Abstract
Modeling multiphase flow through fractured porous media requires the determination of the relationship between pressure drop and either fluid saturation or flow rates. These relationships are generally called permeabilities. In spite of several laboratory experiments reported in the literature, there is no general model to predict the two-phase conductivity of a fracture for a given pair of flowing fluids. In this paper we propose a simple model based on viscous coupling between two fluids flowing simultaneously in a single fracture. This viscous coupling model leads to analytical relationships between the relative permeabilities (Kr) and either saturation or fluid velocities. Results obtained with this model were compared to experimental data presented in Fourar and Bories [1995] with air and water. The fit between predicted and measured Kr is good when the ratio of flow rates is used as variable (LockhartMartinelli parameter). For use in numerical simulations, the saturation can be derived from the flow rates using the same model. The proposed model can improve the relative permeability curves that are used in the numerical simulations. Transactions on Ecology and the Environment vol 17, © 1998 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541
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