Simulation of Gas-Water Two-Phase Flow in Tight Gas Reservoirs Considering the Gas Slip Effect

A mathematical model for the gas-water two-phase flow in tight gas reservoirs is elaborated.The model can account for the gas slip effect,stress sensitivity,and high-speed non-Darcy factors.The related equations are solved in the framework of a finite element method.The results are validated against those obtained by using the commercial software CMG(Computer Modeling Group software for advanced recovery process simulation).It is shown that the proposed method is reliable.It can capture the fracture rejection characteristics of tight gas reservoirs better than the CMG.A sensitivity analysis of various control factors(initial water saturation,reservoir parameters,and fracturing parameters)affecting the production in tight gas wells is conducted accordingly.Finally,a series of theoretical arguments are provided for a rational and effective development/exploitation of tight sandstone gas reservoirs.

Pressure transient characteristics of non-uniform conductivity fractured wells in viscoelasticity polymer flooding based on oil-water two-phase flow

Polymer flooding in fractured wells has been extensively applied in oilfields to enhance oil recovery.In contrast to water,polymer solution exhibits non-Newtonian and nonlinear behavior such as effects of shear thinning and shear thickening,polymer convection,diffusion,adsorption retention,inaccessible pore volume and reduced effective permeability.Meanwhile,the flux density and fracture conductivity along the hydraulic fracture are generally non-uniform due to the effects of pressure distribution,formation damage,and proppant breakage.In this paper,we present an oil-water two-phase flow model that captures these complex non-Newtonian and nonlinear behavior,and non-uniform fracture characteristics in fractured polymer flooding.The hydraulic fracture is firstly divided into two parts:high-conductivity fracture near the wellbore and low-conductivity fracture in the far-wellbore section.A hybrid grid system,including perpendicular bisection(PEBI)and Cartesian grid,is applied to discrete the partial differential flow equations,and the local grid refinement method is applied in the near-wellbore region to accurately calculate the pressure distribution and shear rate of polymer solution.The combination of polymer behavior characterizations and numerical flow simulations are applied,resulting in the calculation for the distribution of water saturation,polymer concentration and reservoir pressure.Compared with the polymer flooding well with uniform fracture conductivity,this non-uniform fracture conductivity model exhibits the larger pressure difference,and the shorter bilinear flow period due to the decrease of fracture flow ability in the far-wellbore section.The field case of the fall-off test demonstrates that the proposed method characterizes fracture characteristics more accurately,and yields fracture half-lengths that better match engineering reality,enabling a quantitative segmented characterization of the near-wellbore section with high fracture conductivity and the far-wellbore section with low fracture conductivity.The novelty of this paper is the analysis of pressure performances caused by the fracture dynamics and polymer rheology,as well as an analysis method that derives formation and fracture parameters based on the pressure and its derivative curves.

Simulation of Two-Phase Flowback Phenomena in Shale Gas Wells

The gas-water two-phaseflow occurring as a result of fracturingfluidflowback phenomena is known to impact significantly the productivity of shale gas well.In this work,this two-phaseflow has been simulated in the framework of a hybrid approach partially relying on the embedded discrete fracture model(EDFM).This model assumes the region outside the stimulated reservoir volume(SRV)as a single-medium while the SRV region itself is described using a double-medium strategy which can account for thefluid exchange between the matrix and the micro-fractures.The shale gas adsorption,desorption,diffusion,gas slippage effect,fracture stress sensitivity,and capillary imbibition have been considered.The shale gas production,pore pressure distribution and water saturation distribution in the reservoir have been simulated.The influences of hydraulic fracture geometry and nonorthogonal hydraulic fractures on gas production have been determined and discussed accordingly.The simulation results show that the daily gas production has an upward and downward trend due to the presence of a large amount of fracturingfluid in the reservoir around the hydraulic fracture.The smaller the angle between the hydraulic fracture and the wellbore,the faster the daily production of shale gas wells decreases,and the lower the cumulative production.Nonplanar fractures can increase the control volume of hydraulic fractures and improve the production of shale gas wells.

A two-phase type-curve method with multiscale fluid transport mechanisms in hydraulically fractured shale reservoirs

The quantitative understanding of hydraulic fracture(HF)properties guides accurate production forecasts and reserve estimation.Type curve is a powerful technique to characterize HF and reservoir properties from flowback and long-term production data.However,two-phase flow of water and hydrocarbon after an HF stimulation together with the complex transport mechanisms in shale nanopores exacerbate the nonlinearity of the transport equation,causing errors in type-curve analysis.Accordingly,we propose a new two-phase type-curve method to estimate HF properties,such as HF volume and permeability of fracture,through the analysis of flowback data of multi-fractured shale wells.The proposed type curve is based on a semianalytical solution that couples the two-phase flow from the matrix with the flow in HF by incorporating matrix influx,slippage effect,stress dependence,and the spatial variation of fluid properties in inorganic and organic pores.For the first time,multiple fluid transport mechanisms are considered into two-phase type-curve analysis for shale reservoirs.We analyze the flowback data from a multi-fractured horizontal well in a shale gas reservoir to verify the field application of the proposed method.The results show that the fracture properties calculated by the type-curve method are in good agreement with the long-time production data.

Fluid−Structure Interaction of Two-Phase Flow Passing Through 90° Pipe Bend Under Slug Pattern Conditions

Numerical simulations of evolution characteristics of slug flow across a 90°pipe bend have been carried out to study the fluid−structure interaction response induced by internal slug flow.The two-phase flow patterns and turbulence were modelled by using the volume of fluid(VOF)model and the Realizable k−εturbulence model respectively.Firstly,validation of the CFD model was carried out and the desirable results were obtained.The different flow patterns and the time-average mean void fraction was coincident with the reported experimental data.Simulations of different cases of slug flow have been carried out to show the effects of superficial gas and liquid velocity on the evolution characteristics of slug flow.Then,a one-way coupled fluid-structure interaction framework was established to investigate the slug flow interaction with a 90°pipe bend under various superficial liquid and gas velocities.It was found that the maximum total deformation and equivalent stress increased with the increasing superficial gas velocity,while decreased with the increasing superficial liquid velocity.In addition,the total deformation and equivalent stress has obvious periodic fluctuation.Furthermore,the distribution position of maximum deformation and stress was related to the evolution of slug flow.With the increasing superficial gas velocity,the maximum total deformation was mainly located at the 90°pipe bend.But as the superficial liquid velocity increases,the maximum total deformation was mainly located in the horizontal pipe section.Consequently,the slug flow with higher superficial gas velocity will induce more serious cyclical impact on the 90°pipe bend.

SECOND-ORDER MOMENT MODEL FOR DENSE TWO-PHASE TURBULENT FLOW OF BINGHAM FLUID WITH PARTICLES

The USM-θ model of Bingham fluid for dense two-phase turbulent flow was developed, which combines the second-order moment model for two-phase turbulence with the particle kinetic theory for the inter-particle collision. In this model, phases interaction and the extra term of Bingham fluid yield stress are taken into account. An algorithm for USM-θ model in dense two-phase flow was proposed, in which the influence of particle volume fraction is accounted for. This model was used to simulate turbulent flow of Bingham fluid single-phase and dense liquid-particle two-phase in pipe. It is shown USM-θ model has better prediction result than the five-equation model, in which the particle-particle collision is modeled by the particle kinetic theory, while the turbulence of both phase is simulated by the two-equation turbulence model. The USM-θ model was then used to simulate the dense two-phase turbulent up flow of Bingham fluid with particles. With the increasing of the yield stress, the velocities of Bingham and particle decrease near the pipe centre. Comparing the two-phase flow of Bingham-particle with that of liquid-particle, it is found the source term of yield stress has significant effect on flow.

MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF TWO-PHASE FLUID NONLINEAR FLOW IN LOW-PERMEABILITY POROUS MEDIA WITH APPLICATIONS

A mathematical model of two-phase fluid nonlinear flow in the direction of normal of ellipse through low-permeability porous media was established according to a nonlinear flow law expressed in a continuous function with three parameters, a mass conservation law and a concept of turbulent ellipses. A solution to the model was obtained by using a finite difference method and an extrapolation method. Formulas of calculating development index not only before but also after water breaks through an oil well in the condition of two-phase fluid nonlinear flow in the media were derived. An example was discussed. Water saturation distribution was presented. The moving law of drainage front was found. Laws of change of pressure difference with time were recognized. Results show that there is much difference of water saturation distribution between nonlinear flow and linear flow; that drainage front by water moves faster, water breaks through sooner and the index gets worse because of the nonlinear flow; and that dimensionless pressure difference gets larger at the same dimensionless time and difficulty of oil development becomes bigger by the nonlinear flow. Thus, it is necessary that influence of nonlinear flow on development indexes of the oil fields be taken into account. The results provide water-flooding development of the oilfields with scientific basis.

Integrated numerical simulation of hydraulic fracturing and production in shale gas well considering gas-water two-phase flow

Based on the displacement discontinuity method and the discrete fracture unified pipe network model,a sequential iterative numerical method was used to build a fracturing-production integrated numerical model of shale gas well considering the two-phase flow of gas and water.The model accounts for the influence of natural fractures and matrix properties on the fracturing process and directly applies post-fracturing formation pressure and water saturation distribution to subsequent well shut-in and production simulation,allowing for a more accurate fracturing-production integrated simulation.The results show that the reservoir physical properties have great impacts on fracture propagation,and the reasonable prediction of formation pressure and reservoir fluid distribution after the fracturing is critical to accurately predict the gas and fluid production of the shale gas wells.Compared with the conventional method,the proposed model can more accurately simulate the water and gas production by considering the impact of fracturing on both matrix pressure and water saturation.The established model is applied to the integrated fracturing-production simulation of practical horizontal shale gas wells.The simulation results are in good agreement with the practical production data,thus verifying the accuracy of the model.

Numerical Investigation on Dynamic Response Characteristics of Fluid-Structure Interaction of Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Flow in Horizontal Pipe

Fluid-structure interaction(FSI)of gas-liquid two-phase fow in the horizontal pipe is investigated numerically in the present study.The volume of fluid model and standard k-e turbulence model are integrated to simulate the typical gas-liquid two-phase fow patterns.First,validation of the numerical model is conducted and the typical fow patterns are consistent with the Baker chart.Then,the FSI framework is established to investigate the dynamic responses of the interaction between the horizontal pipe and gas-liquid two-phase fow.The results show that the dynamic response under stratified fow condition is relatively flat and the maximum pipe deformation and equivalent stress are 1.8 mm and 7.5 MPa respectively.Meanwhile,the dynamic responses induced by slug fow,wave fow and annular fow show obvious periodic fuctuations.Furthermore,the dynamic response characteristics under slug flow condition are maximum;the maximum pipe deformation and equivalent stress can reach 4mm and 17.5 MPa,respectively.The principal direction of total deformation is different under various flow patterns.Therefore,the periodic equivalent stress will form the cyclic impact on the pipe wall and affect the fatigue life of the horizontal pipe.The present study may serve as a reference for FSI simulation under gas-liquid two-phase transport conditions.

MICROGRAVITY EXPERIMENTS OF TWO-PHASE FLOW PATTERNS ABOARD MIR SPACE STATION

A first experimental study on two-phase how patterns at a long-term, steady microgravity condition was conducted on board the Russian Space Station 'MIR' in August 1999. Carbogal and air are used as the liquid and the gas phase, respectively. Bubble, slug, slug-annular transitional, and annular hows are observed. A new region of annular how with lower liquid superficial velocity is discovered, and the region of the slug-annular transitional flow is wider than that observed by experiments on board the parabolic aircraft. The main patterns are bubble, slug-annular transitional and annular flows based on the experiments on board MIR space station. Some influences on the two-phase how patterns in the present experiments are discussed.

Prediction of Flowing Bottomhole Pressures for Two-Phase Coalbed Methane Wells

A method is proposed to predict the flowing bottomhole pressures （FBHPs） for two-phase coalbed methane （CBM） wells. The mathematical models for both gas column pressure and two-phase fluid column pressure were developed based on the well liquid flow equation. FBHPs during the production were predicted by considering the effect of entrained liquid on gravitational gradients. Comparison of calculated BHPs by Cullender-Smith and proposed method was also studied. The results show that the proposed algorithm gives the desired accuracy of calculating BHPs in the low- productivity and low-pressure CBM wells. FBHP is resulted from the combined action of wellhead pressure, gas column pressure and fluid column pressure. Variation of kinetic energy term, compressibility and friction factors with depth increments and liquid holdup with velocity should be considered to simulate the real BHPs adequately. BHP is a function of depth of each column segment. The small errors of less than 1.5% between the calculated and measured values are obtained with each segment within 25 m. Adjusting BHPs can effectively increase production pressure drop, which is beneficial to CBM desorption and enhances reservoir productivity. The increment of pressure drop from 5.37 MPa2 to 8.66 MPa2 leads to an increase of CBM production from 3270 m3/d to 6700 m3/d and is attributed to a decrease in BHP from 2.25 MPa to 1.33 MPa.

CFD studies of scraper built in SPA clarifying tank based on mixture solid-liquid two-phase flow model

In the industrial process of producing the strong phosphoric acid(SPA),clarification of the solution is essential to the ultimate product.However,the large viscosity of sediment and the induced interface interaction result in difficulties when the SPA is clarified.CFD numerical methodology was applied to simulate internal flow field and performance of the low speed scraper based on Mixture solidliquid two-phase flow model.Sediment deposition was generated by loading solid particles at the bottom of clarifying vessel.The moving mesh and RNG k-εmodel were used to simulate the rotational turbulent flow in clarifying tank.Variables studied,amongst others,were the scraper rotation speed and the mounting height,which could affect the solid suspension height.Features of flow field and solid volume fraction distribution in computational domain were presented and analyzed.The numerical reports of the scraper torque and velocities of inlet and outlet filed were obtained.It seems the torque value of rotatio-nal axis and particle suspending height augment with an increasing rotating speed.Meanwhile,a high revolving speed is good for the deposition discharge.The particle fraction distribution in meridional surface and horizontal surface at fixed rotation speed were analyzed to determine the corresponding optimal installation height.The simulating results reflect the flow field is marginally stirred by the scraper and proper working parameters are obtained,in which case the comprehensive properties of the scraper and the clarifying tank are superior.

Analysis of Gas and Liquid Two-Phase Slug Flow Production Logging Interpretation Model in near Horizontal Shale Gas Wells

The development of shale gas reservoir is mainly based on horizontal well production.Slug flow of gas-liquid two-phase is invariably encountered in inclined wells and horizontal wells of a producing environment.Due to gravitational differentiation,oil-water two-phase flow pattern,the local velocity and local phase holdup along the radial direction of pipe in near horizontal wells will perform complicatedly.This paper presented the results of an experimental study and a theoretical analysis of two-phase gas/water flow in horizontal and highly inclined systems.Extensive experiments were conducted using a test loop made of 124 mm diameter acrylic pipe with inclination angles from the horizontal of 0°,5°,15°,45°,°2°,°5°and°10°,and with the total flow rate ranging from 50 to 800 m3/day.Based on the research on the law of slug flow dynamics model for gas-water two-phase flow in near horizontal pipeline,the theoretical analysis and experimental researches were done to propose the expressions of stable and exact production logging interpretation model for two-phase flow in near horizontal pipeline.The performance of the proposed method for estimating water holdup and water superficial velocity is in good agreement with our measurements.As a result,the slug flow dynamics model of gas-water two-phase flow in near horizontal wellbore was developed.The application effect of production logging in near horizontal wells had been improved.

Multi-scale complexity entropy causality plane: An intrinsic measure for indicating two-phase flow structures

We extend the complexity entropy causality plane（CECP） to propose a multi-scale complexity entropy causality plane（MS-CECP） and further use the proposed method to discriminate the deterministic characteristics of different oil-in-water flows. We first take several typical time series for example to investigate the characteristic of the MS-CECP and find that the MS-CECP not only describes the continuous loss of dynamical structure with the increase of scale, but also reflects the determinacy of the system. Then we calculate the MS-CECP for the conductance fluctuating signals measured from oil–water two-phase flow loop test facility. The results indicate that the MS-CECP could be an intrinsic measure for indicating oil-in-water two-phase flow structures.

Heat transfer model of two-phase flow across tube bundle in submerged combustion vaporizer

In order to optimize the design of the submerged combustion vaporizer(SCV), an experimental apparatus was set up to investigate the heat transfer character outside the tube bundle in SCV. Several experiments were conducted using water and CO_2 as the heat transfer media in the tubes, respectively. The results indicated that hot air flux, the initial liquid level height and the tube pitch ratio had great influence on the heat transfer coefficient outside the tube bundle(ho). Finally, the air flux associated factor β and height associated factor γ were introduced to propose a new hocorrelation. After verified by experiments using cold water, high pressure CO_2 and liquid N_2 as heat transfer media, respectively, it was found that the biggest deviation between the predicted and the experimental values was less than 25%.

High-strength aluminum alloys hollow billet prepared by two-phase zone continuous casting

The two-phase zone continuous casting(TZCC)technique was used to continuously cast high-strength aluminum alloy hollow billets,and a verified 3D model of TZCC was used to simulate the flow and temperature fields at casting speeds of 2-6 mm·min^(-1).Hollow billets under the same conditions were prepared,and their macro/microstructures were analyzed by an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope.During the TZCC process,a circular fluid flow appears in front of the mushy zone,and the induction heated stepped mold and convective heat transfer result in a curved solidification front with depressed region near the inner wall and a vertical temperature gradient.The deflection of the solidification front decreases and the average cooling rate in the mushy zone increases with increasing casting speed.Experimental results for a 2D12 alloy show that hot tearing periodically appears in the hollow billet accompanied by macrosegregation near the inner wall at casting speeds of 2 and 4 mm·min^(-1),while macroscopic defects of hot tearing and macrosegregation weaken and the average size of columnar crystals in the hollow billets decreases with further increasing casting speed.2D12 aluminum alloy hollow billets with no macroscopic defects,the finest columnar crystals,and excellent mechanical properties were prepared by TZCC at a casting speed of 6 mm·min^(-1),which is beneficial for the further plastic forming process.

Two-Phase Flow of Blood with Magnetic Dusty Particles in Cylindrical Region: A Caputo Fabrizio Fractional Model

The present study is focused on the unsteady two-phase flow of blood in a cylindrical region.Blood is taken as a counter-example of Brinkman type fluid containing magnetic(dust)particles.The oscillating pressure gradient has been considered because for blood flow it is necessary to investigate in the form of a diastolic and systolic pressure.The transverse magnetic field has been applied externally to the cylindrical tube to study its impact on both fluids as well as particles.The system of derived governing equations based on Navier Stoke’s,Maxwell and heat equations has been generalized using the well-known Caputo–Fabrizio(C–F)fractional derivative.The considered fractional model has been solved analytically using the joint Laplace and Hankel(L&H)transformations.The effect of various physical parameters such as fractional parameter,Gr,M and
γ on blood and magnetic particles has been shown graphically using the Mathcad software.The fluid behaviour is thinner in fractional order as compared to the classical one.

Non-Isothermal Separation Process of Two-Phase Mixture Water/Ultra-Viscous Heavy Oil by Hydrocyclone

Environmental agencies do not allow effluents, from the petroleum productions, which contain oil concentrations that exceed the amounts permitted by the regulations. In recent time heavy oil operating petroleum industries are generating oil/water mixture by products, which are difficult to separate. Industrially, hydrocyclone is generally used to separate oil from an oil/water mixture. This is due to its high performance of separation, low cost of installation and maintenance. In the present work, therefore, the thermal fluid dynamics of water/ultra-viscous heavy oil separation process in a hydrocyclone has been studied. A steady state mathematical model which simulates the performance of a non-isothermal separation process is presented. The Eulerian-Eulerian approach for the interface of the phases involved (water/ultra-viscous heavy-oil) is used and the two-phase flow is considered as incompressible, viscous and turbulent. For carrying out numerical solutions of the governing equations the CFX11? commercial code was used. Results of the behavior of the two-fluid flow inside the hydrocyclone and separation efficiency are presented and analyzed. The role of the average temperature of the fluid, oil droplet diameter and the fluid mixture inlet velocity on the separation efficiency of the hydrocyclone are verified.

Affine particle-in-cell method for two-phase liquid simulation

Background The interaction of gas and liquid can produce many interesting phenomena,such as bubbles rising from the bottom of the liquid.The simulation of two-phase fluids is a challenging topic in computer graphics.To animate the interaction of a gas and liquid,MultiFLIP samples the two types of particles,and a Euler grid is used to track the interface of the liquid and gas.However,MultiFLIP uses the fluid implicit particle(FLIP)method to interpolate the velocities of particles into the Euler grid,which suffer from additional noise and instability.Methods To solve the problem caused by fluid implicit particles(FLIP),we present a novel velocity transport technique for two individual particles based on the affine particle-in-cell(APIC)method.First,we design a weighed coupling method for interpolating the velocities of liquid and gas particles to the Euler grid such that we can apply the APIC method to the simulation of a two-phase fluid.Second,we introduce a narrowband method to our system because MultiFLIP is a time-consuming approach owing to the large number of particles.Results Experiments show that our method is well integrated with the APIC method and provides a visually credible two-phase fluid animation.Conclusions The proposed method can successfully handle the simulation of a two phase fluid.

Fluid Flow Behavior of Liquid in Cylindrical Vessels Stirred by One or Two Air Jets

Based on the two-phase model (Eulerian-Eulerian model), the three dimensional fluid flow in water and that liquid steel systems stirred by one or two multiple gas jets are simulated. In the Eulerian-Eulerian two-phase model, the gas and the liquid phase are considered to be two different continuous fluids interacting with each other through the finite inter-phase areas. The exchange between the phases is represented by source terms in conversation equations. Turbulence is assumed to be a property of the liquid phase. A new turbulence modification - model is introduced to consider the bubbles movement contribution to and . The dispersion of phases due to turbulence is represented by introducing a diffusion term in mass conservation equation. The mathematical simulation agrees well with the experiment results. The study results indicate that the distance of two nozzles has big effect on fluid flow behavior in the vessel. Using two gas injection nozzles at the half radii of one diameter of the bottom generates a much better mixing than with one nozzle under the condition of the same total gas flow rate.