Chapter 2 Flow of non-newtonian fluids in porous media

Abstract

Abstract Flow of non-Newtonian fluids through porous media occurs in many subsurface systems and has found applications in certain technological areas. Previous studies of the flow of fluids through porous media were focusing for the most part on Newtonian fluids. Since the 1950s, the flow of non-Newtonian fluids through porous media has received a significant amount of attention because of its important industrial applications, and considerable progress has been made. However, our understanding of non-Newtonian flow in porous media is very limited when compared with that of Newtonian flow. This work presents a comprehensive theoretical study of single and multiple phase flow of non-Newtonian fluids through porous media. The emphasis in this study is in obtaining some physical insights into the flow of power-law and Bingham fluids. Therefore, this work is divided into three parts: (1) review of the laboratory and theoretical research on non-Newtonian flow, (2) development of new numerical and analytical solutions, (3) theoretical studies of transient flow of non-Newtonian fluids in porous media, and (4) demonstration of applying a new method of well test analysis and displacement efficiency evaluation to field problems.