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.     

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.     

基于时空守恒元和解元(CE/SE)方法的孔隙介质多相流动计算

将时空守恒元/解元(CE/SE)方法推广到二维孔隙介质多相流问题的数值计算中,采用人工压缩法耦合速度和压力,同时结合杂交粒子水平集方法捕捉物质界面.提出一套完整的二维欧拉型孔隙介质非稳态多相不可压缩黏性流动计算方案.通过对溃坝和液滴在重力作用下的运动和变形问题的数值模拟,验证了方法的精度和有效性.在此基础上,提出了一个新的孔隙介质两相流物理模型——双层流体顶盖驱动方腔流.     

Direct simulations of two-phase flow on micro-CT images of porous media and upscaling of pore-scale forces

Pore-scale forces have a significant effect on the macroscopic behaviour of multiphase flow through porous media. This paper studies the effect of these forces using a new volume-of-fluid based finite volume method developed for simulating two-phase flow directly on micro-CT images of porous media. An analytical analysis of the relationship between the pore-scale forces and the Darcy-scale pressure drops is presented. We use this analysis to propose unambiguous definitions of Darcy-scale viscous pressure drops as the rate of energy dissipation per unit flow rate of each phase, and then use them to obtain the relative permeability curves. We show that this definition is consistent with conventional laboratory/field measurements by comparing our predictions with experimental relative permeability. We present single and two-phase flow simulations for primary oil injection followed by water injection on a sandpack and a Berea sandstone. The two-phase flow simulations are presented at different capillary numbers which cover the transition from capillary fingering at low capillary numbers to a more viscous fingering displacement pattern at higher capillary numbers, and the effect of capillary number on the relative permeability curves is investigated. Overall, this paper presents a new finite volume-based methodology for the detailed analysis of two-phase flow directly on micro-CT images of porous media and upscaling of the results to the Darcy scale.     

基于Remez迭代算法求解差分系数的双相介质自适应有限差分正演模拟

利用传统有限差分方法对基于Biot理论的双相介质波动方程进行数值求解时,由于慢纵波的存在,数值频散效应较为明显,影响模拟精度.相对于声学近似方程及普通弹性波方程,Biot双相介质波动方程在同等数值求解算法和精度要求条件下,其地震波场正演模拟需要更多的计算时间.本文针对Biot一阶速度-应力方程组发展了一种变阶数优化有限差分数值模拟方法,旨在同时提高其正演模拟的精度和效率.首先结合交错网格差分格式推导Biot方程的数值频散关系式.然后基于Remez迭代算法求取一阶空间偏导数的优化差分系数,并用于Biot方程的交错网格有限差分数值模拟.在此基础上把三类波的平均频散误差参数限制在给定的频散误差阈值和频率范围内,此时优化有限差分算子的长度就能自适应非均匀双相介质模型中的不同速度区间.数值频散曲线分析表明:基于Remez迭代算法的优化有限差分方法相较传统泰勒级数展开方法在大波数范围对频散误差的压制效果更明显;可变阶数的优化有限差分方法能取得与固定阶数优化有限差分方法相近的模拟精度.在均匀介质和河道模型的数值模拟实验中将本文变阶数优化有限差分算法与传统泰勒展开算法、最小二乘优化算法进行比较,进一步证明其在复杂地下介质中的有效性和适用性.     

Lanczos method for the solution of groundwater flow in discretely fractured porous media

One of the more advanced approaches for simulating groundwater flow in fractured porous media is the discrete-fracture approach. This approach is limited by the large computational overheads associated with traditional modeling methods. In this work, we apply the Lanczos reduction method to the modeling of groundwater flow in fractured porous media using the discrete-fracture approach. The Lanczos reduction method reduces a finite element equation system to a much smaller tridiagonal system of first-order differential equations. The reduced system can be solved by a standard tridiagonal algorithm with little computational effort. Because solving the reduced system is more efficient compared to solving the original system, the simulation of groundwater flow in discretely fractured media using the reduction method is very efficient. The proposed method is especially suitable for the problem of large-scale and long-term simulation. In this paper, we develop an iterative version of Lanczos algorithm, in which the preconditioned conjugate gradient solver based on ORTHOMIN acceleration is employed within the Lanczos reduction process. Additional efficiency for the Lanczos method is achieved by applying an eigenvalue shift technique. The “shift” method can improve the Lanczos system convergence, by requiring fewer modes to achieve the same level of accuracy over the unshifted case. The developed model is verified by comparison with dual-porosity approach. The efficiency and accuracy of the method are demonstrated on a field-scale problem and compared to the performance of classic time marching method using an iterative solver on the original system. In spite of the advances, more theoretical work needs to be carried out to determine the optimal value of the shift before computations are actually carried out.     

Numerical modeling of two-phase flow in heterogeneous permeable media with different capillarity pressures

Contrast in capillary pressure of heterogeneous permeable media can have a significant effect on the flow path in two-phase immiscible flow. Very little work has appeared on the subject of capillary heterogeneity despite the fact that in certain cases it may be as important as permeability heterogeneity. The discontinuity in saturation as a result of capillary continuity, and in some cases capillary discontinuity may arise from contrast in capillary pressure functions in heterogeneous permeable media leading to complications in numerical modeling. There are also other challenges for accurate numerical modeling due to distorted unstructured grids because of the grid orientation and numerical dispersion effects. Limited attempts have been made in the literature to assess the accuracy of fluid flow modeling in heterogeneous permeable media with capillarity heterogeneity. The basic mixed finite element (MFE) framework is a superior method for accurate flux calculation in heterogeneous media in comparison to the conventional finite difference and finite volume approaches. However, a deficiency in the MFE from the direct use of fractional flow formulation has been recognized lately in application to flow in permeable media with capillary heterogeneity. In this work, we propose a new consistent formulation in 3D in which the total velocity is expressed in terms of the wetting-phase potential gradient and the capillary potential gradient. In our formulation, the coefficient of the wetting potential gradient is in terms of the total mobility which is smoother than the wetting mobility. We combine the MFE and discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods to solve the pressure equation and the saturation equation, respectively. Our numerical model is verified with 1D analytical solutions in homogeneous and heterogeneous media. We also present 2D examples to demonstrate the significance of capillary heterogeneity in flow, and a 3D example to demonstrate the negligible effect of distorted meshes on the numerical solution in our proposed algorithm.     

A mixed-dimensional finite volume method for two-phase flow in fractured porous media

We present a vertex-centered finite volume method for the fully coupled, fully implicit discretization of two-phase flow in fractured porous media. Fractures are discretely modeled as lower dimensional elements. The method works on unstructured, locally refined grids and on parallel computers with distributed memory. An implicit time discretization is employed and the nonlinear systems of equations are solved with a parallel Newton-multigrid method. Results from two-dimensional and three-dimensional simulations are presented.     

A method for simulating sharp fluid interfaces in groundwater flow

We present a numerical model for two-phase porous media flow, where the phases are separated by a sharp interface. The model is based on a unified pressure equation, and an advection equation for tracking a pseudo-concentration function. The zero-level set of this function defines the interface between the fluids. The finite element method is used for spatial discretization, with local grid refinements in the vicinity of the interface. Examples on applications involving moving interface and steady-state seepage problems are investigated.     

Flow based oversampling technique for multiscale finite element methods

Oversampling techniques are often used in porous media simulations to achieve high accuracy in multiscale simulations. These methods reduce the effect of artificial boundary conditions that are imposed in computing local quantities, such as upscaled permeabilities or basis functions. In the problems without scale separation and strong non-local effects, the oversampling region is taken to be the entire domain. The basis functions are computed using single-phase flow solutions which are further used in dynamic two-phase simulations. The standard oversampling approaches employ generic global boundary conditions which are not associated with actual flow boundary conditions. In this paper, we propose a flow based oversampling method where the actual two-phase flow boundary conditions are used in constructing oversampling auxiliary functions. Our numerical results show that the flow based oversampling approach is several times more accurate than the standard oversampling method. We provide partial theoretical explanation for these numerical observations.     

Analytical solution for two-phase flow in a wellbore using the drift-flux model

This paper presents analytical solutions for steady-state, compressible two-phase flow through a wellbore under isothermal conditions using the drift flux conceptual model. Although only applicable to highly idealized systems, the analytical solutions are useful for verifying numerical simulation capabilities that can handle much more complicated systems, and can be used in their own right for gaining insight about two-phase flow processes in wells. The analytical solutions are obtained by solving the mixture momentum equation of steady-state, two-phase flow with an assumption that the two phases are immiscible. These analytical solutions describe the steady-state behavior of two-phase flow in the wellbore, including profiles of phase saturation, phase velocities, and pressure gradients, as affected by the total mass flow rate, phase mass fraction, and drift velocity (i.e., the slip between two phases). Close matching between the analytical solutions and numerical solutions for a hypothetical CO₂ leakage problem as well as to field data from a CO₂ production well indicates that the analytical solution is capable of capturing the major features of steady-state two-phase flow through an open wellbore, and that the related assumptions and simplifications are justified for many actual systems. In addition, we demonstrate the utility of the analytical solution to evaluate how the bottomhole pressure in a well in which CO₂ is leaking upward responds to the mass flow rate of CO₂-water mixture.     

TTI介质隐式有限差分平面波偏移

文章研究了TTI介质隐式有限差分(IFD)波场外推算子和TTI介质平面波偏移.与各向同性和VTI介质相比,TTI介质频散关系要复杂的多,很难得到频散关系的显性表达,也不能再只用对称的偶函数表示,需要加入一个奇函数.文中设计TTI介质IFD波场外推算子并用非线性优化方法求解算子系数.将各向同性介质下平面波偏移理论与TTl...     

Higher-order compositional modeling with Fickian diffusion in unstructured and anisotropic media

We present advances in compositional modeling of two-phase multi-component flow through highly complex porous media. Higher-order methods are used to approximate both mass transport and the velocity and pressure fields. We employ the Mixed Hybrid Finite Element (MHFE) method to simultaneously solve, to the same order, the pressure equation and Darcy's law for the velocity. The species balance equation is approximated by the discontinuous Galerkin (DG) approach, combined with a slope limiter. In this work we present an improved DG scheme where phase splitting is analyzed at all element vertices in the two-phase regions, rather than only as element averages. This approximation is higher-order than the commonly employed finite volume method and earlier DG approximations. The method reduces numerical dispersion, allowing for an accurate capture of shock fronts and lower dependence on mesh quality and orientation. Further new features are the extension to unstructured grids and support for arbitrary permeability tensors (allowing for both scalar heterogeneity, and shear anisotropy). The most important advancement in this work is the self-consistent modeling of two-phase multi-component Fickian diffusion. We present several numerical examples to illustrate the powerful features of our combined MHFE–dg method with respect to lower-order calculations, ranging from simple two component fluids to more challenging real problems regarding CO₂ injection into a vertical domain saturated with a multi-component petroleum fluid.     

基于改进BISQ机制的双相HTI介质波传播伪谱法模拟与特征分析

改进BISQ(Biot-Squirt)机制在不引入特征喷流长度的情况下,将含流体孔隙介质中Biot流动和喷射流动两种重要的力学机制有机地结合起来,且各相关参数具有明确物理意义和可实现性.本文将改进BISQ机制一维孔隙流体压力公式推广到三维具有水平对称轴横向各向同性介质(HTI介质)情况,结合裂缝各向异性理论,给出了基于改进BISQ机制的双相HTI介质模型及其二维三分量波传播方程,采用伪谱法求解该方程,进行了不同相界、不同频率以及双层地质结构情况下该类介质中波场的数值模拟与特征分析.数值模拟结果表明:伪谱法模拟精度高,压制网格频散效果好,可以得到高精度的波场快照和合成记录;基于改进BISQ机制的双相HTI介质模型兼具裂缝各向异性特征和孔隙弹性特征,其为从双相各向异性理论角度深入研究裂缝性储层的地震响应奠定了理论基础.     

轴对称各向异性介质波动方程深度偏移的对称非平稳相移方法

由所建立的三维qP波相速度表示式出发,导出并解析求解各向异性介质中的频散方程,得到三维各向异性介质中的相移算子,进而将以相移算子为基础的对称非平稳相移方法推广到各向异性介质,发展了一个三维各向异性介质的深度偏移方法. 文中使用的各向异性介质的速度模型与现行的各向异性构造的速度估计方法一致,将各向同性、弱各向异性及强各向异性统一在一个模型中. 所建立的各向异性介质对称非平稳相移波场延拓算子可以同时适应速度及各向异性参数横向变化;文中给出的算例虽然是针对二维VTI介质的,但所提出的算法同样适用于三维TI介质.     

Inverting reservoir parameters in a two-phase fractured medium with a niche genetic algorithm

In this paper we calculate a synthetic medium surface displacement response that is consistent with real measurement data by applying the least-square principle and a niche genetic algorithm to the parameters inversion problem of the wave equation in a two-phase medium. We propose a niche genetic multi-parameter (including porosity, solid phase density and fluid phase density) joint inversion algorithm based on a two-phase fractured medium in the BISQ model. We take the two-phase fractured medium of the BISQ model in a two-dimensional half space as an example, and carry out the numerical reservoir parameters inversion. Results show that this method is very convenient for solving the parameters inversion problem for the wave equation in a two-phase medium, and has the advantage of strong noise rejection. Relative to conventional genetic algorithms, the niche genetic algorithm based on a sharing function can not only significantly speed up the convergence, but also improve the inversion precision.     

A numerical method for two-phase flow in fractured porous media with non-matching grids

We propose a novel computational method for the efficient simulation of two-phase flow in fractured porous media. Instead of refining the grid to capture the flow along the faults or fractures, we represent the latter as immersed interfaces, using a reduced model for the flow and suitable coupling conditions. We allow for non matching grids between the porous matrix and the fractures to increase the flexibility of the method in realistic cases. We employ the extended finite element method for the Darcy problem and a finite volume method that is able to handle cut cells and matrix-fracture interactions for the saturation equation. Moreover, we address through numerical experiments the problem of the choice of a suitable numerical flux in the case of a discontinuous flux function at the interface between the fracture and the porous matrix. A wrong approximate solution of the Riemann problem can yield unphysical solutions even in simple cases.     

Coarsening of three-dimensional structured and unstructured grids for subsurface flow

We present a generic, semi-automated algorithm for generating non-uniform coarse grids for modeling subsurface flow. The method is applicable to arbitrary grids and does not impose smoothness constraints on the coarse grid. One therefore avoids conventional smoothing procedures that are commonly used to ensure that the grids obtained with standard coarsening procedures are not too rough. The coarsening algorithm is very simple and essentially involves only two parameters that specify the level of coarsening. Consequently the algorithm allows the user to specify the simulation grid dynamically to fit available computer resources, and, e.g., use the original geomodel as input for flow simulations. This is of great importance since coarse grid-generation is normally the most time-consuming part of an upscaling phase, and therefore the main obstacle that has prevented simulation workflows with user-defined resolution. We apply the coarsening algorithm to a series of two-phase flow problems on both structured (Cartesian) and unstructured grids. The numerical results demonstrate that one consistently obtains significantly more accurate results using the proposed non-uniform coarsening strategy than with corresponding uniform coarse grids with roughly the same number of cells.     

双相介质中地震波的频率-空间域数值模拟

本文利用优化的25点频率-空间域有限差分算法对基于BISQ模型双相各向同性介质中的地震波进行了数值模拟.通过与经典的Biot模型理论模拟结果进行对比,分析了Biot流动（宏观流体流动）和Squirt流动（微观流体流动）耦合作用对地震波在孔隙介质中传播特性的影响.数值模拟在地震频段进行,结果显示：在理想相界和黏滞相界情况下,Squirt流动机制都比Biot流动机制产生了更大的速度频散和能量衰减.其中,在Biot流动和Squirt流动耦合作用下的快P波的速度和振幅小于仅考虑Biot流动影响下快P波速度和振幅,而且慢P波的衰减也更加强烈.本文还研究了地震波在双层双相各向同性介质分界面处的反射和透射特征,双相介质中波的反射与透射现象类似于单相介质的情况.模拟结果表明,利用优化25点频率-空间域有限差分法模拟双相孔隙介质中的地震波场是可行的,这为开展双相孔隙介质全波形反演问题的研究提供了可能.