Numerical Simulation of Foam Flow in Porous Media
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- The encouraging results from steam foam pilots has produced a need to numerically simulate foam flow in porous media as an aide in the design and implementation of steam foam projects. This work presents a literature survey with an emphasis on delineating phenomena that need to be included in a foam simulator. Topics covered in the literature survey include foam viscosity, foam flow in porous media, foam stability, foam generation and relative permeability effects.A complete derivation of the foam model follows the literature survey. The foam simulator is characterized as a four phase, four component system. The four phases are foam, aqueous, oil and vapor with the four components being surfactant, water, hydrocarbon and gas. The simulator uses an IMPES formulation of the four component equations to solve for pressures, saturations and mass fractions. In grid blocks where no foam is present, a variational formulation is used consisting of a three phase, four component system. Adsorption and partitioning are modeled in the simulator. Foam generation and degradation are assumed to be functions of surfactant concentration and phase velocities. Foam quality determination is a critical factor in the formulation and is modeled via a user defined functional relationship of gas phase velocity and surfactant concentration.To date, only partial results have been obtained. A check of the two phase flow characteristics of the foam model showed a loss of mass in the aqueous phase as time increased. It is shown that this problem may be the result of explicit treatment of the IMPES multiplying factors. This report gives the current status of this work-in-progress.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | June 1984 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Beckner, Bret L. |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Aziz, Khalid |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Department of Petroleum Engineering |
Subjects
| Subject | School of Earth Energy & Environmental Sciences |
|---|---|
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Beckner, Bret L. (1984). Numerical Simulation of Foam Flow in Porous Media. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/cn001ss1272
Collection
Master's Theses, Doerr School of Sustainability
View other items in this collection in SearchWorksContact information
- Contact
- brannerlibrary@stanford.edu
Also listed in
Loading usage metrics...