Risk Management for Petroleum Reservoir Production: A Simulation-Based Study of Prediction

We consider numerical solutions of the Darcy and Buckley–Leverett equations for flow in porous media. These solutions depend on a realization of a random field that describes the reservoir permeability. The main content of this paper is to formulate and analyze a probability model for the numerical coarse grid solution error. We explore the extent to which the coarse grid oil production rate is sufficient to predict future oil production rates. We find that very early oil production data is sufficient to reduce the prediction error in oil production by about 30%, relative to the prior probability prediction.     

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.     

Poroelastic behaviour of saturated brittle rock with anisotropic damage

A new anisotropic poroelastic damage model is proposed for saturated brittle porous materials. The model is formulated in the framework of the continuum damage mechanics. A second‐rank symmetric tensor is used to characterize material damage due to oriented microcracks. The classic Biot poroelastic theory is then extended to include poroelastic damage coupling. Both the deterioration of elastic properties and poroelastic coefficients is taken into account. A suitable procedure for determination of model parameters from standard laboratory tests is presented. The validity of the model is tested through comparison between numerical predictions and experimental data in various loading conditions. The overall performance of the model is evaluated. The choice of relevant effective stress for the microcrack propagation criterion in saturated cohesive geomaterials is discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

考虑固结效应的溶质传输研究

传统的孔隙介质水动力学采用对流-扩散方程,研究溶质在流体中的迁移。在这个过程中,孔隙介质被认为是不变形的,因而是一个稳态问题。针对二维情况下孔隙介质变形对溶质传输的影响,给出了考虑孔隙介质固结效应的溶质传输方程,并且探讨了该类问题的求解方法。     

Numerical modeling of toxic nonaqueous phase liquid removal from contaminated groundwater systems: mesh effect and discretization error estimation

Numerical modeling has now become an indispensable tool for investigating the fundamental mechanisms of toxic nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) removal from contaminated groundwater systems. Because the domain of a contaminated groundwater system may involve irregular shapes in geometry, it is necessary to use general quadrilateral elements, in which two neighbor sides are no longer perpendicular to each other. This can cause numerical errors on the computational simulation results due to mesh discretization effect. After the dimensionless governing equations of NAPL dissolution problems are briefly described, the propagation theory of the mesh discretization error associated with a NAPL dissolution system is first presented for a rectangular domain and then extended to a trapezoidal domain. This leads to the establishment of the finger‐amplitude growing theory that is associated with both the corner effect that takes place just at the entrance of the flow in a trapezoidal domain and the mesh discretization effect that occurs in the whole NAPL dissolution system of the trapezoidal domain. This theory can be used to make the approximate error estimation of the corresponding computational simulation results. The related theoretical analysis and numerical results have demonstrated the following: (1) both the corner effect and the mesh discretization effect can be quantitatively viewed as a kind of small perturbation, which can grow in unstable NAPL dissolution systems, so that they can have some considerable effects on the computational results of such systems; (2) the proposed finger‐amplitude growing theory associated with the corner effect at the entrance of a trapezoidal domain is useful for correctly explaining why the finger at either the top or bottom boundary grows much faster than that within the interior of the trapezoidal domain; (3) the proposed finger‐amplitude growing theory associated with the mesh discretization error in the NAPL dissolution system of a trapezoidal domain can be used for quantitatively assessing the correctness of computational simulations of NAPL dissolution front instability problems in trapezoidal domains, so that we can ensure that the computational simulation results are controlled by the physics of the NAPL dissolution system, rather than by the numerical artifacts. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

雅鲁藏布江大拐弯入口段泥石流特征及应对措施

雅鲁藏布江大拐弯入口段活动的地质构造、特殊的地形与气候条件酿就了暴雨泥石流及冰川泥石流等地质灾害。近60a来,则隆弄冰川泥石流曾两度摧毁直白村;鲁霞-德阳段暴雨泥石流的洪积扇已经深入雅鲁藏布江中,该段河道处于半阻塞状态。两处地点的泥石流对上下游村庄、城镇及设施带来严重威胁。依据地貌调查及室内DEM定量分析,了解泥石流地质灾害的空间分布特征及其成因,对前人认为则隆弄冰川泥石流堰塞雅鲁藏布江造成上游回水成湖淹没米林、林芝等地的观点提出了新的看法;米林、林芝古淹没事件可能是对多地点泥石流爆发的响应。对米林—加拉一线不同地点不同类型的泥石流灾害可能造成的不良环境效应进行评估后提出几点应对措施。     

Spatial averaging of hydraulic conductivity in three-dimensional heterogeneous porous media

Numerical models of groundwater flow require the assignment of hydraulic conductivities to large grid blocks discretizing the flow domain; however, conductivity data is usually available only at the much smaller scale of core samples. This paper describes a geostatistical model for hydraulic conductivity at both the core or point scale and that of grid blocks. Conductivity at the block scale is obtained empirically as a spatial power-average of point scale values. Assuming a multivariate Gaussian model for point log-conductivity, expressions are derived for the ensemble mean and variance of block conductivity. The expression for the ensemble mean of block scale conductivity is found to be similar to an expression for the ensemble effective conductivity of an infinite field derived analytically by earlier authors. Here, block conductivities obtained by power averaging are compared with effective conductivities obtained from a numerical flow model and are found to be in excellent agreement for a suitably chosen averaging exponent. This agreement deteriorates gradually as the log variance of conductivity increases beyond 2. For arbitrary flow field geometry and anisotropic conductivity covariances, the averaging exponent can be calibrated by recourse to numerical flow experiments. For cubic fields and an isotropic spatial covariance, the averaging exponent is found to be 1/3. In this particular case, it was found that flow field discretization at the block scale through local averaging of point conductivities gave similar results to those obtained directly using a point scale discretization of the flow field.     

Calculating the internodal transmissibilities using finite analytic method and its application for multi‐phase flow in heterogeneous porous media

In the traditional numerical reservoir simulations, the internodal transmissibility is usually defined as the harmonic mean of the permeabilities of the adjacent grids. This definition underestimates the phase flux and the speed of the saturation front, especially for the strong heterogeneous case. In this article, the internodal transmissibility is recalculated according to the nodal analytic solution. The redefined internodal transmissibility can be used directly to calculate the multiphase flow in the numerical reservoir simulations. Numerical examples show that, compared to the traditional numerical methods, the proposed scheme makes the convergences much faster as the refinement parameter increases, and the accuracy is independent of the heterogeneity. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

原油粘度变化对水驱油开发动态影响的数学模拟方法

为了研究注水开发油田原油粘度升高对开发效果的影响, 通过对实际油藏原油粘度统计, 回归出了原油粘度增长模型.在三维三相黑油渗流模型的基础上, 建立了一个原油粘度随含水和压力变化的油藏渗流数学模型, 并采用有限差分方法建立了相应的数值模型, 采用超松弛法对该模型进行了求解, 用Fortran90语言开发了一个新的数值模拟器.应用该模拟器模拟了不同的原油粘度变化规律对水驱效果的影响, 并与常规模拟器的结果进行了对比.结果表明: 初始水油粘度比为1∶10、含水达到98%时, 粘度增长指数由0增加到0.02, 对应的原油采出程度由44.80%降低到34.29%.目前商业软件中忽略了原油粘度随含水升高而增加的因素, 使得预测的采收率明显偏高.      

General coupling extended multiscale FEM for elasto‐plastic consolidation analysis of heterogeneous saturated porous media

This paper presents a general coupling extended multiscale FEM (GCEMs) for solving the coupling problem of elasto‐plastic consolidation of heterogeneous saturated porous media. In the GCEMs, the numerical multiscale base functions for the solid skeleton and fluid phase of the coupling system are all constructed on the basis of the equivalent stiffness matrix of the unit cell, which not only contain the interaction between the solid and fluid phases but also consider the time effect. Furthermore, in order to improve the computational accuracy for two‐dimensional problems, a multi‐node coarse element strategy for the GCEMs is proposed, and a two‐scale iteration algorithm for the elasto‐plastic consolidation analysis is developed. Some one‐dimensional and two‐dimensional homogeneous and heterogeneous numerical examples are carried out to validate the proposed method through the comparison with the coupling multiscale FEM and standard FEM. Numerical results show that the newly developed GCEMs can almost preserve the same convergent property as the standard FEM and also possesses the advantages of high computational efficiency. In addition, the GCEMs can be easily applied to other coupling multifield and multiphase transient problems. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

饱和黏弹性孔隙介质中压缩波的频散与衰减

波的频散现象及其成因是岩石物理学与孔隙介质声学研究的一个热点.基于Biot理论与Darcy-Brinkman定律,提出了 Maxwell-Brinkman与Kelvin-Brinkman黏弹性孔隙介质力学模型,建立了压缩波的频散关系,揭示了波的频散与衰减规律,分析了应力松弛与蠕变对波的传播速度与逆品质因子的影响.低频情况下,Kelvin-Brinkman模型与Darcy-Brinkman-Biot模型预测的压缩波的频散及其衰减一致.高频情况下,Maxwell-Brinkman模型与Darcy-Brinkman-Biot模型预测的压缩波的频散及其衰减一致.结合墨西哥湾的试验数据,验证了物理模型的可靠性.通过参数敏感性分析,探讨了基于实测数据优化介质参数的方法.     

可压缩流体饱和孔隙介质中孔隙压力波传播数值分析

首次将高精度时空守恒元/解元方法推广到可压缩流体饱和孔隙介质中孔隙压力波传播的数值计算中。将孔隙度梯度从源（汇）项中分离,直接引入流通量,改进了理论模型。通过对孔隙介质激波问题的数值模拟,验证了方法的精度和有效性。在此基础上,提出了孔隙介质中二维黎曼问题,并揭示了孔隙压力波存在接触间断、激波、膨胀波、压缩波等复杂的结构特征。该成果对二氧化碳地质封存、二氧化碳提高石油采收率、页岩气压裂开采以及地震破裂过程的研究具有重要的理论与应用意义。     

Using global node-based velocity in random walk particle tracking in variably saturated porous media: application to contaminant leaching from road constructions

Precise and efficient numerical simulation of transport processes in subsurface systems is a prerequisite for many site investigation or remediation studies. Random walk particle tracking (RWPT) methods have been introduced in the past to overcome numerical difficulties when simulating propagation processes in porous media such as advection-dominated mass transport. Crucial for the precision of RWPT methods is the accuracy of the numerically calculated ground water velocity field. In this paper, a global node-based method for velocity calculation is used, which was originally proposed by Yeh (Water Resour Res 7:1216–1225, 1981). This method is improved in three ways: (1) extension to unstructured grids, (2) significant enhancement of computational efficiency, and (3) extension to saturated (groundwater) as well as unsaturated systems (soil water). The novel RWPT method is tested with numerical benchmark examples from the literature and used in two field scale applications of contaminant transport in saturated and unsaturated ground water. To evaluate advective transport of the model, the accuracy of the velocity field is demonstrated by comparing several published results of particle pathlines or streamlines. Given the chosen test problem, the global node-based velocity estimation is found to be as accurate as the CK method (Cordes and Kinzelbach in Water Resour Res 28(11):2903–2911, 1992) but less accurate than the mixed or mixed-hybrid finite element methods for flow in highly heterogeneous media. To evaluate advective–diffusive transport, a transport problem studied by Hassan and Mohamed (J Hydrol 275(3–4):242–260, 2003) is investigated here and evaluated using different numbers of particles. The results indicate that the number of particles required for the given problem is decreased using the proposed method by about two orders of magnitude without losing accuracy of the concentration contours as compared to the published numbers.     

A THERMO-VISCOPLASTIC CONSTITUTIVE MODEL FOR CLAYS

The effect of heat on clay behaviour is characterized by non-linearity and irreversibility. Due to the complex influence of temperature, thermomechanical factors have to be taken into account for the numerical simulation of the behaviour of such materials. A cyclic thermo-viscoplastic model is developed for this purpose. It includes thermal hardening and the evolution of yield surfaces with temperature. From the physical point of view, it is built on the basis of available experimental results for a temperature range in which no phase change occurs. Conceptually, it is the generalization of an isothermal multimechanism cyclic model. A thermoplastic formulation of the model is also derived. The results obtained from numerical simulations compare well with experiments. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical Reliability for Mixed Methods Applied to Flow Problems in Porous Media

This paper is devoted to the numerical reliability and time requirements of the Mixed Finite Element (MFE) and Mixed-Hybrid Finite Element (MHFE) methods. The behavior of these methods is investigated under the influence of two factors: the mesh discretization and the medium heterogeneity. We show that, unlike the MFE, the MHFE suffers with the presence of badly shaped discretized elements. Thereat, a numerical reliability analyzing software (Aquarels) is used to detect the instability of a matrix-inversion code generated automatically by a symbolic manipulator. We also show that the spectral condition number of the algebraic systems furnished by both methods in heterogeneous media grows up linearly according to the smoothness of the hydraulic conductivity. Furthermore, it is found that the MHFE could accumulate numerical errors if large jumps in the tensor of conductivity take place. Finally, we compare running-times for both algorithms by giving various numerical experiments.     

电法在秦岭钼多金属矿区找盲应用

本文以电法在秦岭某钼多金属矿区寻找深部盲矿的应用为例,介绍了电法勘查方法应用效果,说明物探资料在地球物理前提条件具备时,可以为矿区设计和开发生产过程提供重要的信息和依据,在相似地区深部找矿和寻找盲矿体具有一定借鉴意义。     

Nuclear Waste Disposal Simulations: Couplex Test Cases

We give some results obtained for the Couplex test cases proposed by the ANDRA. In this paper our aim is twofold. Firstly, to compute the release of nuclides out of the repository by concentrating on the 3D near field (Couplex 2). The simulation of the transport phenomena takes into account the dissolution of the glass containers and congruent emissions of the radio-nuclides including filiation chains and some simplified chemistry. Secondly, it is to use the near field computations in order to simulate the nuclide migrations in a 2D far field (Couplex 3). Coupling in between the two simulations takes into consideration the periodicity of the disposal modules and the geometry of the repository described in Couplex 1. The mixed finite element and discontinuous Galerkin methods are used to solve the convection–diffusion equations. In order to handle the nonlinear precipitation/dissolution term, we developed a new iterative technique that combines Picard and Newton–Raphson methods.     

钻孔水泥浆灌注替浆量的计算及操作问题

分析了钻孔水泥浆液灌注过程中孔内水位变化以及管路虹吸现象对替浆量的影响;指出了以往替浆量计算方法的不足;根据水力学压力平衡理论修订建立了新的钻孔水泥浆灌注替浆量的计算公式。