Core flooding laboratory experiment validates numerical simulation of induced permeability change in reservoir sandstone

Abstract

Numerical simulation of reactive transport was validated in a core flooding experiment simulating conditions in a managed geothermal reservoir. Permeability was measured along a sandstone core prepared with anhydrite and subjected to a temperature gradient. Anhydrite was dissolved and precipitated in the cold upstream and hot downstream regions of the core, respectively. The numerical code SHEMAT was used to simulate coupled transport and chemical reactions at the temperature front (http://www.rwth-aachen.de/geop/shemat/). It comprises an extended version of the geochemical speciation code PHRQPITZ for calculating chemical reactions in brines of low‐high ionic strength and temperatures of 0–150°C. Permeability is updated to porosity via a novel, calibrated power‐law based on a fractal pore‐space model resulting in a large exponent of 11.3. Simulation results agree well with measured permeability. This both validates the model and demonstrates that the fractal relationship is crucial for a successful simulation of this type of reactive transport.