oil taking into account the degassing heat, the Joule–Thomson effect, and the adiabatic effect. It is shown that inhomogeneous permeability in the near-wellbore zone of a porous reservoir leads to anomalous cooling due to rapid degassing in the highly permeable region.     

Estimation of the Geometric Parameters of a Reservoir Hydraulic Fracture

The exact solution of self-excited vibrations of a reservoir hydraulic fracture after stopping the hydraulic fracture fluid injection is obtained on the basis of the generalized hyperbolictype Perkins-Kern-Nordgren model of the development of vertical reservoir hydraulic fracture. The vibrations are excited by the rarefaction wave developed after stopping the injection. The solution obtained is used to estimate the height, the width, and the half-length of the reservoir hydraulic fracture on the basis of the field data of bottomhole pressure gauges by the time of stopping the hydraulic fracture fluid injection.     

Joule–Thomson Effects on the Flow of Liquid Water

We present a revised form of the energy balance for the coupled thermodynamics of liquid water flowing in porous media and give examples of situations where a commonly used formulation based on transport of enthalpy leads to erroneous results. Assuming negligible contribution from kinetic energy as well as sources and sinks such as energy from radioactive decay, total energy conservation is reduced to a balance between changes in internal energy, enthalpy, conductive heat flux, and gravitational potential energy. The Joule–Thomson coefficient is defined as the change in temperature with respect to an increase in pressure at constant enthalpy. Because liquid water has a negative Joule–Thomson coefficient at low temperatures, at a constant gravitational potential water cools as it compresses and heats as it expands. If one ignores the gravitational energy, transport of enthalpy alone leads to water heating by 2 \(^\circ \) C per kilometer as it is brought up from depth. The corrected energy balance transports methalpy, which is enthalpy plus gravitational potential energy. Although the simpler form leads to small changes in the temperature profile for typical simulations, there are several instances where this effect may prove to be important. The most important impact of the erroneous form is probably in the field of geothermal energy production, where the creation of a few degrees of heat in a simulation could lead to miscalculation of power plant efficiencies.     

High-viscosity oil flow in a formation with a hydraulic fracture under the action of a high-frequency electromagnetic field

The results of numerical investigations of high-viscosity oil flow in a low-permeability reservoir under high-frequency electromagnetic action in combination with hydraulic fracturing are presented. The fluid flow toward a solitary vertical sand-filled fracture with high permeability, much higher than the permeability of the formation, is considered. The electrophysical and thermal characteristics of the formation and fracture both saturated with formation fluid are assumed to be identical. The unsteady fluid pressure, temperature and viscosity fields near the hydraulic fracture are calculated and the efficiencies of high-viscosity oil extraction are compared for different electromagnetic radiation powers and “cold” fluid withdrawal.     

Buoyant MHD flows in a vertical channel: the levitation regime

Buoyant magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows with Joulean and viscous heating effects are considered in a vertical parallel plate channel. The applied magnetic field is uniform and perpendicular to the plates which are subject to adiabatic and isothermal boundary conditions, respectively. The main issue of the paper is the levitation regime, i.e., the fully developed flow regime for large values of the Hartmann number M, when the hydrodynamic pressure gradient evaluated at the temperature of the adiabatic wall is vanishing. The problem is solved analytically by Taylor series method and the solution is validated numerically. It is found that the fluid velocity points everywhere and for all values of M downward. For small M’s, the velocity field extends nearly symmetrically (with respect to the mid-plane) over the whole section of the channel between the adiabatic and the isothermal walls. For large values of M, by contrast, the fluid levitates over a broad transversal range of the channel, while the motion becomes concentrated in a narrow boundary layer in the neighborhood of the isothermal wall. Accordingly, the fluid temperature is nearly uniform in the levitation range and decreases rapidly within the boundary layer in front of the isothermal wall. It also turns out that not only the volumetric heat generation by the Joule effect, but also that by viscous friction increases rapidly with increasing values of M, the latter effect being even larger than the former one for all M.     

Exact solutions of problems of fluid inflow into a well with a vertical hydrofracture and their use in numerical models of flow through porous media

The plane steady flow of a homogeneous incompressible fluid in a reservoir containing a vertical elliptic hydrofracture is considered. The flow in the reservoir and fracture obeys Darcy's law. Exact solutions of the problem of inflow into a fracture of finite conductivity are obtained both in the case of a uniform reservoir and in the presence in the neighborhood of the fracture of a zone with permeability different from that of the rest of the reservoir. On the basis of the solutions obtained, the effect of the parameters of the polluted zone in the vicinity of the well on its production rate is estimated in the presence of a fracture of finite conductivity, the efficiency of hydraulic fracture of the producing and injection wells is analyzed for regular development systems, and a method of taking hydrofractures of arbitrary orientation and length into account is proposed for finite-difference models of flow through porous media in a system of wells.Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 69–80, November–December, 1996.     

Numerical solution of the coefficient inverse problems on nonstationary filtration to a well intersected by a hydraulic fracture

A computational algorithm is proposed to determine the reservoir and hydraulic fracture properties from the results of nonstationary hydrodynamic studies of vertical wells. The problem of oil flow to a well intersected by a fracture is solved numerically. Averaged permeabilities are used for cells through which the fracture propagates.     

含层理页岩气藏水力压裂裂纹扩展规律解析分析

页岩气蕴藏在页岩层中,页岩层的层理性构造使其水力压裂裂纹扩展与常规均质储层不同.为研究页岩储层水力压裂的裂纹扩展规律,基于复变函数保角变换,得出裂纹尖端应力集中解,考虑页岩非均质、强度各向异性特点,通过比较裂纹沿各方向扩展所需的裂缝尖端水压力,推导出水力压裂裂纹垂直于最小地应力方向稳定扩展过程中在斜交层理后的扩展判据.分别定义了水力压裂裂纹在层理处起裂和沿层理扩展的弱层和岩石基体临界强度比,根据两个临界强度比确定水力压裂裂纹遇层理时在层理处起裂和沿层理扩展的层理弱面强度范围,以此表示水力压裂裂纹转向层理扩展的难易程度.通过对裂纹扩展判据的分析得出:层理起裂弱层和岩石基体临界强度比随层理走向线与第一主应力夹角和层理倾角的减小以及第三主应力和岩石基体强度的增大而增大;层理走向角小于35.26°时,层理起裂弱层和岩石基体临界强度比随第一主应力的减小以及第二主应力的增大而增大;反之,层理起裂弱层和岩石基体临界强度比随第一主应力的减小以及第二主应力的增大而减小;层理扩展弱层和岩石基体临界强度比随层理走向线与第一主应力夹角、层理倾角和地应力差的减小以及岩石基体抗拉强度的增大而增大.层理起裂条件与层理扩展条件同时满足时,水力压裂裂纹转向层理方向扩展.      

Acid Leakoff Mechanism in Acid Fracturing of Naturally Fractured Carbonate Oil Reservoirs

In acid fracturing, excessive acid leakoff is thought to be the main reason that limits fracture propagation and live acid penetration distance. Since most carbonates are naturally fractured, we developed a new model in this paper to simulate acid leakoff into a naturally fractured carbonate oil reservoir during acid fracturing. Our model incorporates the acid-rock reaction, fracture width variation due to rock dissolution on the fractured surfaces, and fluid flow in naturally fractured carbonate oil reservoirs. Given the information of the reservoir, injected acid, and pressure in the hydraulic facture and the reservoir, the model predicts acid leakoff with time. In this study, we found that acid leakoff mechanism in naturally fractured carbonates is much different from that in reservoirs without natural fractures. Widened natural fractures by acid-rock reaction act as high-conductivity conduits allowing leakoff acid to penetrate deeper into the formation, resulting in serious leakoff. Wide natural fractures have a dominant effect on acid leakoff compared to micro-fractures and matrix.     

Exact solutions for the incompressible viscous magnetohydrodynamic fluid of a rotating disk flow

The main interest of the present investigation is to generate exact solutions to the steady Navier-Stokes equations for the incompressible Newtonian viscous electrically conducting fluid flow motion due to a disk rotating with a constant angular speed. For an external uniform magnetic field applied perpendicular to the plane of the disk, the governing equations allow an exact solution to develop taking into account of the rotational non-axisymmetric stationary conducting flow.Making use of the analytic solution, exact formulas for the angular velocity components as well as for the wall shear stresses are extracted. It is proved analytically that for the specific flow the properly defined thicknesses decay as the magnetic field strength increases in magnitude. Interaction of the resolved flow field with the surrounding temperature is further analyzed via the energy equation. The temperature field is shown to accord with the dissipation and the Joule heating. According to Fourier's heat law, a constant heat transfer from the disk to the fluid occurs, though decreases for small magnetic fields because of the dominance of Joule heating, it eventually increases for growing magnetic field parameters.     

Problem of propagation of a gas fracture in a porous medium

The problem of gas fracture formation in a porous medium is investigated. An inertialess viscous polytropic gas flow along the fracture is considered. The assumption of small fracture width with respect to the height and length makes it possible to adopt the vertical plane cross-section hypothesis on the basis of which the dependence of the gas pressure inside the fracture on its width can be reduced to a linear law. Initially, the soil surrounding the fracture is soaked with oil-bearing fluid. During fracturing the reservoir gas penetrates into the soil mass and displaces the fluid. A closed system of equations, which describes the evolution of the fracture opening, the depth of gas penetration into the reservoir, and the gas velocities inside the fracture, is constructed. The limiting regimes of gas seepage into the surrounding reservoir are considered and a one-parameter family of self-similar solutions of the system is given for each. The asymptotics of the solution in the neighborhood of the fracture nose is investigated and analytic expressions for the fracture length are obtained. The solution of the problem of gas fracture is compared with the hydraulic fracturing problem in an analogous formulation within the framework of the plane cross-section hypothesis.     

三峡水库应力场对水田坝断裂影响的数学-力学模型研究

水库蓄水后, 在一定空间范围内形成了应力场、应变场和渗流场。我们建立了一个数学一力学模型, 以描述水压应力场的特征。通过运用弹塑性岩土体非线性应力一应变和稳定性静力分析NOLM83二维有限元程序发现, 水库水压应力场的最大主应力从水库中心向两侧、从水库表面向深部逐渐降低。在此基础上, 研究了在未来三峡水库水压应力场影响下, 水田坝断裂的应力、应变和影响范围。研究表明, 平面影响范围为该断裂两侧5～-6km.由于岩体的浮托作用, 地表面的累积位移量少于10mm, 并向下逐渐减小。因此, 水田坝断裂完全能够承受三峡水库蓄水后产生的水压应力, 不会出现中-强度水库诱发地震, 不会影响三峡工程的安全。     

Development of hot dry rocks by hydraulic stimulation: Natural fracture network simulation

This paper presents an advanced computational modelling of natural fracture networks in HDR (hot dry rock) reservoirs. The model stochastically simulates discrete properties of natural fractures, utilizing multi-set orientation and fractal mathematics. The simulated fracture networks are essential for further stimulation and fluid flow studies. The model has been verified using the data of actual fracture stimulation programs conducted by Gas Research Institute and Department of Energy at the multi-site. It is validated that the simulated fracture distribution is sufficiently similar to that observed in the reservoir. This paper also examines the detrimental effects of the simulated natural fracture network on the stimulated fluid flow capacity. The effective permeability enhancement (due to hydraulic stimulation) is found almost proportional to the density of the reservoir natural fractures.     

Multi–Front Phase Transitions During Nonisothermal Filtration of Live Paraffin–Base Crude

By numerical modeling of nonisothermal filtration of multicomponent oil with allowance for the Joule—Thomson effect, adiabatic effect, and heat of phase transitions that occur during oil degassing and paraffin crystallization, the formation of profiles of phase–saturation, concentrations of oil components, and temperature in oil beds is studied. It is shown that consideration of many components results in occurrence of phase–transition fronts during degassing of oil components and paraffin crystallization. In turn, paraffin crystallization gives rise to temperature oscillations. Depending on the initial paraffin concentration and on the ratio of phase–transition heats for oil degassing and paraffin crystallization in an oil bed, either decaying or steady–state temperature oscillations are observed.     

水力压裂解析模型裂缝扩展参数敏感性分析

水力压裂形成复杂裂缝网络是致密储层油气开采的重要技术,掌握水压裂缝扩展机理是控制压裂行为和优化压裂效果的关键.水压裂缝动态扩展行为涉及储层岩体、注入压裂液、压裂实施工艺等方面,其中水力压裂扩展时间、压裂液流体动力粘度系数、压裂液流体注入流速、储层岩石剪切模量成为决定裂缝扩展长度和裂缝开度的重要因素.本研究采用KGD、PKN两类等高解析模型对主控因素的参数敏感性进行分析,直观、快速、可靠地获得水压裂缝扩展长度、张开度动态演化行为的量化数值.研究发现,压裂持续开展过程中水压裂缝扩展长度呈线性增长、开度逐渐趋于稳定,高流体动力粘度导致裂缝难扩展、形成较大裂缝开度,通过增加压裂液流体注入流速可同时增加裂缝扩展长度和开度,较高的岩石剪切模量将降低水压裂缝的开度.通过对比两类解析模型在不同参数下的水压裂缝扩展结果,分析压裂参数与裂缝扩展的相关性和敏感系数,讨论水力压裂解析模型的裂缝扩展参数敏感性.     

绝热剪切损伤和破坏的数值模拟研究

绝热剪切破坏是冲击载荷作用下金属材料中经常出现的一种重要破坏模式,尽管已经在实验中观察到了绝热剪切带内部的损伤现象,但是在理论和计算模型中往往还只是考虑它的热软化效应,对与之伴随的损伤破坏效应却鲜有讨论．该文在前人实验的基础上,提出了一个适用于绝热剪切带内部微孔洞损伤发展的演化方程,并在本构方程中同时考虑了温度和损伤对材料的影响,成功地模拟出了绝热剪切带的热软化效应和损伤破坏效应．     

Experimental Study of Fracture Permeability for Stimulated Reservoir Volume (SRV) in Shale Formation

“Stimulated reservoir volume”(SRV) makes shale gas production economic through new completion techniques including horizontal wells and multiple hydraulic fractures. However, the mechanism behind these treatments that provide sufficient permeability is not well understood. The effects of different stimulation treatments need to be further explored. To understand the effects of fracture surface roughness, fracture registration, confining pressure, proppant type and distribution mode, fiber and acidizing treatment on fracture permeability, a series of laboratory permeability experiments were performed on fractured cores from shale formation of Shengli Oilfield. The results of this study demonstrate that sedimentary bedding of shale has important influence on matrix permeability. At 35 MPa confining pressure, the permeability of aligned fracture (unpropped and without fracture offset) can increase about 1–3 orders of magnitude over shale matrix. The permeability of displaced fracture can increase about 1–2 orders of magnitude over the aligned fracture. The permeability of fracture propped with proppant can increase about 2–4 orders of magnitude over unpropped fracture. The greater the fracture surface roughness, the higher the permeability. The increasing degree of displaced fracture permeability is not proportional to the amount of fracture offset. In the microfracture of shale, the effect of ceramic proppant is still better than that of quartz sand, and the permeability of a centralized fairway distribution of proppant is about 1.2 times better than an even monolayer distribution of proppant. Under high pressure, proppant is easy to cause the break of fracture faces of brittle shale, and increase local fracture permeability to some extent. However, quartz sand are more easily broken to embed and block microcracks just made, which results in fracture permeability lower than that of ceramic proppant. At the same time, the argillation phenomenon is easy to happen on propped fracture faces of shale, which is one of the main factors that leads to a substantial decline in fracture permeability. The permeability of displaced fracture propped with proppant is greater than that of aligned fracture propped with proppant. Because of added fiber presence, the permeability of microfractures presented in SRV is greatly reduced. The pressure dependence of aligned fractures in shale obeys Walsh’s theory, but the pressure dependence of propped and displaced fractures in shale obeys Walsh’s law over a limited range of pressures. Deviations reflect proppant seating, proppant embedding and breaking. For shale formation with the high carbonate content, acidizing treatment should be carefully implemented. Experimental results may provide more valuable information for effective design of hydraulic fracturing in shale reservoir.     

Simulation of Pressure Transient Behavior for Asymmetrically Finite-Conductivity Fractured Wells in Coal Reservoirs

Based on Fick’s law in matrix and Darcy flow in cleats and hydraulic fractures, a new semi-analytical model considering the effects of boundary conditions was presented to investigate pressure transient behavior for asymmetrically fractured wells in coal reservoirs. The new model is more accurate than previous model proposed by Anbarci and Ertekin, SPE annual technical conference and exhibition, New Orleans, 27–30 Sept 1998 because new model is expressed in the form of integral expressions and is validated well through numerical simulation. (1) In this paper, the effects of parameters including fracture conductivity, coal reservoir porosity and permeability, fracture asymmetry factor, sorption time constant, fracture half-length, and coalbed methane (CBM) viscosity on bottomhole pressure behavior were discussed in detail. (2) Type curves were established to analyze both transient pressure behavior and flow characteristics in CBM reservoir. According to the characteristics of dimensionless pseudo pressure derivative curves, the process of the flow for fractured CBM wells was divided into six sub-stages. (3) This paper showed the comparison of transient steady state and pseudo steady state models. (4) The effects of parameters including transfer coefficient, wellbore storage coefficient, storage coefficient of cleat, fracture conductivity, fracture asymmetry factor, and rate coefficient on the shape of type curves were also discussed in detail, indicating that it is necessary to keep a bigger fracture conductivity and fracture symmetry for enhancing well production and reducing pressure depletion during the hydraulic fracturing design.     

二氧化碳在砂岩透镜体中充注封存的盖层岩石抗断裂性能分析

把CO2这一主要的温室气体注入到地下深处具有适当封闭条件的地层中进行封存和隔离,已被公认为是有效减少CO2排放量的一种比较安全的技术途径。砂岩透镜体油气藏具有良好的圈闭构造和储层物性,油气濒临枯竭的砂岩透镜体是较理想的CO2地质封存箱。基于币形裂纹模型和水力致裂原理,将纵向厚度和横向展布长度均远小于盖层岩石尺度的水平产状砂岩透镜体简化为盖层岩石中的I型币形裂纹,从岩石断裂力学角度分析封存箱盖层岩石的抗断裂性能。采用叠加原理给出了盖层岩石币形裂纹尖端（砂岩透镜体尖灭部位）应力强度因子的计算公式,在此基础上提出了断裂力学判别准则（K=KIC）和临界有效压应力判别准则（P=PC）,从岩石断裂力学角度为砂岩透镜体封存箱盖层岩石抗断裂性能分析和评价提供了一种新的研究思路。     

Modelling temperature-dependent fracture nucleation of SWCNTs using atomistic-based continuum theory

The fracture behaviour of carbon nanotubes depends largely on temperature, defect distribution, and geometric features. In this paper, the effect of temperature upon fracture nucleation of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is investigated using an atomistic-based continuum theory. The temperature effects are described in terms of a modified Cauchy–Born rule based on the assumptions that the deformation is sufficiently small and locally homogeneous. Furthermore, it is assumed that the atoms have the same local vibration mode at a given temperature. The first derivative of the free energy density, which is a function of both the deformation gradient and the temperature, enables the determination of the second Piola–Kirchhoff stress. In the present study, the fracture nucleation is modelled as a bifurcation of a homogeneously deformed nanotube at a critical strain. The model predictions show that the fracture strain decreases with increasing temperature, while the elastic stiffness remains largely unchanged.