Multiscale Computational Models for Simulating Multi-phase Fluid Flows in Complex Rock Sample

Large percentage of reservoir has heterogeneous structure e.g. carbonate and shales. The numerical analysis of multi-phase fluid flows using digital rock is a complex and challenging problem especially for rocks exhibiting pores with multiple length scales. Micro-CT imaging focuses on a single scale and there is a tradeoff between enough resolution to capture the most relevant pore types and large enough volume to be statistically representative. Some pore types are left under-resolved in micro-CT images, and ignoring their contribution to flow simulation can lead to large errors, particularly for two-phase flow simulations

This presentation will demonstrate an extension to our LBM fluid flow solver to account for single-phase and two-phase flow in under-resolved porous regions in addition to resolved pores and presented simulation results for absolute permeability, capillary pressure and relative permeability.

Highlights:

• Extend DigitalROCK LBM fluid flow solver of single scale to multi-scale scenario which exists in large percentage of reservoir formation
• Accurately predict flow behavior for complex, multiscale rock types like Carbonates and Shales by modeling unresolved pore structure
• Unique multiphysics and multiscale solutions for rock characterization