Nanoscale simulation of shale transport properties using the lattice Boltzmann method: Permeability and diffusivity

Chen, Li; Zhang, Lei; Kang, Qinjun; Viswanathan, Hari S.; Yao, Jun; Tao, Wenquan

doi:10.1038/srep08089

Nanoscale simulation of shale transport properties using the lattice Boltzmann method: Permeability and diffusivity

Journal Article · Wed Jan 28 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Scientific Reports

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/srep08089· OSTI ID:1259292

Chen, Li ^[1]; Zhang, Lei ^[2]; Kang, Qinjun ^[3]; Viswanathan, Hari S. ^[3]; Yao, Jun ^[2]; Tao, Wenquan ^[4]

Xi'an Jiaotong Univ., Shaanxi (China); Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
China Univ. of Petroleum, Shandong (China)
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Xi'an Jiaotong Univ., Shaanxi (China)

Here, porous structures of shales are reconstructed using the markov chain monte carlo (MCMC) method based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of shale samples from Sichuan Basin, China. Characterization analysis of the reconstructed shales is performed, including porosity, pore size distribution, specific surface area and pore connectivity. The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is adopted to simulate fluid flow and Knudsen diffusion within the reconstructed shales. Simulation results reveal that the tortuosity of the shales is much higher than that commonly employed in the Bruggeman equation, and such high tortuosity leads to extremely low intrinsic permeability. Correction of the intrinsic permeability is performed based on the dusty gas model (DGM) by considering the contribution of Knudsen diffusion to the total flow flux, resulting in apparent permeability. The correction factor over a range of Knudsen number and pressure is estimated and compared with empirical correlations in the literature. We find that for the wide pressure range investigated, the correction factor is always greater than 1, indicating Knudsen diffusion always plays a role on shale gas transport mechanisms in the reconstructed shales. Specifically, we found that most of the values of correction factor fall in the slip and transition regime, with no Darcy flow regime observed.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Nature Science Foundation of China; USDOE

OSTI ID:: 1259292

Journal Information:: Scientific Reports, Journal Name: Scientific Reports Vol. 5; ISSN 2045-2322

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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