Network simulation of steady-state two-phase flow in consolidated porous media
- Univ. of Patras (Greece)
Multiphase flow in porous media is a complex process encountered in many fields of practical engineering interest, such as oil recovery from reservoir rocks, aquifer pollution by liquid wastes and soil reconstitution, and agricultural irrigation. A computer-aided simulator of steady-state two-phase flow in consolidated porous media is developed. The porous medium is modeled as a 3-D pore network of suitably shaped and randomly sized unit cells of the constricted-tube type. The problem of two-phase flow is solved using the network approach. The wetting phase saturation, the viscosity ratio, the capillary number, and the probability of coalescence between two colliding ganglia are changed systematically, where as the geometrical and topological characteristics of the porous medium and wettability (dynamic contact angles) are kept constant. In the range of the parameter values investigated, the flow behavior observed is ganglion population dynamics (intrinsically unsteady, but giving a time-averaged steady state). The mean ganglion size and fraction of the nonwetting phase in the form of stranded ganglia are studied as functions of the main dimensionless parameters. Fractional flows and relative permeabilities are determined and correlated with flow phenomena at pore level. Effects of the wetting phase saturation, the viscosity ratio, the capillary number, and the coalescence factor on relative permeabilities are examined.
- OSTI ID:
- 212192
- Journal Information:
- AIChE Journal, Vol. 42, Issue 2; Other Information: PBD: Feb 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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