Method and simulating by fast Fourier transforms flows in a heterogeneous porous medium
US7650270B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 12, 2005 |
| Grant date | Jan 19, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 31, 2027 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01V1/306
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The invention is a computer implemented method for fast simulation of the flow of a single and incompressible fluid in a heterogeneous porous medium such as an aquifer or a petroleum reservoir having application such as, for example, to the development of petroleum reservoirs. After discretizing the medium with a grid, a permeability field is determined from which a diffusivity equation is directly solved in the spectral domain by an iterative procedure involving fast Fourier transforms. A first algorithm directly manages the pressures and velocities, but it may be slow for great permeability contrasts. A second algorithm, which introduces an intermediate variable updated at each iteration, allows faster processing of greater permeability contrasts than the first algorithm. The third algorithm, based on increased Lagrangian, allows consideration of infinite permeability contrasts. The algorithms allow simulation of flows in weakly to highly heterogeneous media, with a reduced computing time.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.