IMPES Stability: Selection of Stable Timesteps

Abstract

Summary An IMPES stability criterion is derived for multidimensional three-phase flow for black-oil and compositional models. The grid may be structured or unstructured. Tensor considerations are neglected. The criterion can be used to set the time steps in an IMPES formulation or as a switching criterion in an adaptive implicit model. The criterion extends previous work by accounting for three-phase flow, including capillary, gravity, and viscous forces, with all the possible cocurrent and countercurrent flow configurations in a general grid. The criterion derivation uses stability theory to the limits of its applicability, augmented by numerical experimentation, including extensive 1D tests and numerous field study datasets.