Comparison of the Shan-Chen and Color-Fluid Models in Lattice Boltzmann Simulation of Two-Phase Flow in Porous Media

Abstract:

Direct numerical simulation of multiphase flow in porous media is an important tool for understanding pore-scale processes affecting transport and fate of supercritical CO2 in saline reservoirs. The lattice Boltzmann method, based on microscopic models and mesoscopic kinetic equations, is particularly well suited for fluid flow simulations involving interfacial dynamics and complex boundaries. In this study, we compare the Shan-Chen and color-fluid model in lattice Boltzmann simulation of multiphase flow in porous media. The original models were proposed two decades ago, and suffer from significant spurious currents as well as other numerical limitations. Therefore, the latest developments of the two models are employed, which allows consideration of density and viscosity contrasts relevant to geological sequestration in saline reservoirs. Previous studies of the comparison of the two models were mostly done in simple geometries, and demonstrated that the Shan-Chen model suffered from more serious numerical errors than the color-fluid model, although the latter is more computationally demanding. The real impact on multiphase flow in porous media has not been studied in detail. In this investigation, we employ realistic fluid parameters and perform numerical simulations in geometries based on micro-CT images of rock cores. The fluid displacement patterns and the relative permeability obtained by simulations will be used to evaluate the two models. The computational cost of the two models will also be presented for comparison.

This work was supported as part of the Center for Geologic Storage of CO2, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science.