Coupled Geo-Thermo-Mechanical Numerical Methods
Advancement of Numerical Methods for Coupled Geo-Thermo-Mechanical Applications
My research team developed a discrete element modeling (DEM) technique to simulate wellbore stability and sand production in petroleum wells. We developed and validated a novel calibration procedure against triaxial and thick-walled cylinder testing data; related the micro- and macro-properties of sandstone with breakout geometry around boreholes; and developed a new tool and methodology for modeling sand production using the DEM [1,2]. We also developed original micromechanical models to simulate porous medium-pore fluid interaction for granular materials and incorporated the solid-fluid interaction for undrained and semi-drained conditions [3,4]. The model captures the pore size alteration and pore water pressure generation resulting from porous medium deformation.
We also developed a novel hydraulic fracturing [5,6] and sanding [7] model for weak sandstone reservoirs. Some captured phenomena include matrix and fracture flow, the permeability evolution of the formation sand due to elastoplastic deformation, shear and tensile fractures in un-predetermined directions, stress-dependent stiffness, and secondary fractures. The model was verified against existing fracture models and validated against laboratory and field fracturing data. We also advanced and validated a numerical model for proppant transport in fractures and linked the fracture and proppant transport models for weak sandstone and shale gas/oil applications [8-11]. Our publications on hydraulic fracturing have demonstrated how to tackle the numerical challenges posed by a shock situation in proppant banks where high-order finite difference schemes lead to significant oscillations in the vicinity of the shock despite resulting in higher accuracy in smooth regions.
1. Rahmati, H., Nouri, A., Chan, D., Vaziri, H. (2019). Relationship between Rock Macro- and Microproperties and Wellbore Breakout Type. Underground Space, Special Issue "Computational Methods in Energy Resource Extraction".
2. Cui, Y., Nouri, A., Chan, D., Rahmati, E. (2016). A New Approach to DEM Simulation of Sand Production. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering. 147: 56-67.
3. Cui, Y., Chan, D., Nouri, A. (2017). Discontinuum Modelling of Solid Deformation Pore Water Diffusion Coupling. International Journal of Geomechanics. 17(8): 04017033.
4. Cui, Y., Chan, D., Nouri, A. (2017). Coupling of Solid Deformation and Pore Pressure for Undrained Deformation - a Discrete Element Method Approach. International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics. 41(18): 1943-1961.
5. Taghipoor, S., Roostaie, M., Velayati, A., Nouri, A., Chan, D. (2021). Numerical Investigation of the Hydraulic Fracturing Mechanisms in Oil Sands. Underground Space, Special Issue "Computational Methods in Energy Resource Extraction". 6(2): 195-216.
6. Roostaei, M., Taghipoor, S., Nouri, A., Fattahpour, V., Chan, D. (2019). Smeared Modeling of Hydraulic Fracture Using Partially Coupled Reservoir and Geomechanics Simulators. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences. 113: 99-111.
7. Jafarpour, M., Nouri, A., Chan, D. (2016). Numerical Modelling of Waterhammer Pressure Pulse Propagation in Sand Reservoirs. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering. 137: 42-54.
8. Roostaei, M., Nouri, A., Fattahpour, V., Chan, D. (2020). Coupled Hydraulic Fracture and Proppant Transport Simulation. Energies. 13(11): 2822.
9. Roostaei, M., Nouri, A., Fattahpour, V., Chan, D. (2018). Numerical Simulation of Proppant Transport in Hydraulic Fractures. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering. 163: 119-138.
10. Roostaei, M., Nouri, A., Fattahpour, V., Chan, D. (2017). Evaluation of Numerical Schemes in Capturing Shock Waves in Modelling Proppant Transport in Fractures. Petroleum Science. 14(4): 731-745.
11. Roostaei, M, Nouri, A., Hosseini, S, Soroush, M., Fattahpour, V., Mahmoudi, M. (presenter), Ghalambour, A. (2020). A Concise Review of Experimental Works on Proppant Transport And Slurry Flow. SPE-199310-MS, SPE International Conference and Exhibition on Formation Damage Control, Lafayette, United States