An improved multicomponent pseudopotential lattice Boltzmann method for immiscible fluid displacement in porous media

Abstract

Immiscible fluid displacement in porous media occurs in several natural and industrial processes. For example, during petroleum extraction from porous rock reservoirs, water is used to displace oil. In this paper, we investigate primary drainage and imbibition in a heterogeneous porous medium using an improved numerical model based on the multicomponent pseudopotential lattice Boltzmann method. We apply recent developments from the literature and develop new pressure boundary conditions. We show that the proposed model is able to simulate realistic viscosity ratios, and it allows independent tuning of surface tension from viscosity. Moreover, the model suppresses a non-physical behavior of previous schemes, in which trapped fluid volumes significantly change with time. Furthermore, we show that the developed model correctly captures the underlying physical phenomena of fluid displacements. We simulate oil-water flows and verify that the measured values of irreducible water and residual oil saturations are realistic. Finally, we vary the wetting conditions of the porous medium to represent different wettability states. For the different scenarios, we show that the simulations are in good agreement with experimental results.

References in corpus (3)

• Prediction of three-phase relative permeabilities of Berea sandstone using lattice Boltzmann method
• Flow through time-evolving porous media: swelling and erosion
• Wetting boundary conditions for multicomponent pseudopotential lattice Boltzmann

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Study of fluid displacement in 3D porous media with an improved multi-component pseudopotential lattice Boltzmann method
• Wetting and pressure gradient performance in a lattice Boltzmann color gradient model
• Improvement of Solid-Fluid Interaction Scheme in Lattice Boltzmann Immiscible Pseudopotential Models
• Dynamics of two-dimensional liquid bridges