Fully implicit mixed-hybrid finite-element discretization for general purpose subsurface reservoir simulation

• Published in: Journal of computational physics 2017-10, Vol.346, p.514-538
• Main Authors: Abushaikha, Ahmad S., Voskov, Denis V., Tchelepi, Hamdi A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Compositional modeling; Computational physics; Computer simulation; Discretization; Finite element analysis; Finite element method; Finite volume; Full tensor; Fully implicit; Mixed-hybrid finite element; Momentum and mass coupling; Nonlinear equations; Reservoir simulation; Reservoirs; Robustness (mathematics); Simulation; Studies; Unstructured grids; Unstructured grids (mathematics)
• ISSN: 0021-9991; 1090-2716
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcp.2017.06.034

We present a new fully-implicit, mixed-hybrid, finite-element (MHFE) discretization scheme for general-purpose compositional reservoir simulation. The locally conservative scheme solves the coupled momentum and mass balance equations simultaneously, and the fluid system is modeled using a cubic equation-of-state. We introduce a new conservative flux approach for the mass balance equations for this fully-implicit approach. We discuss the nonlinear solution procedure for the proposed approach, and we present extensive numerical tests to demonstrate the convergence and accuracy of the MHFE method using tetrahedral elements. We also compare the method to other advanced discretization schemes for unstructured meshes and tensor permeability. Finally, we illustrate the applicability and robustness of the method for highly heterogeneous reservoirs with unstructured grids.