# US 11,907,625 B2 · Computer simulation of multi-phase and multi-component fluid flows including physics of under-resolved porous structures > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,907,625 B2 - Document ID: US11907625B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/136,259 - Filed: 2020-12-29 - Published: 2022-06-30 - Granted: 2024-02-20 - Earliest claimed: 2020-12-29 - Assignees: Dassault Systemes Americas Corp. - Applicants: Dassault Systemes Simulia Corp. - Inventors: Hiroshi Otomo; Rafael Salazar Tio; Hudong Chen; Raoyang Zhang; Andrew Fager; Ganapathi Raman Balasubramanian; Bernd Crouse; Hongli Fan; Jingjing Yang - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11907625B2 ## CPC - G06F 30/28: using fluid dynamics, e.g. using Navier-Stokes equations or computational fluid dynamics [CFD] - G06F 30/23: using finite element methods [FEM] or finite difference methods [FDM] - G06T 7/10: Segmentation; Edge detection (motion-based segmentation G06T7/215) - G06F 2111/20: Configuration CAD, e.g. designing by assembling or positioning modules selected from libraries of predesigned modules - G06F 2113/08: Fluids - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL ## Abstract Disclosed are computer implemented techniques for conducting a fluid simulation of a porous medium. These techniques involve retrieving a representation of a three dimensional porous medium, the representation including pore space corresponding to the porous medium, with the representation including at least one portion of under-resolved pore structure in the porous medium, defining a representative flow model that includes the under-resolved pore structure in the representation, and constructing by the computer system fluid force curves that correspond to fluid forces in the under-resolved pore structure in the representation. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A computer implemented method for conducting a fluid simulation of a porous medium, comprises: accessing, from memory, a three dimensional digital image of a three dimensional porous medium; performing, by a computer system, image processing on the accessed three dimensional digital image; based on performing the image processing, generating, by the computer system, a representation of the three dimensional porous medium, the representation including pore space corresponding to the porous medium; determining, by the computer system, that the representation includes at least one portion of under-resolved pore structure in the porous medium, the under-resolved pore structure having a pore size smaller than a resolution of the fluid simulation; and digitally constructing by the computer system, a visual representation of fluid force curves that correspond to fluid forces in the under-resolved pore structure in the representation. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein performing image processing on the accessed three dimensional digital image comprises applying a three dimensional segmentation to the three dimensional digital image. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the under-resolved pore structure belongs to a class of under-resolved pore structures that are represented by a common description for all elements of the class, also referred as porous media (PM) type. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprises: simulating fluid flow through the porous medium; and when detecting an under-resolved pore structure, accessing a model of the under-resolved pore structure; and applying the fluid force curves to the under-resolved pore structure. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The method of claim 4 wherein applying further comprises: applying the fluid force curves according to local pore space data. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5 wherein the local pore space data comprises local porosity, local orientation/spatial gradient of the local porosity that are obtained from the representation of the three dimensional porous medium. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, further comprises: calculating by the computing system, fluid force curves from precomputed physical properties, including absolute permeability, relative permeability, and capillary pressure curves of the under resolved pore structure in the representation based on the local pore space data. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7 wherein calculating further comprises: calculating physical properties, including absolute permeability, relative permeability and capillary pressure curves via simulation of a set of fully resolved subdomains of the under-resolved pore scales in the representation based on the local pore space data. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, further comprises: storing in a repository or library parametric models for the physical properties that have parameters fitted to simulation data or adjusted according to subject expert matter knowledge. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the representation is of a physical rock sample, the representation including pore space and grain space data corresponding to the physical rock sample, porous particle filter, and similar physical porous media. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising: defining by the computing system, a representative flow model of the under-resolved pore structure that includes one or more physical properties of the under-resolved pore structure in the representation. ### Claim 12 A computer system comprises: one or more processor devices; memory coupled to the one or more processor devices; storage storing executable computer instructions for conducting a fluid simulation of a porous medium, the instructions to configure the one or more processors to: access, from memory, a three dimensional digital image of a three-dimensional porous medium; perform image processing on the accessed three dimensional digital image; based on performing the image processing, generate a representation of the three dimensional porous medium, the representation including pore space corresponding to the porous medium; determine that the representation includes at least one portion of under-resolved pore structure in the porous medium, the under-resolved pore structure having a pore size smaller than a resolution of the fluid simulation; and digitally construct a visual representation of fluid force curves that correspond to fluid forces in the under-resolved pore structure in the representation. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The system of claim 12 wherein the instructions to perform image processing on the accessed three dimensional digital image comprise applying a three dimensional segmentation to the three dimensional digital image. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The system of claim 12, further configured to: simulate fluid flow through the porous medium; and when detecting an under-resolved pore structure, access a model of the under-resolved pore structure; and apply the fluid force curves to the under-resolved pore structure. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14 wherein apply further comprises apply the fluid force curves according to local pore space data, the local pore space data comprises local porosity, local orientation/spatial gradient of the local porosity that are obtained from the representation of the three dimensional porous medium. ### Claim 16 A computer program product tangibly stored on a computer readable non-transitory storage device that stores executable computer instructions to conduct a fluid simulation of a porous medium, the instructions for causing a computing system to: access, from memory, a three dimensional digital image of a three-dimensional porous medium; perform image processing on the accessed three dimensional digital image; based on performing the image processing, generate a representation of the three dimensional porous medium, the representation including pore space corresponding to the porous medium; determine that the representation includes at least one portion of under-resolved pore structure in the porous medium, the under-resolved pore structure having a pore size smaller than a resolution of the fluid simulation; and digitally construct a visual representation of fluid force curves that correspond to fluid forces in the under-resolved pore structure in the representation. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The computer program product of claim 16, further comprising instructions to: calculate fluid force curves from precomputed physical properties, including absolute permeability, relative permeability and capillary pressure curves of the under resolved pore structure in the representation based on local pore space data. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The computer program product of claim 16, further comprising instructions to: calculate physical properties, including absolute permeability, relative permeability, and capillary pressure curves via simulation of a set of fully resolved subdomains of the under-resolved pore scales in the representation based on local pore space data. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The computer program product of claim 18, further comprising instructions to: store in a repository or library parametric models for the physical properties that have parameters fitted to simulation data or adjusted according to subject expert matter knowledge. ### Claim 20 (depends on 16) The computer program product of claim 16, further comprising instructions to: simulate fluid flow through the porous medium; and when detecting an under-resolved pore structure, access a model of the under-resolved pore structure; and apply the fluid force curves to the under-resolved pore structure.