Development of a Numerical Model for Single- and Two-Phase Flow Simulation in Perforated Porous Media

Abstract

Abstract In this paper, we present a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to perform single- and two-phase fluid flow simulation on two- and three-dimensional perforated porous media with different perforation geometries. The finite volume method (FVM) has been employed to solve the equations governing the fluid flow through the porous media and obtain the pressure and velocity profiles. The volume of fluid (VOF) method has also been utilized for accurate determination of the volume occupied by each phase. The validity of the model has been achieved via comparing the simulation results with the available experimental data in the literature. The model was used to analyze the effect of perforation geometrical parameters (length and diameter), degree of heterogeneity, and also crushed zone properties (permeability and thickness) on the pressure and velocity profiles. The two-phase fluid flow around the perforation tunnel under the transient flow regime was also investigated by considering a constant mass flow boundary condition at the inlet. The developed model successfully predicted the pressure drop and resultant temperature changes for the system of air–water along clean and gravel-filled perforations under the steady-state conditions. The presented model in this study can be used as an efficient tool to design the most appropriate perforation strategy with respect to the well characteristics and reservoir properties.