An efficient numerical model for incompressible two-phase flow in fractured media

Various numerical methods have been used in the literature to simulate single and multiphase flow in fractured media. A promising approach is the use of the discrete-fracture model where the fracture entities in the permeable media are described explicitly in the computational grid. In this work, we present a critical review of the main conventional methods for multiphase flow in fractured media including the finite difference (FD), finite volume (FV), and finite element (FE) methods, that are coupled with the discrete-fracture model. All the conventional methods have inherent limitations in accuracy and applications. The FD method, for example, is restricted to horizontal and vertical fractures. The accuracy of the vertex-centered FV method depends on the size of the matrix gridcells next to the fractures; for an acceptable accuracy the matrix gridcells next to the fractures should be small. The FE method cannot describe properly the saturation discontinuity at the matrix–fracture interface. In this work, we introduce a new approach that is free from the limitations of the conventional methods. Our proposed approach is applicable in 2D and 3D unstructured griddings with low mesh orientation effect; it captures the saturation discontinuity from the contrast in capillary pressure between the rock matrix and fractures. The matrix–fracture and fracture–fracture fluxes are calculated based on powerful features of the mixed finite element (MFE) method which provides, in addition to the gridcell pressures, the pressures at the gridcell interfaces and can readily model the pressure discontinuities at impermeable faults in a simple way. To reduce the numerical dispersion, we use the discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method to approximate the saturation equation. We take advantage of a hybrid time scheme to alleviate the restrictions on the size of the time step in the fracture network. Several numerical examples in 2D and 3D demonstrate the robustness of the proposed model. Results show the significance of capillary pressure and orders of magnitude increase in computational speed compared to previous works.     

Numerical solution of two-phase flow for the advection-dominated and non-linear case

This work presents a highly efficient numerical scheme for solving immiscible, advection-dominated two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media. The pressure equation is decoupled from the saturation equation using an IMPES approach, while the advective terms are decoupled from the capillary diffusive terms in the saturation equation through sequential operator splitting. The parabolic and hyperbolic equations are approximated in time by implicit and explicit schemes, respectively. Damped Newton linearization is applied to the implicit non-linear diffusive step. Mixed hybrid finite elements are applied to the global pressure equation and to the regularized capillary diffusion term. For both linear systems arising from the approximation procedure, an AMG preconditioned conjugate gradient solver is used. A finite volume scheme with slope limiter is applied to the advective step. Numerical comparison with standard preconditioners demonstrates the reliability of the proposed AMG-preconditioner. Benchmark examples illustrate the robustness of the method.     

Interface condition and linearization schemes in the Newton iterations for two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media

Block heterogeneities have an important influence on macroscale two-phase flow and transport in porous media. Applying a vertex-centered finite volume method, we first focus on a physically correct representation of the processes at the interface between different materials, i.e. of capillary equilibrium enforcing a discontinuity in saturation. Second, we will compare different linearization schemes in the Newton iterations in order to improve the efficiency of the numerical simulator.     

Similarity solution for capillary redistribution of two phases in a porous medium with a single discontinuity

In this paper we consider one-dimensional capillary redistribution of two immiscible and incompressible fluids in a porous medium with a single discontinuity. We study a special time-dependent solution, a similarity solution, which is found when the initial saturation is discontinuous at the same point as the permeability and porosity, and is constant elsewhere. The similarity solution can be used to validate numerical algorithms describing two-phase flow in porous media with discontinuous heterogeneities. We discuss the construction of the similarity solution, in which we pay special attention to the interface conditions at the discontinuity, both for media with positive and zero entry pressure. Moreover, we discuss some qualitative properties of the solution, and outline a numerical procedure to determine its graph. Examples are given for the Brooks-Corey and Van Genuchten model. We also consider similarity solutions for unsaturated water flow, which is a limit case of two-phase flow for negligible nonwetting phase viscosity.     

A new look at multiphase invasion with applications to borehole resistivity interpretation

In well log interpretation, it is frequently necessary to correct logs for invasion. Invasion occurs in permeable formations when there is a radial differential pressure (RDP) between the borehole and formation. Other factors on which invasion depend include saturation, mobility, pressure (RDP) and capillary pressure, permeability and viscosity of fluids, and temperature transient effects associated with the mud filtrate injected into the formation. Thus, simulation of realistic invasion is not an easy task. This work reviews the famous Buckley–Leverett mathematical model in cylindrical coordinates appropriate for borehole geometries. The model predicts multiphase invasion in porous media when gravity, capillary pressure, and mud cake can be neglected. One application is to correct logging while drilling (LWD) and wireline resistivity logs for time-dependent invasion and formation temperature effects. This is important, for example, when there are possible large differences in formation and mud temperature. Modeling studies show these effects can be large enough to noticeably influence resistivity logs. However, after correction, difference in LWD and wireline logs arising from the time-dependent heat process are explained. Thus, the method, when coupled to a time-dependent heat flow model, and a response function formulation of resistivity, yields new insight into the influence of thermal and electrical transients in log interpretation.     

电导率任意各向异性海洋可控源电磁三维矢量有限元数值模拟

现有海洋可控源电磁三维数值模拟方法大多基于电导率各向同性介质理论,不能模拟海底地层电导率各向异性的实际情况.本文给出了电导率各向异性三维介质中电性源海洋可控源电磁二次电场的边值问题以及相应的变分问题,采用长方体单元对研究区域剖分,将场分量定义在剖分单元的边上,利用矢量有限单元法求解变分问题,实现了电导率任意各向异性海洋可控源电磁三维矢量有限元数值模拟.这个新的正演方法可以计算电导率任意各向异性三维地电模型的海洋可控源电磁响应,基于二次场矢量有限元法直接求解电磁场,避免了传统有限元方法可能遇到的伪解问题和难于处理电场法向分量不连续的问题,提高了数值模拟计算精度.一维电导率各向异性模型电磁场数值解与解析解吻合得相当好,无论在源附近还是远离源处相对误差均不超过1%.电导率各向异性二维模型的计算结果与已有文献采用的非结构有限元模拟结果十分吻合.三维地电模型数值模拟结果显示,电导率各向异性张量电导率主轴分量和欧拉角对不同装置海洋可控源电磁响应均有着明显的影响.     

Stochastic analysis of immiscible displacement in porous media

The interface of two immiscible fluids flowing in porous media may behave in an unstable fashion. This instability is governed by the pore distribution, differential viscosity and interface tension between the two immiscible fluids. This study investigates the factors that control the interface instability at the wetting front. The development of the flow equation is based on the mass balance principle, with boundary conditions such as the velocity continuity and capillary pressure balance at the interface. By assuming that the two-phase fluids in porous media are saturated, a covariance function of the wetting front position is derived by stochastic theory. According to those results, the unstable interface between two immiscible fluids is governed by the fluid velocity and properties such as viscosity and density. The fluid properties that affect the interface instability are expressed as dimensionless parameters, mobility ratio, capillary number and Bond number. If the fluid flow is driven by gravitational force, whether the interface undergoes upward displacement or downward displacement, the variance of the unstable interface decreases with an increasing mobility ratio, increases with increasing capillary number, and decreases with increasing Bond number. For a circumstance in which fluid flow is horizontal, our results demonstrate that the capillary number does not influence the generation of the unstable interface.     

Mixed finite element methods and higher order temporal approximations for variably saturated groundwater flow

Richards’ equation (RE) is commonly used to model flow in variably saturated porous media. However, its solution continues to be difficult for many conditions of practical interest. Among the various time discretizations applied to RE, the method of lines (MOL) has been used successfully to introduce robust, accurate, and efficient temporal approximations. At the same time, a mixed-hybrid finite element method combined with an adaptive, higher order time discretization has shown benefits over traditional, lower order temporal approximations for modeling single-phase groundwater flow in heterogeneous porous media. Here, we extend earlier work for single-phase flow and consider two mixed finite element methods that have been used previously to solve RE using lower order time discretizations with either fixed time steps or empirically based adaption. We formulate the two spatial discretizations within a MOL context for the pressure head form of RE as well as a fully mass-conservative version. We conduct several numerical experiments for both spatial discretizations with each formulation, and we compare the higher order, adaptive time discretization to a first-order approximation with formal error control and adaptive time step selection. Based on the numerical results, we evaluate the performance of the methods for robustness and efficiency.     

A new multiscale scheme for computing statistical moments in single phase flow in heterogeneous porous media

In this work we develop a new multiscale procedure to compute numerically the statistical moments of the stochastic variables which govern single phase flow in heterogeneous porous media. The technique explores the properties of the log-normally distributed hydraulic conductivity, characterized by power-law or exponential covariances, which shows invariance in its statistical structure upon a simultaneous change of the scale of observation and strength of heterogeneity. We construct a family of equivalent stochastic hydrodynamic variables satisfying the same flow equations at different scales and strengths of heterogeneity or correlation lengths. Within the new procedure the governing equations are solved in a scaled geology and the numerical results are mapped onto the original medium at coarser scales by a straightforward rescaling. The new procedure is implemented numerically within the Monte Carlo algorithm and also in conjunction with the discretization of the low-order effective equations derived from perturbation analysis. Numerical results obtained by the finite element method show the accuracy of the new procedure to approximated the two first moments of the pressure and velocity along with its potential in reducing drastically the computational cost involved in the numerical modeling of both power-law and exponential covariance functions.     

Perfectly matched layer-absorbing boundary condition for finite-element time-domain modeling of elastic wave equations

The perfectly matched layer (PML) is a highly efficient absorbing boundary condition used for the numerical modeling of seismic wave equation. The article focuses on the application of this technique to finite-element time-domain numerical modeling of elastic wave equation. However, the finite-element time-domain scheme is based on the second-order wave equation in displacement formulation. Thus, the first-order PML in velocity-stress formulation cannot be directly applied to this scheme. In this article, we derive the finite-element matrix equations of second-order PML in displacement formulation, and accomplish the implementation of PML in finite-element time-domain modeling of elastic wave equation. The PML has an approximate zero reflection coefficients for bulk and surface waves in the finite-element modeling of P-SV and SH wave propagation in the 2D homogeneous elastic media. The numerical experiments using a two-layer model with irregular topography validate the efficiency of PML in the modeling of seismic wave propagation in geological models with complex structures and heterogeneous media.     

Identifying the representative flow unit for capillary dominated two-phase flow in porous media using morphology-based pore-scale modeling

In this paper, we extend pore-morphology-based methods proposed by Hazlett (1995) and Hilpert and Miller (2001) to simulate drainage and imbibition in uniformly wetting porous media and add an (optional) entrapment of the (non-)wetting phase. By improving implementation, this method allows us to identify the statistical representative elementary volume and estimate uncertainty by computing fluid flow properties and saturation distributions of hundreds of subsamples within a reasonable time-frame. The method was utilized to study three different porous medium systems and results demonstrate that morphology-based pore-scale modeling is a viable approach to assess the representative elementary volume with respect to capillary dominated two-phase flow. The focus of this paper is the determination of the representative elementary volume for multiphase-flow properties for a digital representation of a rock.     

TCAT Analysis of Capillary Pressure in Non-equilibrium, Two-fluid-phase, Porous Medium Systems

Standard models of flow of two immiscible fluids in a porous medium make use of an expression for the dependence of capillary pressure on the saturation of a fluid phase. Data to support the mathematical expression is most often obtained through a sequence of equilibrium experiments. In addition to such expressions being hysteretic, recent experimental and theoretical studies have suggested that the equilibrium functional forms obtained may be inadequate for modeling dynamic systems. This situation has led to efforts to express relaxation of a system to an equilibrium capillary pressure in relation to the rate of change of saturation. Here, based on insights gained from the thermodynamically constrained averaging theory (TCAT) we propose that dynamic processes are related to changes in interfacial area between phases as well as saturation. A more complete formulation of capillary pressure dynamics is presented leading to an equation that is suitable for experimental study.     

An Investigation of the Pressure Pulsing Reagent Delivery Approach

Pressure pulsing technology is an innovative method that has been developed with the aim of overcoming preferred flow paths associated with remediation techniques that rely on the injection of reagents. Numerical and field experiments were conducted to assess how pressure pulsing affects groundwater flow and solute transport during reagent injection. A series of field experiments were performed at two field sites where a monitoring network designed to capture the breakthrough of solutes delivered from an injection well was installed. Pressure pulsing and conventional injection methods were used at each site. One site was comprised of fine sand with low heterogeneity, while the other was moderately heterogeneous with discrete layers varying from fine sand to silt. The data suggest that breakthrough was more uniform for the pressure pulsing injections; however, this difference was minor and complicated by sorption of some of the tracers employed. The groundwater flow and solute transport modeling exercise simulated the rapid boundary pressure modulation that occurs in association with pressure pulsing. Two‐dimensional (2D) simulations revealed that repeated sudden onset of injection cessation produces brief periods of gradient reversal and the development of a mixing zone near the injection well. The spatial extents of this mixing zone were found to be highly dependent upon the hydraulic diffusivity of the medium, with medium heterogeneity and pulsing frequency playing secondary roles. Three‐dimensional (3D) numerical simulations were used to benchmark the observations from one of the field sites. The results from the modeling effort showed that solute breakthrough from a pressure pulsing injection is more dispersed relative to a conventional injection as a result of the mixing zone phenomenon; however, we were unable to directly observe this mixing zone using the instrumentation deployed at the two field sites.     

Numerical modeling of formation damage by two-phase particulate transport processes during CO2 injection in deep heterogeneous porous media

Prediction of CO₂ injection performance in deep subsurface porous media relies on the ability of the well to maintain high flow rates of carbon dioxide during several decades typically without fracturing the host formation or damaging the well. Dynamics of solid particulate suspensions in permeable media are recognized as one major factor leading to injection well plugging in sandstones. The invading supercritical liquid-like fluid can contain exogenous fine suspensions or endogenous particles generated in situ by physical and chemical interactions or hydrodynamic release mechanisms. Suspended solids can plug the pores possibly leading to formation damage and permeability reduction in the vicinity of the injector. In this study we developed a finite volume simulator to predict the injectivity decline near CO₂ injection wells and also for production wells in the context of enhanced oil recovery. The numerical model solves a system of two coupled sets of finite volume equations corresponding to the pressure-saturation two-phase flow, and a second subsystem of solute and particle convection-diffusion equations. Particle transport equations are subject to mechanistic rate laws of colloidal, hydrodynamic release from pore surfaces, blocking in pore bodies and pore throats, and interphase particle transfer. The model was validated against available laboratory experiments at the core scale. Example results reveal that lower CO₂ residual saturation and formation porosity enhance CO₂-wet particle mobility and clogging around sinks and production wells. We conclude from more realistic simulations with heterogeneous permeability spanning several orders of magnitude that the control mode of mobilization, capture of particles, and permeability reduction processes strongly depends on the type of permeability distribution and connectivity between injection and production wells.     

Extended Roof snap-off for a continuous nonwetting fluid and an example case for supercritical CO2

A dominant mechanism for residual trapping of a nonwetting fluid in porous media during imbibition is snap-off or the disconnection of a continuous stream of the nonwetting fluid when it passes through pore constrictions and when a criterion based on capillary pressure imbalance is met. While quasi-static criteria for Roof snap-off have been defined for pores based on the imbalance between capillary pressure across the front/tail meniscus and local capillary pressure at the pore throat, and expressed in terms of pore body to pore throat ratio for simplification, we extended the previous quasi-static snap-off criterion by considering the local capillary pressure imbalance between the pore body and the pore throat for both circular and noncircular pores when the wetting film exists. We then used the criterion to analyze results from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of multi-phase flow with supercritical CO₂ as the nonwetting fluid and water as the wetting fluid. The extended criterion successfully described most situations we modeled. Furthermore, we compared fluid interface shape for a noncircular 3D pore predicted by the minimum surface energy (MSE) theory against 3D CFD simulations. While the fluid interface shape at the pore throat for 3D simulation was consistent with the shape predicted by MSE theory, the shape could not be successfully predicted by the MSE theory at the upstream and downstream pore body. Moreover, film flow existed for the noncircular pore at the downstream pore body.     

Cyclic hysteretic flow in porous medium column: model, experiment, and simulations

A periodic vertical movement of the groundwater table results in a subsequent cyclic response of the water content and pressure profiles in the vadose zone. The sequence of periodic wetting and drying processes can be affected by hysteresis effects in this zone. A one-dimensional saturated/unsaturated flow model based on Richards’ equation and the Mualem (Soil Sci. 137 (1984) 283) hysteresis model is formulated which can take into account multi-cycle hysteresis effects in the relation between capillary pressure and water content. The numerical integration of the unsaturated flow equation is based on a Galerkin-type finite element method. The flow domain is discretised by finite elements with linear shape functions. Simulations start with static water content and pressure profiles, which correspond to either a boundary drying or wetting retention curve. To facilitate the numerical solution of the hysteretic case an implicit non-iterative procedure was chosen for the solution of the nonlinear differential equation. Laboratory experiments were performed with a vertical sand column by imposing a high frequency periodic pressure head at the lower end of the column. The total water volume in the column, and the periodic water content profile averaged over time were measured. The boundary drying and wetting curves of the relation between water content and capillary pressure were determined by independent experiments. The simulations of the experimental conditions show a clear effect of the hysteresis phenomenon on the water content profile. The simulations with hysteresis agree well with the measurements. Computed dimensionless water content profiles are presented for different oscillation frequencies with and without consideration of hysteresis.     

Comparison of Galerkin-type discretization techniques for two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media

A comparison of Standard Galerkin, Petrov-Galerkin, and Fully-Upwind Galerkin methods for the simulation of two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media is presented. On the basis of the coupled pressure-saturation equations, a generalized formulation for all three finite element methods is derived and analysed. For flow in homogeneous media, the Petrov-Galerkin method gives excellent results. But this method fails miserably for problems with heterogeneous media. This is because it is not able to capture correctly processes that take place at interfaces when, for instance, the capillary pressure-saturation relationship after Brooks and Corey is assumed. The Fully-Upwind Galerkin method is superior to the Petrov-Galerkin approach because it is able to give correct results for flow in homogeneous and heterogeneous media for the two models of van Genuchten and Brooks-Corey. The widely used formulation which is correct for the homogeneous case cannot be used for heterogeneous media. Instead the straightforward approach of gradp_c in combination with a chord-slope technique must be utilized.     

Scaling behavior and the effects of heterogeneity on shallow seismic imaging of mineral deposits: A case study from Brunswick No. 6 mining area,Canada

We have studied the scaling behavior of compressional-wave velocity and density logs from an exploration borehole that extends down to about 700 m depth in the Brunswick No. 6 mining area, Bathurst Mining Camp, Canada. Using statistical methods, vertical and horizontal scale lengths of heterogeneity were estimated. Vertical scale length estimates from the velocity, density and calculated acoustic impedance are 14 m, 33 m, and about 20 m, respectively. Although the estimated scale length for the acoustic impedance implies a weak scattering environment, elastic finite difference modeling of seismic wave propagation in 2D heterogeneous media demonstrates that even this weak scattering medium can mask seismic signals from small, but yet economically feasible, massive sulfide deposits. Further analysis of the synthetic seismic data suggests that in the presence of heterogeneity, lenticular-shaped targets may only exhibit incomplete diffraction signals whereby the down-dip tails of these diffractions are mainly visible on the stacked sections. Therefore, identification of orebody generated diffractions is much easier on the unmigrated stacked sections than on migrated stacked sections. The numerical seismic modeling in 2D heterogeneous media indicates that in the presence of large horizontal, but small vertical scale lengths (structural anisotropy), identification of massive sulfide deposits is possible, but their delineation at depth requires detailed velocity modeling and processing algorithms which can handle the anisotropy.     

Finite layer method for flow in layered radial two-zone aquifer systems

A new finite layer method (FLM) is presented in this paper for transient flow analysis in layered radial two-zone aquifer systems. A radial two-zone system is an aquifer configuration in which a circular aquifer with finite radius is surrounded by a matrix possessing different permeability and storage properties. The aquifers can be pumped from fully or partially penetrating wells of infinitesimal radius. The trial function for drawdown is obtained through the use of piecewise linear correction functions in the present method. The trial function can satisfy the continuity conditions of flow and possess an appropriate continuity of C(0) at the two-zone interface. On the basis of Galerkin's method and the continuity condition of flow, the finite layer formulation is derived. The proposed method can cope with the anisotropy and layered heterogeneity in radial two-zone aquifer systems. Several numerical examples are presented to verify the validity of the present method through comparison with the analytical solution and the numerical results based on the finite difference method, in which a test of three-dimensional (3D) flow to a partially penetrating well in anisotropic two-zone aquifers is included. Furthermore, an additional application in simulating the two-zone flow in aquitard-aquifer systems is presented to demonstrate the applicability of FLM in modeling flow in more complex aquifer systems.