Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Multiphase Flow in Fractured Porous Media
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- The fluid transfer parameters between rock matrix and fracture are not well known. Consequently, simulation of fractured reservoirs uses, in general, very crude and unproven hypotheses such as zero capillary pressure in the fracture and/or relative permeability linear with saturation. In order to improve the understanding of flow in fractured media, an experimental study was conducted and numerical simulations of the experiments were made.A laboratory flow apparatus was built to obtain data on water-air imbibition and oil-water drainage displacements in horizontal single-fractured block systems. For this purpose, two configurations have been used: a two-block system with a 1mm spacer between the blocks, and a two-block system with no spacer. During the experiments, porosity and saturation measurements along the cores have been made utilizing an X-ray Computerized Tomography (CT) scanner. Saturation images were reconstructed in 3-D to observe matrix-fracture interactions. Differences in fluid saturations and relative permeabilities caused by changes in fracture width have also been analyzed. In the case of water-air imbibition, the thin fracture system showed a more stable front and faster breakthrough than the wide fracture system. However, the final water saturation was higher in the blocks near the wide fracture, thus showing that capillary pressure in the narrow fracture has more effect. During oil-water drainage, oil saturations were higher in the blocks near the thin fracture, again showing the effect of fracture capillary pressure. Oil fingering was observed in the wide fracture.Simulations of the experiments have been performed using a commercial reservoir simulator. Relative permeability and capillary pressure curves were obtained by history matching the experiments. Sensitivity analysis of parameters such as fracture relative permeability, capillary pressure in the fracture, and fracture width were also conducted.The results showed that the assumption of fracture relative permeability equal to phase saturation is incorrect. Moreover, higher resistance in the fractures was observed by comparing the experiments with numerical simulation work. We found that the processes are dominated by both capillary and viscous forces.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | June 1999 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Rangel German, Edgar Rene |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Castanier, Louis M. |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Department of Petroleum Engineering |
Subjects
| Subject | School of Earth Energy & Environmental Sciences |
|---|---|
| Subject | Stanford University Petroleum Research Institute |
| Genre | Thesis |
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Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Rangel German, Edgar Rene. (1999). Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Multiphase Flow in Fractured Porous Media. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/km632kp1976
Collection
Master's Theses, Doerr School of Sustainability
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