Numerical Study of Fluid Flow and Phase Behaviour of Tight Geothermal Reservoir

This research proposes a systematic workflow, which utilizes theoretical approaches to identify the complex fluid flow mechanisms and quantify the phase behaviour of confined fluids for geothermal reservoirs. Due to the complexity of tight geothermal reservoirs, conventional EOS cannot be efficiently applied since it does not take into account the interactions between molecules-molecules (m-m) and molecules-walls (m-w), which will be physically initiated when frequent collisions occur between fluids passing through tiny channels in porous media. Also, the critical points of fluids at nanopores are significantly shifted due to the confinement effect. Currently, the critical point for confined fluid is either described using the van der Waals (vdW) mean-field model with Lennard-Jones (LJ) potential or by density functional theory. The new theoretical models for determining critical point temperature and pressure will be established and further incorporated into the EOS to complete the phase equilibrium calculation for the confined fluids.

Faculty Supervisor:

Na Jenna Jia

Student:

Partner:

Southwest Petroleum University

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Green/Alternative Energy; Energy and Utilities; Sustainability & the Environment

University:

University of Regina

Program: