Rules for Flight Paths and Time of Flight for Flows in Porous Media with Heterogeneous Permeability and Porosity
Porous media like hydrocarbon reservoirs may be composed of a wide variety of rocks with different porosity and permeability. Our study shows in algorithms and in synthetic numerical simulations that the flow pattern of any particular porous medium, assuming constant fluid properties and standardize...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2017-01-01
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| Series: | Geofluids |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/5609571 |
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| author | Lihua Zuo Ruud Weijermars |
| author_facet | Lihua Zuo Ruud Weijermars |
| author_sort | Lihua Zuo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Porous media like hydrocarbon reservoirs may be composed of a wide variety of rocks with different porosity and permeability. Our study shows in algorithms and in synthetic numerical simulations that the flow pattern of any particular porous medium, assuming constant fluid properties and standardized boundary and initial conditions, is not affected by any spatial porosity changes but will vary only according to spatial permeability changes. In contrast, the time of flight along the streamline will be affected by both the permeability and porosity, albeit in opposite directions. A theoretical framework is presented with evidence from flow visualizations. A series of strategically chosen streamline simulations, including systematic spatial variations of porosity and permeability, visualizes the respective effects on the flight path and time of flight. Two practical rules are formulated. Rule 1 states that an increase in permeability decreases the time of flight, whereas an increase in porosity increases the time of flight. Rule 2 states that the permeability uniquely controls the flight path of fluid flow in porous media; local porosity variations do not affect the streamline path. The two rules are essential for understanding fluid transport mechanisms, and their rigorous validation therefore is merited. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0d455ff5a250428c8303b31bcac52f4c |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1468-8115 1468-8123 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geofluids |
| spelling | doaj-art-0d455ff5a250428c8303b31bcac52f4c2025-08-20T02:03:04ZengWileyGeofluids1468-81151468-81232017-01-01201710.1155/2017/56095715609571Rules for Flight Paths and Time of Flight for Flows in Porous Media with Heterogeneous Permeability and PorosityLihua Zuo0Ruud Weijermars1Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering, Texas A&M University, 3116 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-3116, USAHarold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering, Texas A&M University, 3116 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-3116, USAPorous media like hydrocarbon reservoirs may be composed of a wide variety of rocks with different porosity and permeability. Our study shows in algorithms and in synthetic numerical simulations that the flow pattern of any particular porous medium, assuming constant fluid properties and standardized boundary and initial conditions, is not affected by any spatial porosity changes but will vary only according to spatial permeability changes. In contrast, the time of flight along the streamline will be affected by both the permeability and porosity, albeit in opposite directions. A theoretical framework is presented with evidence from flow visualizations. A series of strategically chosen streamline simulations, including systematic spatial variations of porosity and permeability, visualizes the respective effects on the flight path and time of flight. Two practical rules are formulated. Rule 1 states that an increase in permeability decreases the time of flight, whereas an increase in porosity increases the time of flight. Rule 2 states that the permeability uniquely controls the flight path of fluid flow in porous media; local porosity variations do not affect the streamline path. The two rules are essential for understanding fluid transport mechanisms, and their rigorous validation therefore is merited.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/5609571 |
| spellingShingle | Lihua Zuo Ruud Weijermars Rules for Flight Paths and Time of Flight for Flows in Porous Media with Heterogeneous Permeability and Porosity Geofluids |
| title | Rules for Flight Paths and Time of Flight for Flows in Porous Media with Heterogeneous Permeability and Porosity |
| title_full | Rules for Flight Paths and Time of Flight for Flows in Porous Media with Heterogeneous Permeability and Porosity |
| title_fullStr | Rules for Flight Paths and Time of Flight for Flows in Porous Media with Heterogeneous Permeability and Porosity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rules for Flight Paths and Time of Flight for Flows in Porous Media with Heterogeneous Permeability and Porosity |
| title_short | Rules for Flight Paths and Time of Flight for Flows in Porous Media with Heterogeneous Permeability and Porosity |
| title_sort | rules for flight paths and time of flight for flows in porous media with heterogeneous permeability and porosity |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/5609571 |
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