Experimental and numerical investigation of non-linear flow behaviour during FHVI

Abstract

A study was performed, expanding on the previous studies by Van Dooren (2015) and Snoeijers (2016) to investigate non-linear flow under high pressure in an attempt to mimic the FHVI effect as it is being observed in the field. This study was aimed and creating greater insight in the role of compaction on the Forhheimer equation. To this aim the compaction methods devised by Van Dooren (2015) was utilised in the same experimental setup with less than perfect compaction of the porous medium whilst maintaining a rigid medium. These experiments were compared to the results of the previous study by Snoeijers (2016). The gathered data was compared to the same equations used as in the previous study, which are the equations by Ergun (1952), Kovács (1981), Macdonald (1979), DuPlessis (1994), Ward (1964), Schneebeli (1955) and Sidiropoulou (2007). The comparison of the lower compaction samples has shown that equations for the Forchheimer equation that were previously considered to be accurate for certain grain sizes proved to perform poorly when porosity varies for the same grain size sample. Only for grain size samples with a d50 smaller In addition a model was created in COMSOL as a proof of concept to model an FHVI injection well, based on the previous research. Using this model the range over which the hydraulic head as calculated by the Forchheimer equation diverts from the hydraulic head as calculated by the Darcy equation could be quantified. In addition the magnitude of deviation of the Forchheimer hydraulic head curves from those calculated by the Darcy curves could be quantified. Unfortunately insofar the model is only a proof of concept and lacks validation with real world scenarios, which could be the basis for future study.