Method of determining the components of an effective permeability tensor of a porous rock
US7191071B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 2, 2004 |
| Grant date | Mar 13, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 2, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N15/082
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The invention is a method of determining all the components of an absolute permeability tensor of a porous medium sample from permeability measurements, obtained for example by placing the sample in a permeameter which is useful for fast determination of permeability anisotropies of rocks and detention of internal heterogeneities. A pressure difference ΔP is applied between the inlet and outlet faces of a laboratory rock sample, with zero flow conditions on the edges parallel to the mean flow obtained by confining it in a sheath under pressure. Starting from conventional permeability measurements in three directions and from the measurements of the two components of the viscous forces transverse to the sample, a permeability tensor k can be “inverted” by numerical solution of the corresponding boundary-value problem. Since these quantities can be alternatively obtained from numerical solutions of the same flow in a heterogeneous medium, the method can also be used as an upscaling tool in a reservoir simulator.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.