An experimental investigation of viscous fingering in heterogeneous porous media

Thesis/Dissertation · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:6093026

Brock, D C

The growth of viscous fingers in heterogeneous porous media was examined using flow visualization experiments in four different glass bead packs with different permeability heterogeneities: a uniform permeability model, one with two equal-width layers in the flow direction, one with a thin, high permeability streak in the flow direction, and one with blocks of different permeabilities. The experiments were compared with numerical simulations, paying particular attention to finger growth mechanisms, finger sizes and locations, and number of fingers. In near-homogeneous model displacements, fingers were observed to grow through the mechanisms of spreading, splitting, shielding, and coalescence. In all experiments, shielding and coalescence acted to reduce the number of fingers as flow progressed. Analysis of pressure distributions in and around fingers indicates that viscous crossflow was the driving force for the finger growth mechanisms. Simulations of the experiments yielded finger patterns similar to those observed in the experiments. The general agreement over a variety of mobility ratios and rates indicates that the simulator used captures the essential features of the physics of finger growth. In heterogeneous permeability fields, locations of fingers were largely determined by the pattern of heterogeneity. In the model with two thick layers and the model with blocks of different permeabilities, a pattern of viscous fingers was superimposed on the fronts. The model with a thin, high permeability streak showed very little viscous fingering because the width of the layer was small. In the heterogeneous cases, simulations yielded finger patterns remarkably similar to those observed in experiments. In particular, simulations reproduced the concept of viscous fingers overlain on flow affected by permeability heterogeneity.

• Research Organization: Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 6093026
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
ANALOG SYSTEMS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FLOW VISUALIZATION
FLUID FLOW
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
HETEROGENEOUS EFFECTS
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MINERAL RESOURCES
MISCIBLE-PHASE DISPLACEMENT
OIL WELLS
PERMEABILITY
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
POROUS MATERIALS
PRESSURE GRADIENTS
RECOVERY
RESOURCES
SIMULATORS
VISCOUS FLOW
WELLS