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Mathematical modeling of gravity and buoyancy effect on low interfacial tension spontaneous imbibition in tight oil reservoirs
Author(s) -
Wang Fuyong,
Zhao Jiuyu
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.17332
Subject(s) - imbibition , buoyancy , surface tension , mechanics , thermodynamics , petroleum engineering , chemistry , materials science , physics , geology , botany , germination , biology
Considering capillary force, viscous force, and gravity and buoyancy effects due to the oil–water density difference during the imbibition process, a new mathematical model for core‐scale spontaneous imbibition considering gravity and buoyancy is established. The imbibition rates with and without gravity and buoyancy in high‐, low‐, and ultralow‐interfacial tension (IFT) solutions are compared. The study shows that oil buoyancy can accelerate the imbibition rate, and with increasing core permeability and decreasing IFT, the differences in imbibition rate with and without gravity and buoyancy become more significant. At a high IFT of dozens of mN/m, the gravity and buoyancy effects are nonsignificant and can be ignored, but at a low IFT such as at 0.355 mN/m and a core permeability above 1 mD, gravity and buoyancy must be considered in spontaneous imbibition simulations. In low‐IFT solutions, the critical inverse Bond number when gravity and buoyancy must be considered is approximately 1 × 10 −2 .