Gravity Segregation in Two-Phase Displacement Processes

1974 ◽  
Vol 14 (06) ◽  
pp. 619-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan Spivak
Keyword(s):  
Reservoir Simulation ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Mobility Ratio ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Gravity Segregation ◽  
Reservoir Performance ◽  
Phase Displacement ◽  
Gravity Effects ◽  
Displacement Processes

Spivak, Allan,* Member SPE-AIME, Chevron Oil Field Research Co., La Habra, Calif. Abstract This paper describes a study of gravity segregation (underrun or override of injected fluids) in two-phase, secondary recovery displacement processes. Reservoir simulation was used to investigate the factors that influence gravity segregation and the magnitude of gravity effects for both water floods and gas floods. The degree of segregation for a given set of conditions was determined bycomparing the results of two-dimensional cross-sectional with one-dimensional horizontal calculations, andcomparing the results of three-dimensional vs two-dimensional a real calculations. The degree of segregation is quantitatively described by the dimensionless number E defined as (Rbt)no gravity -(Rbt)gravity E =, (Rbt)no gravity where Rbt is recovery at breakthrough. Gravity segregation effects in two-phase displacement processes were found to increase withincreasing processes were found to increase withincreasing permeability (either horizontal or vertical),permeability (either horizontal or vertical),increasing density difference,increasing mobility ratio,decreasing production rates. anddecreasing level of viscosity for a fixed viscosity ratio. A series of calculations was made in which the parameters that affect gravity segregation were varied. The effect of each parameter on the degree of gravity segregation was observed. The effect of both stratified and random heterogeneity was also studied. A correlation between the degree of gravity segregation and the dimensionless groups G = 0.00633 and M = mobility ratio was established. This correlation is based on the results of the simulator calculations and a detailed analysis of the equations for three-dimensional, two-phase. immiscible, incompressible flow. The correlation can be used to determine qualitatively whether gravity segregation will be a significant factor in a given flooding process. It can also be used to determine whether the assumption of vertical equilibrium is valid in the simulation by a two-dimensional a real simulation model of reservoirs where fluid saturations vary significantly in the vertical direction. Introduction For many years, gravity segregation in reservoir processes was not accounted for because it could processes was not accounted for because it could not be adequately handled in reservoir engineering calculations. The advent of reservoir simulation provided the capability to handle gravity, and it provided the capability to handle gravity, and it became apparent that gravity effects could significantly affect reservoir performance. This paper describes a study in which a three-dimensional paper describes a study in which a three-dimensional (3-D), two-phase, incompressible simulator was used to look at gravity effects in displacement processes. The objectives of this study wereto processes. The objectives of this study wereto determine what factors influence gravity segregation and in what way;to look at the magnitude of gravity segregation effects;to compare reservoir performance calculations with and without gravity performance calculations with and without gravity effects. PREVIOUS WORK ON GRAVITY PREVIOUS WORK ON GRAVITY SEGREGATION IN DISPLACEMENT PROCESSES Craig et al. did experimental work to study the effects of gravity segregation during water, gas, and solvent flooding. As a result of their studies, they concluded that segregation of fluids due to gravity effects could result in oil recoveries at breakthrough as low as 20 percent of those otherwise expected. They also concluded that performance may in some cases be influenced to a greater degree by heterogeneity than by gravity effects. They were not able to directly compare performance under a given set of conditions with and without gravity. SPEJ p. 619

Three-Dimensional Numerical Simulation of Convective Melting of Solid Particles in a Fluid

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. L. Hao ◽  
Y.-X. Tao
Keyword(s):  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Rectangular Cross Section ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Phase Changes ◽  
Solid Particles ◽  
Preliminary Calculation ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Closed Set ◽  
Gravity Effects

Abstract A physical model of two-phase flow and heat-mass transfer with the phase changes based on the theory of interacting continua is proposed. All terms in the conservation equations are analyzed and the constitutive equations are presented. A closed set of governing equations describing the convective melting of solid particles in a fluid is obtained. The numerical method is developed for the solution of velocity, temperature, and volume fraction of solid phase for the three-dimensional melting in a rectangular cross-section channel. Preliminary calculation, including gravity effects, shows that the result is reasonable. This study provides a basis for the theoretical and experimental investigation of convective melting of solid particles in a fluid.

Gravity effects on oil–water two-phase displacement in homogeneous porous media

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (10) ◽  
pp. 102003
Author(s):  
Wenzhe Yang ◽  
Yunsheng Chang ◽  
Jindian Cheng ◽  
Zhiguo Wang ◽  
Xingbo Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Porous Media ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Phase Displacement ◽  
Homogeneous Porous Media ◽  
Gravity Effects ◽  
Oil Water

Rapid two-dimensional imaging of bubbles and slugs in a three-dimensional, gas-solid, two-phase flow system using ultrafast magnetic resonance

2007 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. R. Müller ◽  
D. J. Holland ◽  
J. F. Davidson ◽  
J. S. Dennis ◽  
L. F. Gladden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Flow System ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Two Phase

Numerical Simulation of Heat Transfer in Shear Flow of Liquid-Solid Two-Phase Media by Immersed Solid Approach

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeo Kajishima ◽  
Katsuya Kondo ◽  
Shintaro Takeuchi
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Thermal Convection ◽  
Heat Conductivity ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Effect Of Temperature ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Dimensional Simulation ◽  
Conductive Particles

We developed a direct numerical simulation (DNS) method of solid-fluid two-phase flows to study the effects of heat conductivity within a solid particle and the particle motion on the heat transfer. Heat transfer and particle behaviors were studied for different ratios of heat conductivity (solid to liquid) and solid volume fractions. The simulation results emphasize the effect of temperature distributions within the particles, and the heat transfer through each particle plays an important role for the motion of the particulate flow. The particle-laden flow in a two-dimensional channel of instable thermal stratification, namely hot wall at the bottom and cold wall at the top, is simulated. In the two-dimensional computation, the heat transfer attenuates by increasing the neutral conductive particles because of the resistance to the thermal convection. In case of highly conductive particles, the thermal convection and conductions are enhanced to some extent of addition but the overload of particles suddenly reduces the intensity of convection, resulting in the lower heat transfer. The inverse gradient of mean temperature is observed particularly in case of moderate loading of neutral conductive particles. It is due to the modulation of the profile of convection cells. Most of the above-mentioned findings are reproduced by the fully three-dimensional simulation.

3D-2D asymptotic analysis of an optimal design problem for thin films

1998 ◽  
Vol 1998 (505) ◽  
pp. 173-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Fonseca ◽  
Gilles Francfort
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Design ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Bulk Material ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Optimal Design Problem ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Energy Bounds ◽  
Optimal Material ◽  
Dimensional Domain

Abstract The Gamma-limit of a rescaled version of an optimal material distribution problem for a cylindrical two-phase elastic mixture in a thin three-dimensional domain is explicitly computed. Its limit is a two-dimensional optimal design problem on the cross-section of the thin domain; it involves optimal energy bounds on two-dimensional mixtures of a related two-phase bulk material. Thus, it is shown in essence that 3D-2D asymptotics and optimal design commute from a variational standpoint.

An Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Crossflow Effects in Two-Phase Displacements

SPE Journal ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 11 (02) ◽  
pp. 216-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yildiray Cinar ◽  
Kristian Jessen ◽  
Roman Berenblyum ◽  
Ruben Juanes ◽  
Franklin M. Orr
Keyword(s):  
Water System ◽  
Capillary Forces ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Mobility Ratio ◽  
Numerical Techniques ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Gravity Segregation ◽  
Viscous Forces ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Simulation Results

Summary In this paper, we present flow visualization experiments and numerical simulations that demonstrate the combined effects of viscous and capillary forces and gravity segregation on crossflow that occurs in two-phase displacements in layered porous media. We report results of a series of immiscible flooding experiments in 2D, two-layered glass bead models. Favorable mobility-ratio imbibition and unfavorable mobility-ratio drainage experiments were performed. We used pre-equilibrated immiscible phases from a ternary isooctane/isopropanol/water system, which allowed control of the interfacial tension (IFT) by varying the isopropanol concentration. Experiments were performed for a wide range of capillary and gravity numbers. The experimental results illustrate the transitions from flow dominated by capillary pressure at high IFT to flow dominated by gravity and viscous forces at low IFT. The experiments also illustrate the complex interplay of capillary, gravity, and viscous forces that controls crossflow. The experimental results confirm that the transition ranges of scaling groups suggested by Zhou et al. (1994) are appropriate/valid. We report also results of simulations of the displacement experiments by two different numerical techniques: finite-difference and streamline methods. The numerical simulation results agree well with experimental observations when gravity and viscous forces were most important. For capillary-dominated flows, the simulation results are in reasonable agreement with experimental observations. Introduction Streamline methods are very efficient numerical techniques for field-scale reservoir simulation, but they are not without limitations. They treat flow along each streamline as independent of adjacent streamlines and therefore do not typically represent crossflow in the simulations. If users of streamline methods are to interpret simulation results reliably, they will need to assess whether any of the mechanisms not modeled in the simulations ar. important enough to limit the accuracy of the simulations appreciably. Transfer of fluid in the direction transverse to streamlines can result from diffusion and dispersion, crossflow caused by viscous and capillary forces, and gravity segregation. The scaling of diffusion and dispersion has been investigated in a number of previous studies. If the injected gas is miscible or partially miscible with the oil, diffusion and dispersion mechanisms may play a significant role in the displacement (Mohanty and Johnson 1993; Fayers and Lee 1994; Tchelepi 1994; Jiang and Butler 1994; Burger and Mohanty 1997). In particular, Burger and Mohanty (1997) showed that diffusion through the oil phase can limit mass transfer from oil residing in low-permeability regions. Similar arguments can also apply to other mechanisms of crossflow: viscous and capillary crossflow as well as gravity segregation (Fayers and Lee 1994.Burger and Mohanty 1997; Zapata and Lake 1981; Zhou et al. 1994).

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