Computational Modeling of Fluid Flow through a Fracture in Permeable Rock

Journal Article · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 2010 · Transport in Porous Media

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-009-9516-9· OSTI ID:1013369

Crandall, Dustin; Ahmadi, Goodarz; Smith, Duane H

Laminar, single-phase, finite-volume solutions to the Navier–Stokes equations of fluid flow through a fracture within permeable media have been obtained. The fracture geometry was acquired from computed tomography scans of a fracture in Berea sandstone, capturing the small-scale roughness of these natural fluid conduits. First, the roughness of the two-dimensional fracture profiles was analyzed and shown to be similar to Brownian fractal structures. The permeability and tortuosity of each fracture profile was determined from simulations of fluid flow through these geometries with impermeable fracture walls. A surrounding permeable medium, assumed to obey Darcy’s Law with permeabilities from 0.2 to 2,000 millidarcies, was then included in the analysis. A series of simulations for flows in fractured permeable rocks was performed, and the results were used to develop a relationship between the flow rate and pressure loss for fractures in porous rocks. The resulting frictionfactor, which accounts for the fracture geometric properties, is similar to the cubic law; it has the potential to be of use in discrete fracture reservoir-scale simulations of fluid flow through highly fractured geologic formations with appreciable matrix permeability. The observed fluid flow from the surrounding permeable medium to the fracture was significant when the resistance within the fracture and the medium were of the same order. An increase in the volumetric flow rate within the fracture profile increased by more than 5% was observed for flows within high permeability-fractured porous media.

• Research Organization: National Energy Technology Laboratory - In-house Research
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy (FE)
• OSTI ID: 1013369
• Report Number(s): NETL-TPR2753
• Journal Information: Transport in Porous Media, Journal Name: Transport in Porous Media Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 84; ISSN 0169-3913
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
Fractured porous media
cubic law
friction-factor
single-phase flow