Simulation of Multiphase Non-Darcy Flow in Porous and Fractured Media

Abstract

AbstractA Buckley and Leverett type analytical solution is derived for non-Darcy displacement of immiscible fluids in porous media, in which non-Darcy flow is described using the general model proposed by Barree and Conway. Recent laboratory studies and analyses have shown that the Barree and Conway model is able to describe the entire range of relationships between rate and potential gradient from low- to high-flow rates through porous media, including those in transitional zones. We also present a general mathematical and numerical model for incorporating the Barree and Conway model to simulate multiphase non-Darcy flow in porous and fractured media, while flow in fractured rock is handled using a general multi-continuum approach. The numerical solution of the proposed multiphase, non-Darcy flow model is based on a discretization scheme using an unstructured grid with regular or irregular meshes for multi-dimensional simulation. The final discretized nonlinear equations are handled fully implicitly with the Newton iteration. As an application example, we use the analytical solution to verify the numerical solution for and to obtain some insight into one-dimensional non-Darcy displacement of two immiscible fluids according to the Barree and Conway model. Overall, this work provides an improved platform for modeling multiphase non-Darcy flow in oil and gas reservoirs, including complex fractured systems such as shale gas reservoirs.