A Dynamic Network Model for Two-Phase Flow in Porous Media

We present a dynamic model of immiscible two-phase flow in a network representation of a porous medium. The model is based on the governing equations describing two-phase flow in porous media, and can handle both drainage, imbibition, and steady-state displacement. Dynamic wetting layers in corners...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transport in porous media 2012-03, Vol.92 (1), p.145-164
Main Authors: Tørå, Glenn, Øren, Pål-Eric, Hansen, Alex
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Capillary flow
Civil Engineering
Classical and Continuum Physics
Computer simulation
Drainage
Dynamic models
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Electrical resistivity
Exact sciences and technology
Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences
Hydrogeology
Hydrology. Hydrogeology
Hydrology/Water Resources
Imbibition
Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering
Porous media
Saturation
Simulation
Two phase flow
Wetting
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Description
Summary:We present a dynamic model of immiscible two-phase flow in a network representation of a porous medium. The model is based on the governing equations describing two-phase flow in porous media, and can handle both drainage, imbibition, and steady-state displacement. Dynamic wetting layers in corners of the pore space are incorporated, with focus on modeling resistivity measurements on saturated rocks at different capillary numbers. The flow simulations are performed on a realistic network of a sandpack which is perfectly water-wet. Our numerical results show saturation profiles for imbibition in agreement with experiments. For free spontaneous imbibition we find that the imbibition rate follows the Washburn relation, i.e., the water saturation increases proportionally to the square root of time. We also reproduce rate effects in the resistivity index for drainage and imbibition.
ISSN:0169-3913
1573-1634
DOI:10.1007/s11242-011-9895-6