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VERTICAL INTEGRATION OF THREE-PHASE FLOW EQUATIONS FOR ANALYSIS OF LIGHT HYDROCARBON PLUME MOVEMENT
Citation:
Parker, J. C. AND R. J. Lenhard. VERTICAL INTEGRATION OF THREE-PHASE FLOW EQUATIONS FOR ANALYSIS OF LIGHT HYDROCARBON PLUME MOVEMENT. TRANSPORT IN POROUS MEDIA 5:187-206, (1989).
Impact/Purpose:
To observe a mathematical model for areal flow of water and light hydrocarbon in the presence of gas at atmospheric pressure.
Description:
A mathematical model is derived for areal flow of water and light hydrocarbon in the presence of gas at atmospheric pressure. Closed-form expressions for the vertically integrated constitutive relations are derived based on a three-phase extension of the Brooks-Corey saturation-capillary pressure function. Closed-form Brooks-Corey relations are compared with numerically computed analogs based on the Van Genuchten retention function. Close agreement between the two constitutive models is observed except at low oil volumes when the Brooks-Corey model predicts lower oil volumes and transmissivities owing to the assumption of a distinct fluid entry pressure. Nonlinearity in the vertically integrated constitutive relations is much less severe than in the un-integrated relations. Reduction in dimensionality combined with diminished nonlinearity, makes the vertically integrated water and hydrocarbon model an efficient formulation for analyzing field-scale problems involving hydrocarbon spreading or recovery under conditions for which the vertical equilibrium assumption is expected to be a satisfactory approximation.
