Visualization of Four-Phase Flow Using Micromodels
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- The presence of four-phase flow has been acknowledged in numerous papers available in the literature on oil recovery by gas injection. In the reservoir these phases can include an oil-rich liquid phase, a lighter liquid phase comprising primarily of components of the injected gas, a vapor phase rich in carbon dioxide and methane, and water which is always present in most reservoirs (connate or injected). Though most of the issues dealt with in the past are related to thermodynamic calculations and compositional simulation, very little attention is given to the problem of flow behavior. In this work, we have studied the actual fluid configuration and connectivity under the four-phase flow condition with the aid of micromodels. The fluids used are ìanalogî fluids as the reservoir conditions are difficult to create in the laboratory apparatus. Capillary tubes have also been used to study the phenomenon of corner flow and to ascertain spreading of fluid phases in pore like conditions. The results indicate that in most cases, four phases never seem to occupy a pore space simultaneously. The order in which the phases are injected does seem to have an influence on their configuration and connectivity. This has an important implication on the way the values for their relative permeabilities are calculated. It was also observed that in case of four-phase flow, there was mobilization of discontinuous phases in some cases and this leads to some ambiguity while using relative permeability data. Based on the observations of the configuration and connectivity of the phases, it would be practical to treat four-phase flow as a combination of two three-phase systems or as a pseudo three-phase system, in which the two liquid hydrocarbon-rich phases are lumped together.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | September 2001 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Upadhyaya, Ashwini A. |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Orr Jr, Franklin M. |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Department of Petroleum Engineering |
Subjects
| Subject | School of Earth Energy & Environmental Sciences |
|---|---|
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
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Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Upadhyaya, Ashwini A. (2001). Visualization of Four-Phase Flow Using Micromodels. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/bx499rs4405
Collection
Master's Theses, Doerr School of Sustainability
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