EFFECT OF CAPILLARY NUMBER AND ITS CONSTITUENTS ON TWO-PHASE RELATIVE PERMEABILITY CURVES.

R. A. Fulcher, Turgay Ertekin, C. D. Stahl

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

218 Scopus citations

Abstract

One primary goal of any enhanced recovery project is to maximize the ability of the fluids to flow through a porous medium (i. e. , the reservoir). This paper discusses the effect of capillary number, a dimensionless group describing the ratio of viscous to capillary forces, on two-phase (oil-water) relative permeability curves. Specifically, a series of steady-state relative permeability measurements were carried out to determine whether the capillary number causes changes in the two-phase permeabilities or whether one of its constituents, such as flow velocity, fluid viscosity, or interfacial tension (IFT), is the controlling variable. A relative permeability model was developed from the experimental data, based on fluid saturations, IFT, fluid viscosities, and the residual saturations, by using regression analysis. These models demonstrated similar or better fits with experimental data of other water- and oil-wet systems, when compared with existing relative permeability models.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)249-260
Number of pages12
JournalJPT, Journal of Petroleum Technology
Volume37
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 1985

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Fuel Technology
  • Industrial relations
  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology
  • Strategy and Management

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