Abstract
This paper presents a new method for scaling up multiphase flow properties which properly accounts for boundary conditions on the upscaled cell. The scale-up proposed does not require the simulation of a complete finely-gridded model. Instead it introduces assumptions allowing the calculation of the boundary conditions related to each block being scaled up.
To upscale a coarse block, we have to assume or determine the proper boundary conditions for that coarse block. To date, most scale-up methods have been based on oversimplified assumptions such as steady-state flow associated with uniform fractional flows over all the boundaries of the coarse block. However, such an assumption is not strictly valid when we consider heterogeneities.
The concept of injection tubes is adopted: these are hypothetical streamtubes connecting the injection wellbore to all inlet faces of the fine grid cells constituting the block to be scaled up. Injection tubes allow the capturing of the fine-scale flow behavior of a finely-gridded model at the inlet face of the coarse block without having to simulate the full fine grid. We describe how to scale up an entire finely-gridded model sequentially using injection tubes to determine the boundary conditions for two-phase flow.
This new scale-up method is able to provide a coarsely gridded model which can reproduce the spatially-averaged performance of the finely-gridded model reasonably accurately. The method has been shown to be applicable not only to viscous-dominated flow but also to flow affected by gravity for reasonable viscous-to-gravity ratios.
