Abstract
We present a computer study of two-phase flow in a porous medium. The porous medium is represented by an isotropic network of up to 80 000 randomly placed nodes connected by thin tubes. We then simulate two-fluid displacements in this network and are able to demonstrate the effects of viscous and capillary forces. We use the local average flow rates and pressures to calculate effective saturation dependent relative pemeabilities, fractional flows and capillary pressures. Using a radial Buckley-Leverett theory, the mean saturation profile can be inferred from the solution of the fractional flow equation, which is consistent with the computed saturation. We show that the relative permeability may be a function of both viscosity ratio and capillary number.
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Blunt, M., King, P. Relative permeabilities from two- and three-dimensional pore-scale network modelling. Transp Porous Med 6, 407–433 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00136349
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00136349