A Fractal Model for Oil Transport in Tight Porous Media

Tight porous media are mainly composed of micro/nano-pores and throats, which leads to obvious microscale effect and nonlinear seepage characteristics. Based on the capillary bundle model and the fractal theory, a new nonlinear seepage equation was deduced, and a further fractal permeability model w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inTransport in porous media Vol. 121; no. 3; pp. 725 - 739
Main Authors Huang, Shan, Yao, Yuedong, Zhang, Shuang, Ji, Jinghao, Ma, Ruoyu
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.02.2018
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Boundary layer
Boundary layers
Civil Engineering
Classical and Continuum Physics
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Fractal models
Fractals
Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences
Hydrogeology
Hydrology/Water Resources
Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering
Media
Permeability
Porous materials
Porous media
Seepage
Throats
Transport
Tight porous media
Fractal theory
Effective permeability
Capillary bundle model
Boundary layer
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Summary:Tight porous media are mainly composed of micro/nano-pores and throats, which leads to obvious microscale effect and nonlinear seepage characteristics. Based on the capillary bundle model and the fractal theory, a new nonlinear seepage equation was deduced, and a further fractal permeability model was obtained for oil transport in tight porous media by considering the effect of the boundary layer. The predictions of the model were then compared with experimental data to demonstrate that the model is valid. This model clarifies the oil transport mechanisms in tight porous media: the effective permeability is no longer a constant value and is governed by properties of tight porous media and oil. Furthermore, parameters influencing effective permeability were analyzed. The model can accurately present the seepage characteristics of the oil in tight porous media and provide a reliable basis for the development of unconventional reservoirs.
ISSN:0169-3913
1573-1634
DOI:10.1007/s11242-017-0982-1