Pore-Scale Simulation of Two-Phase Flow with Heat Transfer Through Dual-Permeability Porous Medium

H.A. Akhlaghi Amiri[1], A.A. Hamouda[1]
[1]University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Rogaland, Norway
Published in 2012

This paper addresses one of the major challenges in water-flooded oil reservoirs, which is early water breakthrough due to the presence of high permeable layers in the media. COMSOL Multiphysics is used to model two phase (water and oil) flow in dual-permeability porous medium at micro-scales. The heat transfer module is coupled with the laminar two-phase flow interface, because temperature affects the flow patterns in the reservoir by modification of physical parameters. Polymer injection, a remedy for the low sweep efficiency is simulated here by defining a variable viscosity for the aqueous phase that varies as a function of time and temperature. The simulation results confirm the efficiency of the polymer injection in enhancing oil recovery in dual-permeability porous medium.