Coupled finite‐element simulation of injection well testing in unconsolidated oil sands reservoir

This paper presents a finite‐element (FE) model for simulating injection well testing in unconsolidated oil sands reservoir. In injection well testing, the bottom‐hole pressure (BHP) is monitored during the injection and shut‐in period. The flow characteristics of a reservoir can be determined from transient BHP data using conventional reservoir or well‐testing analysis. However, conventional reservoir or well‐testing analysis does not consider geomechanics coupling effects. This simplified assumption has limitations when applied to unconsolidated (uncemented) oil sands reservoirs because oil sands deform and dilate subjected to pressure variation. In addition, hydraulic fracturing may occur in unconsolidated oil sands when high water injection rate is used. This research is motivated in numerical modeling of injection well testing in unconsolidated oil sands reservoir considering the geomechanics coupling effects including hydraulic fracturing. To simulate the strong anisotropy in mechanical and hydraulic behaviour of unconsolidated oil sands induced by fluid injection in injection well testing, a nonlinear stress‐dependent poro‐elasto‐plastic constitutive model together with a strain‐induced anisotropic permeability model are formulated and implemented into a 3D FE simulator. The 3D FE model is used to history match the BHP response measured from an injection well in an oil sands reservoir. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulation of yielding and stress–stain behavior of shanghai soft clay

In this paper, a simple bounding surface plasticity model is used to reproduce the yielding and stress–strain behavior of the structured soft clay found at Shanghai of China. A series of undrained triaxial tests and drained stress probe tests under isotropic and anisotropic consolidation modes were performed on undisturbed samples of Shanghai soft clay to study the yielding characteristics. The degradation of the clay structure is modeled with an internal variable that allows the size of the bounding surface to decay with accumulated plastic strain. An anisotropic tensor and rotational hardening law are introduced to reflect the initial anisotropy and the evolution of anisotropy. Combined with the isotropic hardening rule, the rotational hardening rule and the degradation law are incorporated into the bounding surface formulation with an associated flow rule. Validity of the model is verified by the undrained isotropic and anisotropic triaxial test and drained stress probe test results for Shanghai soft clay. The effects of stress anisotropy and loss of structure are well captured by the model.     

Simulation of anisotropic heterogeneous near-well flow using MPFA methods on flexible grids

Control-volume multipoint flux approximations (MPFA) are discussed for the simulation of complex near-well flow using geometrically flexible grids. Due to the strong non-linearity of the near-well flow, a linear model will, in general, be inefficient. Instead, a model accounting for the logarithmic pressure behavior in the well vicinity is advocated. This involves a non-uniform refinement of the grid in the radial direction. The model accounts for both near-well anisotropies and heterogeneities. For a full simulation involving multiple wells, this single-well approach can easily be coupled with the reservoir model. Numerical simulations demonstrate the convergence behavior of this model using various MPFA schemes under different near-well conditions for single-phase flow regimes. Two-phase simulations support the results of the single-phase simulations.     

Modelling of anisotropic coal swelling and its impact on permeability behaviour for primary and enhanced coalbed methane recovery

Coal swelling/shrinkage during gas adsorption/desorption is a well-known phenomenon. For some coals the swelling/shrinkage shows strong anisotropy, with more swelling in the direction perpendicular to the bedding than that parallel to the bedding. Experimental measurements performed in this work on an Australian coal found strong anisotropic swelling behaviour in gases including nitrogen, methane and carbon dioxide, with swelling in the direction perpendicular to the bedding almost double that parallel to the bedding. It is proposed here that this anisotropy is caused by anisotropy in the coal's mechanical properties and matrix structure. The Pan and Connell coal swelling model, which applies an energy balance approach where the surface energy change caused by adsorption is equal to the elastic energy change of the coal solid, is further developed to describe the anisotropic swelling behaviour incorporating coal property and structure anisotropy. The developed anisotropic swelling model is able to accurately describe the experimental data mentioned above, with one set of parameters to describe the coal's properties and matrix structure and three gas adsorption isotherms. This developed model is also applied to describe anisotropic swelling measurements from the literature where the model was found to provide excellent agreement with the measurement. The anisotropic coal swelling model is also applied to an anisotropic permeability model to describe permeability behaviour for primary and enhanced coalbed methane recovery. It was found that the permeability calculation applying anisotropic coal swelling differs significantly to the permeability calculated using isotropic volumetric coal swelling strain. This demonstrates that for coals with strong anisotropic swelling, anisotropic swelling and permeability models should be applied to more accurately describe coal permeability behaviour for both primary and enhanced coalbed methane recovery processes.     

A segregated flow scheme to control numerical dispersion for multi-component flow simulations

One of the challenges for reservoir simulation is numerical dispersion. For waterflooding applications the effect is controlled due to the self-sharpening nature of a Buckley–Leverett shock. However, for multi-component flow simulations, incorrect wavespeeds can develop leading to the excessive smearing of fronts because of the coupling of compositional dispersion with the fractional flow. Rather than implementing a higher-order discretization method, we propose a simple scheme based on segregation-in-flow within a gridblock to control numerical dispersion. We extend the method originally proposed for polymer flooding to augmented waterflooding simulations in general as well as simulations of miscible or near miscible gas injection. For compositional simulations of gas injection, this is done through a coupled limited-flash/upstream-exclusion assumption. To test the scheme, an in-house streamline simulator has been modified and validated for modeling low-salinity floods as well as ternary two-phase displacements. Simulation results presented with and without segregation demonstrate the potential of the approach as a heuristic method to control numerical dispersion in multi-component flow simulations.     

基于不同方向模量损失率的含瓦斯煤各向异性渗透模型

煤是自然界中一种常见的沉积岩,它具有显著的各向异性特征。然而目前针对煤体渗透特性研究,多数学者为了简化问题,多假设煤体为各向同性材料,提出了相应的各向同性渗透模型。这类模型并不能完全反映含瓦斯煤气-固耦合真实工程和室内试验的实际情况。假设煤体为横观各向同性,推导出以不同方向模量损失率为关键参数的煤体各向异性渗透模型,在此基础上,推导出含瓦斯煤的气-固耦合控制方程,并植入Comsol计算平台,系统研究煤体各向异性对气体扩散和渗透的影响。理论和数值研究结果表明：不同方向的模量损失率 反映出煤体结构各向异性变化程度,若 不同,其煤体各方向渗透特性也不相同;煤体渗透率的改变主要受解吸附效应和有效应力作用双重影响, 反映了这两种效应对于渗透率的影响程度;单轴应变或位移控制边界条件下,水平方向的模量损失率 对于垂直方向的煤体渗透率改变量 的影响程度大于对水平方向的煤体渗透率改变量 的影响程度,垂直方向模量损失率 对 的影响则弱于对于 的影响。     

Upscaled modeling of well singularity for simulating flow in heterogeneous formations

Subsurface flows are affected by geological variability over a range of length scales. The modeling of well singularity in heterogeneous formations is important for simulating flow in aquifers and petroleum reservoirs. In this paper, two approaches in calculating the upscaled well index to capture the effects of fine scale heterogeneity in near-well regions are presented and applied. We first develop a flow-based near-well upscaling procedure for geometrically flexible grids. This approach entails solving local well-driven flows and requires the treatment of geometric effects due to the nonalignment between fine and coarse scale grids. An approximate coarse scale well model based on a well singularity analysis is also proposed. This model, referred to as near-well arithmetic averaging, uses only the fine scale permeabilities at well locations to compute the coarse scale well index; it does not require solving any flow problems. These two methods are systematically tested on three-dimensional models with a variety of permeability distributions. It is shown that both approaches provide considerable improvement over a simple (arithmetic) averaging approach to compute the coarse scale well index. The flow-based approach shows close agreement to the fine scale reference model, and the near-well arithmetic averaging also offers accuracy for an appropriate range of parameters. The interaction between global flow and near-well upscaling is also investigated through the use of global fine scale solutions in near-well scale-up calculations.     

A finite volume scheme with improved well modeling in subsurface flow simulation

We present the latest enhancement of the nonlinear monotone finite volume method for the near-well regions. The original nonlinear method is applicable for diffusion, advection-diffusion, and multiphase flow model equations with full anisotropic discontinuous permeability tensors on conformal polyhedral meshes. The approximation of the diffusive flux uses the nonlinear two-point stencil which reduces to the conventional two-point flux approximation (TPFA) on cubic meshes but has much better accuracy for the general case of non-orthogonal grids and anisotropic media. The latest modification of the nonlinear method takes into account the nonlinear (e.g., logarithmic) singularity of the pressure in the near-well region and introduces a correction to improve accuracy of the pressure and the flux calculation. In this paper, we consider a linear version of the nonlinear method waiving its monotonicity for sake of better accuracy. The new method is generalized for anisotropic media, polyhedral grids and nontrivial cases such as slanted, partially perforated wells or wells shifted from the cell center. Numerical experiments show noticeable reduction of numerical errors compared to the original monotone nonlinear FV scheme with the conventional Peaceman well model or with the given analytical well rate.     

Near-well upscaling for three-phase flows

Large-scale flow models constructed using standard coarsening procedures may not accurately resolve detailed near-well effects. Such effects are often important to capture, however, as the interaction of the well with the formation can have a dominant impact on process performance. In this work, a near-well upscaling procedure, which provides three-phase well-block properties, is developed and tested. The overall approach represents an extension of a recently developed oil–gas upscaling procedure and entails the use of local well computations (over a region referred to as the local well model (LWM)) along with a gradient-based optimization procedure to minimize the mismatch between fine and coarse-scale well rates, for oil, gas, and water, over the LWM. The gradients required for the minimization are computed efficiently through solution of adjoint equations. The LWM boundary conditions are determined using an iterative local-global procedure. With this approach, pressures and saturations computed during a global coarse-scale simulation are interpolated onto LWM boundaries and then used as boundary conditions for the fine-scale LWM computations. In addition to extending the overall approach to the three-phase case, this work also introduces new treatments that provide improved accuracy in cases with significant flux from the gas cap into the well block. The near-well multiphase upscaling method is applied to heterogeneous reservoir models, with production from vertical and horizontal wells. Simulation results illustrate that the method is able to accurately capture key near-well effects and to provide predictions for component production rates that are in close agreement with reference fine-scale results. The level of accuracy of the procedure is shown to be significantly higher than that of a standard approach which uses only upscaled single-phase flow parameters.     

Comparison of alternative representations of hydraulic-conductivity anisotropy in folded fractured-sedimentary rock: modeling groundwater flow in the Shenandoah Valley (USA)

A numerical representation that explicitly represents the generalized three-dimensional anisotropy of folded fractured-sedimentary rocks in a groundwater model best reproduces the salient features of the flow system in the Shenandoah Valley, USA. This conclusion results from a comparison of four alternative representations of anisotropy in which the hydraulic-conductivity tensor represents the bedrock structure as (model A) anisotropic with variable strikes and dips, (model B) horizontally anisotropic with a uniform strike, (model C) horizontally anisotropic with variable strikes, and (model D) isotropic. Simulations using the US Geological Survey groundwater flow and transport model SUTRA are based on a representation of hydraulic conductivity that conforms to bedding planes in a three-dimensional structural model of the valley that duplicates the pattern of folded sedimentary rocks. In the most general representation, (model A), the directions of maximum and medium hydraulic conductivity conform to the strike and dip of bedding, respectively, while the minimum hydraulic-conductivity direction is perpendicular to bedding. Model A produced a physically realistic flow system that reflects the underlying bedrock structure, with a flow field that is significantly different from those produced by the other three models.     

Prediction of fracture trajectory in anisotropic rocks using modified maximum tangential stress criterion

A new criterion to predict crack propagation trajectory in anisotropic rocks with incorporating the concept of T-stress in formulating stress field near the crack tip was developed. The developed criterion along with enrichment functions and interaction integral in the extended finite element method (XFEM) framework made a sophisticated tool in modeling fracturing process in anisotropic media. Numerical results indicated that stress intensity factors considerably depend on orientation of anisotropy axes and ratio of the elastic modulus. The proposed formulation for anisotropic media provides a more accurate prediction of crack propagation trajectory compared with conventional methods, especially in mixed mode conditions.     

Can unbiased source be retrieved from anisotropic waveforms by using an isotropic model of the medium?

Anisotropy is frequently present in geological structures, but usually neglected when source parameters are determined through waveform inversion. Due to the coupling of propagation and source effects in the seismic waveforms, such neglect of anisotropy will lead to an error in the retrieved source. The distortion of the mechanism of a double-couple point source located in an anisotropic medium is investigated when inverting waveforms using isotropic Green's functions. The anisotropic medium is considered to be transversely isotropic with six levels of anisotropy ranging from a fairly weak to rather strong anisotropy, up to about 24% in P waves and 11% in S waves. Inversions are based on either only direct P waves or both direct P and S waves. Two different algorithms are employed: the direct parametrization (DIRPAR, a nonlinear algorithm) and the indirect parametrization (INPAR, a hybrid scheme including linear and nonlinear steps) of the source. The orientation of the double-couple mechanism appears to be robustly retrieved. The inclination of the resulting nodal planes is very small, within 10° and 20° from the original solution, even for the highest degree of anisotropy. However, the neglect of anisotropy results in the presence of spurious isotropic and compensated linear-vector dipole (CLVD) components in the moment tensor (MT). This questions the reliability of non-double-couple components reported for numerous earthquakes.     

Directional effects on convergent flow tracer tests

Convergent flow tracer tests constitute a convenient way of characterizing hydraulic parameters in an aquifer. Interpretation of tracer breakthrough curves from convergent flow tests normally is made under the assumption of radial symmetry. Nevertheless, these curves may display directional dependence; that is when tracers are injected at several points located at the same distance, both arrival times and estimated dispersivities may be significantly different. This result is why some authors attribute a tensorial nature to porosity or, equivalently, talk about directional porosity when trying to explain the variations in computed porosity depending on the relative orientation of pumping and injection wells. Our main ponit is that this directional effect is nothing but an artifact of an inappropriate selection of a conceptual model, where anisotropy (local of statistical) in hydraulic conductivity is not properly characterized. To illustrate this point, we first consider the situation of a simple homogeneous and anisotropic model of the medium. We prove analytically that this model leads to arrival time being proportional to the square root of directional hydraulic conductivity. Using a stochastic approach, we determine the same directional behavior of arrival time for a locally isotropic hydraulic conductivity field with statistical anisotropy caused by an anisotropic correlation structure. A statistical anisotropic covariance model for hydraulic conductivity is consistent with field evidence.     

Anisotropic dual-continuum representations for multiscale poroelastic materials: Development and numerical modelling

Dual-continuum (DC) models can be tractable alternatives to explicit approaches for the numerical modelling of multiscale materials with multiphysics behaviours. This work concerns the conceptual and numerical modelling of poroelastically coupled dual-scale materials such as naturally fractured rock. Apart from a few exceptions, previous poroelastic DC models have assumed isotropy of the constituents and the dual-material. Additionally, it is common to assume that only one continuum has intrinsic stiffness properties. Finally, little has been done into validating whether the DC paradigm can capture the global poroelastic behaviours of explicit numerical representations at the DC modelling scale. We address the aforementioned knowledge gaps in two steps. First, we utilise a homogenisation approach based on Levin's theorem to develop a previously derived anisotropic poroelastic constitutive model. Our development incorporates anisotropic intrinsic stiffness properties of both continua. This addition is in analogy to anisotropic fractured rock masses with stiff fractures. Second, we perform numerical modelling to test the DC model against fine-scale explicit equivalents. In doing, we present our hybrid numerical framework, as well as the conditions required for interpretation of the numerical results. The tests themselves progress from materials with isotropic to anisotropic mechanical and flow properties. The fine-scale simulations show that anisotropy can have noticeable effects on deformation and flow behaviour. However, our numerical experiments show that the DC approach can capture the global poroelastic behaviours of both isotropic and anisotropic fine-scale representations.     

Fast 3D Reservoir Simulation and Scale Up Using Streamtubes

This paper presents an implementation of a semianalytical method for oil recovery calculation in heterogeneous reservoirs that is both fast and accurate. The method defines streamline paths based on a conventional single-phase incompressible flow calculation. By calculating the time-of-flight for a particle along a streamline and assigning a volumetric flux to each streamline, the cumulative pore volume of a streamtube containing the streamline can be calculated. Subsequently, the streamtube geometries are kept constant and the effects of the time varying mobility distribution in two-phase flow are accounted for by varying the flow rate in each streamtube, based on fluid resistance changes along the streamtube. Oil recovery calculations are then done based on the 1D analytical Buckley–Leverett solution. This concept makes the method extremely fast and easy to implement, making it ideal to simulate large reservoirs generated by geostatiscal methods. The simulation results of a 3D heterogeneous reservoir are presented and compared with those of other simulators. The results shows that the new simulator is much faster than a traditional finite difference simulator, while having the same accuracy. The method also naturally handles the upscaling of absolute and relative permeability. We make use of these upscaling abilities to generate a coarse curvilinear grid that can be used in conventional simulators with a great advantage over conventional upscaled Cartesian grids. This paper also shows an upscaling example using this technique.     

The effect of strength anisotropy on the bearing capacity of spudcan foundations

The vertical bearing capacity of spudcan foundations in strength anisotropic soils is investigated numerically using the MIT-S1 model implemented in the AFENA finite element package. The model in AFENA is validated against existing laboratory test data of normally consolidated soil. The bearing capacities of spudcans in soils with isotropic and anisotropic strengths are compared. Soil with isotropic strength is simulated using an elasto-plastic model. It is found that the bearing capacity of a spudcan in an anisotropic soil is reduced by about 9% for a rough spudcan and 3% for a smooth spudcan on average. There is a combined effect of soil anisotropy and spudcan roughness on the spudcan bearing capacity. Moreover, the effect of the pressuremeter strength of an anisotropic soil on foundation capacity can’t be ignored.     

Thermoplasticity and strain localization in transversely isotropic materials based on anisotropic critical state plasticity

Geomaterials such as soils and rocks are inherently anisotropic and sensitive to temperature changes caused by various internal and external processes. They are also susceptible to strain localization in the form of shear bands when subjected to critical loads. We present a thermoplastic framework for modeling coupled thermomechanical response and for predicting the inception of a shear band in a transversely isotropic material using the general framework of critical state plasticity and the specific framework of an anisotropic modified Cam–Clay model. The formulation incorporates anisotropy in both elastic and plastic responses under the assumption of infinitesimal deformation. The model is first calibrated using experimental data from triaxial tests to demonstrate its capability in capturing anisotropy in the mechanical response. Subsequently, stress‐point simulations of strain localization are carried out under two different conditions, namely, isothermal localization and adiabatic localization. The adiabatic formulation investigates the effect of temperature on localization via thermomechanical coupling. Numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the important role of anisotropy, hardening, and thermal softening on strain localization inception and orientation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

油藏精细地质模型网格粗化算法及其效果

在前人研究基础上, 根据DP(Dykstra-Parsons)系数能定量评价储层非均质性, 微网格块的渗透率值粗化后, 其等效渗透率的上、下限(C_min、C_max)能反映渗透率的各向异性的特点, 提出了一种运算速度快和相对有效的网格粗化算法。该算法能考虑到储层非均质性对不同方向渗透率值的影响, 且求解过程相对简单。应用该方法对鄂尔多斯盆地中部某油藏的陆相储层的精细地质模型进行了网格粗化计算, 然后在粗化后的模型上进行油藏数值模拟研究, 同时针对研究区地质背景和产出流体微可压缩的物性特征, 首次利用流线模拟器对精细地质模型进行了油藏数值模拟研究, 并以此结果为标准, 对该网格粗化算法时效性进行了系统评价。分析表明, 该算法具有较快的计算速度和较高的可靠性, 是解决储层非均质强、物性差的陆相成因油藏精细油藏数值模拟的一种行之有效的手段。      

An Anisotropic Model for Granular Material Based on Experiments

Soil is a heterogeneous material and most natural soil deposits show a definite stratification. The mechanical behaviour of such material is generally different in different directions, especially in the direction parallel and perpendicular to the stratification. A series of isotropic compression tests were carried out to study the behavior of granular material produced under controlled stratification in the laboratory. These tests were conducted both on cylindrical and square prismatic tri-axial specimens. It was observed that for hydrostatic loading, the strain response was different in different directions, especially in directions parallel and perpendicular to the direction of soil deposition. A definite trend of anisotropy was observed in the deformation pattern. The observed anisotropy is modeled in this paper by treating soil-dilatancy as a variable quantity. The equation of the plastic potential surface of the model which obeys a non-associated flow rule, is assumed to be dependent on three main variables confining pressure (\(\sigma_{3}\)), void ratio (e) and the angle of bedding plane orientation (δ) during deposition. The angle of bedding plane orientation (δ) was measured with respect to the direction of the major principal stress. The model has a cap yield surface in the isotropic stress direction, which is supplemented by a shear hardening Mohr–Coulomb surface in the deviator direction. This paper focuses on predicting the anisotropic strain response of stratified soil deposits subjected to isotropic compression. The proposed anisotropic model incorporates within an existing strain-hardening sand model, a modified cap yield surface and a modified plastic potential function related to the cap surface, to account for the anistropic response observed in isotropic compression tests. The two dimensional stress–strain model was extended to three dimensional Cartesian space. The strain anisotropy observed in the isotropic compression tests was predicted by the three dimensional anisotropic model proposed for granular materials.     

复杂应力条件下土体各向异性及其建模思路

由于加荷方式不同,土体在复杂应力状态下在各主应力方向上应力-应变关系表现出显著应力各向异性,在常规三轴试验基础上,采用经典弹塑性理论各向同性土体模型对此不能合理描述。通过真三轴试验,总结应力各向异性柔度矩阵规律,结合试验规律进行相应理论研究,用非线性各向异性弹性矩阵代替弹塑性模型的弹性矩阵,用具有各向异性屈服准则的弹塑性模型描述塑性部分,建立非线性各向异性弹性-塑性模型,可以改善柔度矩阵矩阵形态,反映复杂应力状态下土体应力各向异性特征。