Grid calculation for fluid flow modeling
AssigneeBaker Hughes Incorporated
InventorsWouter E. van der Zee, Marc Holland
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of estimating flow properties of an earth formation includes: selecting a grid block representing a region of the earth formation, the region including at least one of an area and a volume of the earth formation, the grid block including a plurality of grid cells and having an orientation defined by grid axes; and calculating a fluid flow model of the region. Calculating the model includes: estimating a principal flow direction for each grid cell; adjusting the orientation of the grid block based on the principal flow direction; and calculating fluid flow parameters in each grid cell to generate the fluid flow model.
Claims24
A method of orienting a flow model of a formation, the method comprising:
- selecting a cell representing a region of the formation, the cell having an orientation;
- estimating, by a processor, a principal flow direction;
- and
- adjusting, by a processor, the orientation of the cell based on the principal flow direction.
The method of claim 22, wherein adjusting the orientation includes estimating the combined principal direction, and estimating the combined principal direction includes:
- calculating an equivalent permeability tensor for each of the plurality of cells, the equivalent permeability tensor including a first principal direction associated with a first permeability magnitude and a second principal direction associated with a second permeability magnitude;
- and
- assigning a weight value to each cell based on a ratio between the first permeability magnitude and the second permeability magnitude of the corresponding cell.
An apparatus for orienting a flow model of a formation, the apparatus comprising:
- a data acquisition tool configured to collect data about one or more parameters of the formation;
- and
- a processor configured to construct the flow model, the processor configured to perform:
- selecting a cell representing a region of the formation, the cell having an orientation;
- estimating a principal flow direction;
- and
- adjusting the orientation of the cell based on the principal flow direction.
The apparatus of claim 23, wherein adjusting the orientation includes estimating the combined principal direction, and estimating the combined principal direction includes:
- calculating an equivalent permeability tensor for each of the plurality of cells, the equivalent permeability tensor including a first principal direction associated with a first permeability magnitude and a second principal direction associated with a second permeability magnitude;
- and
- assigning a weight value to each grid cell based on a ratio between the first permeability magnitude and the second permeability magnitude of the corresponding cell.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.