90A
932146
Formation of borders in porous media during evaporation and
their influence on permeability
Goldenberg, L C; Hutcheon, I; Melloul, A
J Hydrol V138, N1/2, Sept 1992, P53-75
Many porous media contain a colloidal clay fraction. Experi-
mental results demonstrate these clay particles can accumulate
and form structures on the gas-liquid interface which appears
in the porous medium during water evaporation. These struc-
tures may extend to block pore throats and impede future flow
of liquids. This accumulation process may occur repeatedly.
Laboratory data show flow in sandy sediments can be reduced
by 10-85%, depending on mineralogical composition of the
sediment, presence of entrapped air bubbles, and flow history.
Such processes may occur at the contact between unsaturated
and saturated zones of aquifers.
932147
New method of characterizing fissured media by pumping tests
with observation wells
Bangoy, L M; Bideaux, P; Drogue, C; Plegat, R; Pistre, S
J Hydrol V138, N1/2, Sept 1992, P77-88
Pumping test data from fissured limestone and granite reser-
voirs are reported and analysed. The analysis demonstrates the
existence of non-integer flow dimensions in these fissured
rocks, which correlates with structural studies which suggest
the fracture systems involved have fractal properties. It is also
possible to identify high conductivity zones which favour
groundwater flow.
932148
Network properties of a two-dimensional fracture pattern
Odling, N
Pure Appl Geophys V138, N1, 1992, P95-114
The network properties of a two dimensional fracture pattern
mapped from the surface of a sandstone are examined and
compared to those produced from spatially randomly distrib-
uted line segments with similar orientation and length distri-
butions and line segment density as the natural pattern. The
number of clusters of interconnected fractures in the natural
pattern is about half that of the simulated pattern, but average
size of the cluster (which controls connectivity) is about twice
as large. Cluster scaling characteristics are similar for natural
and synthetic patterns. The patterns are not fractal. Signifi-
cance of these results for assessing rock mass permeability is
discussed.
932149
Effect of reservoir heterogeneity on the performance of
unstable displacements
Khataniar, S; Peters, E J
Pet Sci Engng V7. N3/4, May 1992, P263-281
Numerical reservoir simulation has been used to study the
effects of reservoir heterogeneity on immiscible, first-contact
miscible, and multicontact miscible displacements. Two
dimensional heterogeneous permeable media were generated
geostatistically and systematically characterized by Dykstra-
Parsons coefficient and dimensionless correlation lengths typi-
cal of petroleum reservoirs. Heterogeneity was always detri-
mental to recovery performance, with different fingering
patterns for different permeability distributions. The most effi-
cient displacement was first-contact miscible, the least efficient
immiscible displacement.
© 1993 Pergamon Press Ltd. Reproduction not permitted
932150
Detection of fluid saturation levels in porous media using
gamma-ray tomography
Ursin, J R
Pet Sci Engng V7, N3/4, May 1992, P297-308
Gamma ray tomography involves using one-dimensional
gamma ray attenuation measurements in reconstruction of a
two-dimensional representation of attenuation coefficients
inside the irradiated medium. A theoretical analysis is
presented of the attenuation of mono-energetic gamma rays by
a fluid-containing porous medium. The average attenuation
coefficient can be expressed in terms of many parameters of
interest, including water saturation. It is possible to quantify
both water saturation and specific porosity of the medium.
Practical feasibility is demonstrated by applying the technique
to a medium of unconsolidated glass powder where local water
saturation over a cross section during two-phase flow was
evaluated.
932151
Innovative use of groundwater sampling equipment to
determine aquifer characteristics in Precambrian basement
rocks of Uganda. Technical note
Charlesworth, D L; Howard, K W F; Nadon, R
Q J Engng Geol V25, N2, 1992, P165-168
Lack of funds and equipment for large scale pumping tests
and scarcity of suitable boreholes hamper hydrogeological
studies in crystalline basement rock aquifers in the third
world. A novel solution to these problems has been developed,
using the hand-operated Waterra pump, initially designed for
low-cost dedicated sampling of groundwater monitoring wells,
together with pneumatic packers to obtain hydraulic conduc-
tivity profiles in boreholes.
932152
Characterization of properties of an unripe marine clay soil,
II. A method on the determination of hydraulic properties
Kim, D J; Vereecken, H; Feyen, J; Boels, D; Bronswijk, J J B
Soil Sci V154, N1, July 1992, P59-71
A method is proposed for determining the moisture retention
characteristic and hydraulic conductivity-pressure head rela-
tion for an unripe clay soil. It is based on the evaporation
method (Boels et al, 1978) but uses the shrinkage behaviour of
the soil to include the effects of changes in the moisture con-
tent on the soil matrix. The theory of the new method is
presented. Comparisons are made between hydraulic conduc-
tivity-pressure head relations from the new method, the evapo-
ration method, and the one-step outflow method (Passioura,
1976).
932153
Reservoir simulation with a control-volme finite-element
method
Fung, L S K; Hiebert, A D; Nghiem, L X
SPE Reservoir Engng V7, N3, Aug 1992, P349-357
A CVFE method for simulating thermally driven multiphase
flow in porous media is presented which uses linear triangular
elements. The technique adopts the usual finite element shape
functions to evaluate flow potentials at the control-volume
boundaries and uses the conservation equations for each con-
trol volume. Advantages over the classical Petrov-Galerkin
and variational finite element methods are described. Numeri-
cal examples illustrate computational cost advantages over the
finite difference method when considering reservoirs of com-
plex geometry.