Numerical Modelling of Waterhammer Pressure Pulse Propagation in Sand Reservoirs
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This paper presents a numerical model with a new approach for analyzing the
propagation of pressure waves in porous media and investigates the dynamic
response of sand in relation to the attributes of pore pressure pulses. There
are various instances in which dynamic phenomena can have a significant
impact on porous media in a reservoir. One notable example is the possible
influence of waterhammer pressure pulsing on sand fluidization around injection wells in oil reservoirs following a hard wellbore shut-in, which can result
in massive sand production. In some extreme cases, this phenomenon can
even result in the loss of the wellbore. Nevertheless, the pore pressure wave
propagation in porous media has often been neglected in modeling likely due
to mathematical complexity.
The proposed model solves the momentum balance of fluid and solid
coupled with the fluid mass balance equation in the prediction of dynamic
fluid flow and mechanical deformation in porous media. The model is a
two-dimensional, elasto-plastic, axisymmetric, single-phase and sequentially
coupled model. The numerical model was validated against experimental
data for a step wave in a shock tube and good agreement between model
calculations and measured data has been obtained.
Two distinct waves have been observed as a result of a shock pore pressure
wave. The first one is an undrained wave where fluid and solid travel at
the same speed. The other one is a wave which is often damped far from
the source due to the friction between fluid and solid as they no longer
travel together. It is found that tortuosity plays an important role on the
amplitude of the waves. The results were then compared to the predictions
by Biot's theory for waves through porous media. Biot's theory is shown
to be inaccurate in predicting the transient dynamic behaviour, but it is
sufficient in capturing the overall trends. Finally, the model is used to predict
waterhammer response in near wellbore reservoir.
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http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501 http://purl.org/coar/version/c_b1a7d7d4d402bcce http://purl.org/coar/version/c_71e4c1898caa6e32
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en