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Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media

Submission Deadline: 01 September 2022 (closed)

Guest Editors

Dr. Xiang Rao, Yangtze University, China
Dr. Yonghui Wu, China University of Mining and Technology, China
Dr. Yunfeng Xu, Yangtze University, China

Summary

Grid-based finite difference method, finite element method and finite volume method are widely used to solve various flow problems in porous media, and have always been the mainstream methods in the field of numerical calculation from the past to the present. For some complex flow scenarios, the grid-based method has great difficulties in generating high-quality mesh. Under this background, meshless methods came into being and developed rapidly. In recent years, there have also been some theoretical and application researches on meshless methods. The meshless method breaks through the limitation of the traditional numerical methods based on mesh division, and has theoretical advantages in high-speed impact, dynamic crack propagation, fluid-solid coupling and other problems related to large deformation, mesh distortion, adaptive analysis, etc. However, up to now, this method still does not occupy enough shares in the field of numerical calculation of flow problems. In addition, this special issue also focuses on the application effect and performance analysis of other mesh-reduction methods (such as boundary element method, point source function method, multiscale methods, order-reduction methods and etc.) in various fluid flow problems in porous media.

In all, this special issue aims to analyze the following issues but not limited in these issues:

(1) Computational performances, limitations and advantages of meshless methods;

(2) Computational performances, limitations and advantages of mesh-based methods;

(3) Computational performances, limitations and advantages of mesh-reduction methods;

(4) key factors affecting the accuracy of these methods;

(5) Does meshless methods have an advantage in calculation accuracy and efficiency compared with mesh-based methods?

(6) The differences of computing performance when various meshless methods are applied.


Keywords

Flow in porous media; meshless methods; mesh-reduction method

Published Papers


  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Simulation of Gas-Water Two-Phase Flow in Tight Gas Reservoirs Considering the Gas Slip Effect

    Mingjing Lu, Zenglin Wang, Aishan Li, Liaoyuan Zhang, Bintao Zheng, Zilin Zhang
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.19, No.5, pp. 1269-1281, 2023, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2023.023188
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract A mathematical model for the gas-water two-phase flow in tight gas reservoirs is elaborated. The model can account for the gas slip effect, stress sensitivity, and high-speed non-Darcy factors. The related equations are solved in the framework of a finite element method. The results are validated against those obtained by using the commercial software CMG (Computer Modeling Group software for advanced recovery process simulation). It is shown that the proposed method is reliable. It can capture the fracture rejection characteristics of tight gas reservoirs better than the CMG. A sensitivity analysis of various control factors (initial water saturation, reservoir parameters,… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    A Comprehensive Method for the Optimization of Cement Slurry and to Avoid Air Channeling in High Temperature and High-Pressure Conditions

    Yanjun Li, Wandong Zhang, Jiang Wu, Yuhao Yang, Chao Zhang, Huanqiang Yang
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.19, No.5, pp. 1237-1248, 2023, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2022.023147
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract Air channeling in the annulus between the casing and the cement sheath and/or between the cement sheath and formation is the main factor affecting the safe operation of natural gas wells at high temperatures and pressures. Prevention of this problem requires, in general, excellent anti-channeling performances of the cement sheath. Three methods to predict such anti-channeling performances are proposed here, which use the weightless pressure of cement slurry, the permeability of cement stone and the volume expansion rate of cement sheath as input parameters. Guided by this approach, the anti-channeling performances of the cement slurry are evaluated by means of… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Optimization of the Plugging Agent Dosage for High Temperature Salt Profile Control in Heavy Oil Reservoirs

    Jiayu Ruan, Mingjing Lu, Wei Zhang, Yuxi Zhang, Yuhui Zhou, Jie Gong, Fan Wang, Yuanxiao Guan
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.19, No.2, pp. 421-436, 2023, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2022.020665
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract After steam discharge in heavy oil reservoirs, the distribution of temperature, pressure, and permeability in different wells becomes irregular. Flow channels can easily be produced, which affect the sweep efficiency of the oil displacement. Previous studies have shown that the salting-out plugging method can effectively block these channels in high-temperature reservoirs, improve the suction profile, and increase oil production. In the present study, the optimal dosage of the plugging agent is determined taking into account connection transmissibility and inter-well volumes. Together with the connectivity model, a water flooding simulation model is introduced. Moreover, a non-gradient stochastic disturbance algorithm is used… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Analysis of the Microstructure of a Failed Cement Sheath Subjected to Complex Temperature and Pressure Conditions

    Zhiqiang Wu, Yi Wu, Renjun Xie, Jin Yang, Shujie Liu, Qiao Deng
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.19, No.2, pp. 399-406, 2023, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2022.020402
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract One of the main obstacles hindering the exploitation of high-temperature and high-pressure oil and gas is the sealing integrity of the cement sheath. Analyzing the microstructure of the cement sheath is therefore an important task. In this study, the microstructure of the cement sheath is determined using a CT scanner under different temperature and pressure conditions. The results suggest that the major cause of micro-cracks in the cement is the increase in the casing pressure. When the micro-cracks accumulate to a certain extent, the overall structure of the cement sheath is weakened, resulting in gas channeling, which poses a direct… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Numerical Simulation of a Two-Phase Flow with Low Permeability and a Start-Up Pressure Gradient

    Xuanyu Dong, Jingyao Yang
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.19, No.1, pp. 175-185, 2023, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2022.021345
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract A new numerical model for low-permeability reservoirs is developed. The model incorporates the nonlinear characteristics of oil-water two-phase flows while taking into account the initiation pressure gradient. Related numerical solutions are obtained using a finite difference method. The correctness of the method is demonstrated using a two-dimensional inhomogeneous low permeability example. Then, the differences in the cumulative oil and water production are investigated for different starting water saturations. It is shown that when the initial water saturation grows, the water content of the block continues to rise and the cumulative oil production gradually decreases. More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Numerical Simulation of Two-Phase Flow in Glutenite Reservoirs for Optimized Deployment in Horizontal Wells

    Yuhui Zhou, Shichang Ju, Qijun Lyu, Hongfei Chen, Xuebiao Du, Aiping Zheng, Wenshun Chen, Ning Li
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.19, No.1, pp. 245-259, 2023, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2023.019971
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract It is known that the pore media characteristics of glutenite reservoirs are different from those of conventional sandstone reservoirs. Low reservoir permeability and naturally developed microfractures make water injection in this kind of reservoir very difficult. In this study, new exploitation methods are explored. Using a real glutenite reservoir as a basis, a three-dimensional fine geological model is elaborated. Then, combining the model with reservoir performance information, and through a historical fitting analysis, the saturation abundance distribution of remaining oil in the reservoir is determined. It is shown that, using this information, predictions can be made about whether the considered… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    A Mathematical Model and a Method for the Calculation of the Downhole Pressure in Composite-Perforation Technological Processes

    Xufeng Li, Yantao Bi
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.18, No.6, pp. 1699-1709, 2022, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2022.019741
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract Using the conservation equations for mass, momentum and energy, a model is elaborated to describe the dynamics of high-energy gases in composite-perforation technological processes. The model includes a precise representation of the gunpowder combustion and related killing fluid displacement. Through numerical solution of such equations, the pressure distribution of the high-energy gas in fractures is obtained, and used to determine crack propagation. The accuracy of the model is verified by comparing the simulation results with actual measurements. More >

    Graphic Abstract

    A Mathematical Model and a Method for the Calculation of the Downhole Pressure in Composite-Perforation Technological Processes

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Determination of the Cement Sheath Interface and the Causes of Failure in the Completion Stage of Gas Wells

    Xuesong Xing, Renjun Xie, Yi Wu, Zhiqiang Wu, Huanqiang Yang
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.18, No.6, pp. 1719-1735, 2022, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2022.019799
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract

    The bonding quality of the cement sheath interface decreases during well completion because of the change in the casing pressure. To explore the root cause of such phenomena, experiments on the mechanical properties and interface bonding strength of a cement sheath have been carried out taking the LS25-1 high-temperature and high-pressure (HTHP) gas field as an example. Moreover, a constitutive model of the cement sheath has been defined and verified both by means of a full-scale HTHP cement sheath sealing integrity evaluation experiment and three-dimensional finite element simulations. The results show that the low initial cementing surface strength is the… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Simulation of Oil-Water Flow in a Shale Reservoir Using a Radial Basis Function

    Zenglin Wang, Liaoyuan Zhang, Anhai Zhong, Ran Ding, Mingjing Lu
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.18, No.6, pp. 1795-1804, 2022, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2022.020020
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract Due to the difficulties associated with preprocessing activities and poor grid convergence when simulating shale reservoirs in the context of traditional grid methods, in this study an innovative two-phase oil-water seepage model is elaborated. The modes is based on the radial basis meshless approach and is used to determine the pressure and water saturation in a sample reservoir. Two-dimensional examples demonstrate that, when compared to the finite difference method, the radial basis function method produces less errors and is more accurate in predicting daily oil production. The radial basis function and finite difference methods provide errors of 5.78 percent and… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    A Method for Identifying Channeling Paths in Low-Permeability Fractured Reservoirs

    Zhenfeng Zhao, Bin Li, Zubo Su, Lijing Chang, Hongzheng Zhu, Ming Liu, Jialing Ma, Fan Wang, Qianwan Li
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.18, No.6, pp. 1781-1794, 2022, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2022.019998
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract Often oilfield fractured horizontal wells produce water flowing in multiple directions. In this study, a method to identify such channeling paths is developed. The dual-medium model is based on the principle of inter-well connectivity and considers the flow characteristics and related channeling terms. The Lorentz curve is drawn to qualitatively discern the geological type of the low-permeability fractured reservoir and determine the channeling direction and size. The practical application of such an approach to a sample oilfield shows that it can accurately identify the channeling paths of the considered low-permeability fractured reservoir and predict production performances according to the inter-well… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Experimental Study and Numerical Simulation of Polymer Flooding

    Lei Bai, Kai Li, Ke Zhou, Qingshan Wan, Pengchao Sun, Gaoming Yu, Xiankang Xin
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.18, No.6, pp. 1815-1826, 2022, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2022.020271
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract The numerical simulation of polymer flooding is a complex task as this process involves complex physical and chemical reactions, and multiple sets of characteristic parameters are required to properly set the simulation. At present, such characteristic parameters are mainly obtained by empirical methods, which typically result in relatively large errors. By analyzing experimentally polymer adsorption, permeability decline, inaccessible pore volume, viscosity-concentration relationship, and rheology, in this study, a conversion equation is provided to convert the experimental data into the parameters needed for the numerical simulation. Some examples are provided to demonstrate the reliability of the proposed approach. More >

    Graphic Abstract

    Experimental Study and Numerical Simulation of Polymer Flooding

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Prediction of Low-Permeability Reservoirs Performances Using Long and Short-Term Memory Machine Learning

    Guowei Zhu, Kangliang Guo, Haoran Yang, Xinchen Gao, Shuangshuang Zhang
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.18, No.5, pp. 1521-1528, 2022, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2022.020942
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract In order to overcome the typical limitations of numerical simulation methods used to estimate the production of low-permeability reservoirs, in this study, a new data-driven approach is proposed for the case of water-driven hypo-permeable reservoirs. In particular, given the bottlenecks of traditional recurrent neural networks in handling time series data, a neural network with long and short-term memory is used for such a purpose. This method can reduce the time required to solve a large number of partial differential equations. As such, it can therefore significantly improve the efficiency in predicting the needed production performances. Practical examples about water-driven hypotonic… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    A Model for the Connectivity of Horizontal Wells in Water-Flooding Oil Reservoirs

    Chenyang Shi, Fankun Meng, Hongyou Zhang, HuiJiang Chang, Xun Zhong, Jie Gong, Fengling Li
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.18, No.5, pp. 1441-1468, 2022, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2022.019788
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract As current calculation models for inter-well connectivity in oilfields can only account for vertical wells, an updated model is elaborated here that can predict the future production performance and evaluate the connectivity of horizontal wells (or horizontal and vertical wells). In this model, the injection-production system of the considered reservoir is simplified and represented with many connected units. Moreover, the horizontal well is modeled with multiple connected wells without considering the pressure loss in the horizontal direction. With this approach, the production performance for both injection and production wells can be obtained by calculating the bottom-hole flowing pressure and oil/water… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Analysis of the Weight Loss of High Temperature Cement Slurry

    Kunhong Lv, Zhiqiang Huang, Xingjie Ling, Xueqin Xia
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.18, No.5, pp. 1307-1318, 2022, DOI: 10.32604/fdmp.2022.020294
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract The weight loss of cement slurry is the main cause of early annular air channeling and accurate experimental evaluation of the law of loss change is the key to achieve compression stability and prevent this undesired phenomenon. Typically, tests on the pressure loss of cement slurry are carried out for temperature smaller than 120°C, and this condition cannot simulate effectively the situation occurring in high temperature wells. For this reason, in this study a series of experimental tests have been conducted considering a larger range of temperatures, different retarders and fluid loss additives. The results show that with an increase… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    A Comprehensive Study on the Process of Greenhouse Gas Sequestration Based on a Microporous Media Model

    Deqiang Wang, Xiansong Zhang, Jian Zhang, Baozhen Li
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.18, No.4, pp. 1067-1081, 2022, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2022.019888
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract Carbon dioxide geological sequestration is an effective method to reduce the content of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of our planet. This process can also be used to improve the production of oil reservoirs by mixing carbon dioxide and crude oil. In the present study, a differential separation experiment (DL) based on actual crude oil components is used to simulate such a process. The results show that after mixing, the viscosity and density of reservoir fluid decrease and the volume coefficient increase, indicating that the pre buried gas induces fluid expansion and an improvement of the fluid rheological properties. These… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Simulation of Oil-Water Flow in Shale Oil Reservoirs Based on Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics

    Qin Qian, Mingjing Lu, Feng Wang, Aishan Li, Liaoyuan Zhang
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.18, No.4, pp. 1089-1097, 2022, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2022.019837
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract A Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method is employed to simulate the two-phase flow of oil and water in a reservoir. It is shown that, in comparison to the classical finite difference approach, this method is more stable and effective at capturing the complex evolution of this category of two-phase flows. The influence of several smooth functions is explored and it is concluded that the Gaussian function is the best one. After 200 days, the block water cutoff for the Gaussian function is 0.3, whereas the other functions have a block water cutoff of 0.8. The effect of various injection ratios… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Machine Learning-Based Prediction of Oil-Water Flow Dynamics in Carbonate Reservoirs

    Xianhe Yue, Shunshe Luo
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.18, No.4, pp. 1195-1203, 2022, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2022.020649
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract Because carbonate rocks have a wide range of reservoir forms, a low matrix permeability, and a complicated seam hole formation, using traditional capacity prediction methods to estimate carbonate reservoirs can lead to significant errors. We propose a machine learning-based capacity prediction method for carbonate rocks by analyzing the degree of correlation between various factors and three machine learning models: support vector machine, BP neural network, and elastic network. The error rate for these three models are 10%, 16%, and 33%, respectively (according to the analysis of 40 training wells and 10 test wells). More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Application of New Water Flooding Characteristic Curve in the High Water-Cut Stage of an Oilfield

    Xi Zhang, Changquan Wang, Hua Wu, Xu Zhao
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.18, No.3, pp. 661-677, 2022, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2022.019486
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract The oil production predicted by means of the conventional water-drive characteristic curve is typically affected by large deviations with respect to the actual value when the so-called high water-cut stage is entered. In order to solve this problem, a new characteristic relationship between the relative permeability ratio and the average water saturation is proposed. By comparing the outcomes of different matching methods, it is verified that it can well reflect the variation characteristics of the relative permeability ratio curve. Combining the new formula with a reservoir engineering method, two new formulas are derived for the water flooding characteristic curve in… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    An Improved Parameter Dimensionality Reduction Approach Based on a Fast Marching Method for Automatic History Matching

    Hairong Zhang, Yongde Gao, Wei Li, Deng Liu, Jing Cao, Luoyi Huang, Xun Zhong
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.18, No.3, pp. 609-628, 2022, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2022.019446
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract History matching is a critical step in reservoir numerical simulation algorithms. It is typically hindered by difficulties associated with the high-dimensionality of the problem and the gradient calculation approach. Here, a multi-step solving method is proposed by which, first, a Fast marching method (FMM) is used to calculate the pressure propagation time and determine the single-well sensitive area. Second, a mathematical model for history matching is implemented using a Bayesian framework. Third, an effective decomposition strategy is adopted for parameter dimensionality reduction. Finally, a localization matrix is constructed based on the single-well sensitive area data to modify the gradient of… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Experimental Evaluation of the Mechanical Properties of Cement Sheath under High-Temperature Conditions

    Pei Zou, Zhiqiang Huang, Yian Tong, Leichuan Tan, Rui Li, Kai Wei, Deng Qiao
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.18, No.3, pp. 689-699, 2022, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2022.019470
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract The sealing integrity of cement sheath in offshore wells is seriously threatened under high-temperature conditions, resulting in gas channeling and other problems. Given the lack of experimental results, in this study relevant samples of a cement slurry sealing section of a typical offshore high-temperature well have been prepared and analyzed. In particular, the mechanical properties have been assessed with a triaxial pressure servo instrument and a high-temperature curing kettle. The density and the Poisson’s ratio of the samples have also been tested. The stress-strain curve has been drawn to obtain the elastic modulus and the compressive strength. The rock brittleness… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Research on the Optimization of a Drilling Rock Breaking Method Based on Fuzzy Cluster Analysis

    Kun Du, Zhen Wei
    FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.18, No.3, pp. 751-760, 2022, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2022.019577
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Meshless, Mesh-Based and Mesh-Reduction Methods Based Analysis of Fluid Flow in Porous Media)
    Abstract Improving drilling efficiency is the best way to reduce drilling costs and the choice of the drilling mode is instrumental in doing so. At present, however, a standard approach for the optimization of these processes does not exists yet. Through a comparative statistical analysis of the rock-breaking mechanisms and the characteristics of different drilling methods, this research proposes a set of cues to achieve this objective. Available statistical data are classified by means of a fuzzy cluster analysis according to the anti-drilling characteristic parameters of formation. The results show that different drilling methods rely on their own rock breaking mechanisms… More >

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