The Investigation of Permeability Calculation Using Digital Core Simulation Technology

Lei Zhang, Wenlong Jing, Yongfei Yang, Hainan Yang, Yaohao Guo, Hai Sun, Jianlin Zhao and Jun Yao
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Lei Zhang: School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Wenlong Jing: School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Yongfei Yang: Key Laboratory of Unconventional Oil & Gas Development (China University of Petroleum (East China)), Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266580, China
Hainan Yang: PetroChina Oil & Gas Technology Research Institute of Changqing Oil Field, Xi’an 710018, China
Yaohao Guo: Key Laboratory of Unconventional Oil & Gas Development (China University of Petroleum (East China)), Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266580, China
Hai Sun: Key Laboratory of Unconventional Oil & Gas Development (China University of Petroleum (East China)), Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266580, China
Jianlin Zhao: Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
Jun Yao: Key Laboratory of Unconventional Oil & Gas Development (China University of Petroleum (East China)), Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266580, China

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 17, 1-9

Abstract: Digital core simulation technology, as an emerging numerical simulation method, has gradually come to play a significant role in the study of petrophysical properties. By using this numerical simulation method, the influence of micro factors on seepage properties of reservoir rock is taken into consideration, making up the shortcomings of the traditional physical experiment. Three-dimensional core images are reconstructed by a computed tomography scanning technique. Different sizes of the sub-region were simulated by three methods including the direct computation of Navier-Stokes equations, the simulation of the pore network model, and the lattice Boltzmann method. The permeability computed by each simulation was compared. After comparison between these three methods, the results of the direct computation method based on Navier-Stokes equations were found to be higher than the other two methods. The pore network model simulation has an obvious advantage on the computation speed and the simulation area. The lattice Boltzmann method shows the low efficiency due to the time-consuming process. At last, the permeability calculated by the three methods is matched by the Kozeny-Carman equation. A more accurate formula can be obtained by a series of numerical simulations, which can be applied to marco-scale simulation.

Keywords: digital core; numerical simulation; lattice Boltzmann method; pore network model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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