Upscaling of Two-Phase Flow with Capillary Pressure Heterogeneity Effects
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- In this work, we develop a new iterative global upscaling procedure applicable for two-phase flow with significant capillary pressure heterogeneity effects. These effects are important to include in simulations of carbon storage operations as they can have a strong impact on CO2 movement. The upscaling method entails the use of a global fine-scale two-phase flow simulation for computing the coarse-scale mobility functions. Two techniques for upscaling capillary pressure are considered. One approach applies steady-state capillary-limit computations, and the other involves the numerical computation of upscaled capillary pressure along with the upscaled mobilities. For both approaches, iteration at the coarse-scale level leads to an improvement in the accuracy of the upscaled model. The new upscaling procedures are applied to synthetic two-dimensional reservoir models. Fine-scale capillary pressure is described using the J-function representation. Different gas injection rates and well locations are considered. The coarse-scale models generated using the new iterative global upscaling algorithm provide significantly more accurate results, relative to reference fine-scale simulations, than do those based on simpler upscaling procedures. The robustness of the upscaled models is also assessed, and the models are shown to provide results of reasonable accuracy for cases involving injection rates or large-scale flow configurations that are different from those used in the upscaling calculations. This means that the upscaled functions can be used under a range of flow conditions and are not restricted to only those applied in the upscaling computations.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | June 2013 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Itthisawatpan, Kasama |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Durlofsky, Louis J. |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Department of Energy Resources 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
- Itthisawatpan, Kasama. (2013). Upscaling of Two-Phase Flow with Capillary Pressure Heterogeneity Effects. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/ky250ky4478
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...