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Taylor's dispersion in stratified porous media

Conference · · Soc. Pet. Eng. AIME, Pap.; (United States)
OSTI ID:5862485

In 1953 to 1954, G.I. Taylor showed that if a certain criterion is met, the combined effects of the transverse profile of longitudinal velocity and transverse diffusion on a solvent slowly flowing through a tube will manifest themselves as a longitudinal diffusion phenomenon. A similar phenomenon exists in stratified porous media where the transverse profile of longitudinal velocity and transverse dispersion can produce an effective longitudinal dispersion, termed Taylor's dispersion. Since this effective longitudinal dispersion is larger than the corresponding homogeneous longitudinal dispersion, the quantitive description of this phenomenon would be important to dispersion-sensitive EOR processes, such as surfactant or miscible flooding. Taylor's dispersion will occur in 2-layer porous media if a suitably defined dimensionless transverse dispersion number is much greater than unity. When this condition holds the effluent history of a unit viscosity, equal density, miscible displacement is that of the same displacement in a homogeneous medium with increased dispersion. The resulting effective longitudinal dispersion may be derived analytically, and verified numerically, as a function of several media properties and permeability contrast. 17 references.

OSTI ID:
5862485
Report Number(s):
CONF-790913-
Journal Information:
Soc. Pet. Eng. AIME, Pap.; (United States), Journal Name: Soc. Pet. Eng. AIME, Pap.; (United States) Vol. SPE-8436; ISSN SEAPA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English