USMS

020798

Miscible Displacement in Fractured Porous Media

Fernando Perez-Cardenas, Inst. Mexicano Del Petroleo;
Juana Cruz-Hernandez, Inst. Mexicano Del Petroleo;
Candelario Perez-Rosales, Apartado Postal 75-753

Copyright 1990 Society of Petroleum Engineers

This manuscript was provided to the Society of Petroleum Engineers for distribution
and possible publication in an SPE journal. The material is subject to correction
by the author(s). Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than
300 words. Write SPE Book Order Dept., Library Technician, P.O. Box 833836,
Richardson, TX 75083-3836 U.S.A. Telex 730989 SPEDAL.

SPE

MAR 3 0 1990

SPE
PUBLICATIONS

UNSOLICITED

MISCIBLE DISPLACEMENT IN
FRACTURED POROUS MEDIA

FERNANDO C. PEREZ -CARDENAS

JUANA CRUZ-HERNANDEZ
CANDELARIO PEREZ-ROSALES

INSTITUTO MEXICANO DEL PETROLEO

1990

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A B S T R ACT

A theoretical and experimental study on the

miscible displacement in fractured porous media is
presented. Thetheor,y is based on the ideas originally
developed by Coats and Smith in connection with miscible displacement in homogeneous media which contain
dead-end pores. The proposed model considers that fluid
displacement takes place exclusively through the fractures by a convection-dispersion process, while the
matrix blocks exchange matter with the fractures by
molecular diffusion. Four systems of contrasting geometries are analyzed. They consist of: infinite parallel
plates, CUbes, spheres, and infinite parallel cylinders.
It is found that the ~ehavior of these systems can be
described by the same mathematical formulation. This
suggests that the proposed model is of a general type.
To test the validity of the model, displacement runs
were carried out with a core of Berea sandstone inserted within a hollow
plastic cylinder. The annular space
,
formed between the core and the cylinder behaves as a
fracture of the system. Potasium chloride solutions of
different concentration were used as the displacing
and the displaced fluids. The experimental results are
in accord with the theory.

I N T ROD U C T ION
In reservoir engineering, the study of miscible
displacement in fractured porous media is important
because of its potential applications to enhanced oil

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recovery in naturally fractured reservoirs. The tHeory

concerning fractured media presents some analytical
problems that are not present in homogeneous systems.
They are mainly due to the existence of factors such
as fluid channeling through the fractures and mass
transfer between fractures and matrix.
The physical considerations adopted in this paper
assume that fluid displacement takes place exclusively
through the fractures by a convection-dispersion process, and that the matrix blocks behave as stagnant
elements which exchange fluids with the fractures by
molecular diffusion.
The mathematical model used to describe fluid
displacement is the convection-dispersion equation of
Coats and Smith 1 which applies to homogeneous porous
media containing dead-end pores. The proposed model
establishes a functional analogy between the matrix
blocks of the fractured systems and the dead-spaces
of the homogeneous media.
J

To make a theoretical study of the mass transfer

between fractures and matrix, four systems are analyzed: (1) infinite parallel plates, (2) cubes, (3)
spheres, and (4) infinite parallel cylinders. In spite
of their contrasting geometries, the behavior of the
four systems can be expressed by the same mathematical
formulation, which is similar to that proposed by Coats
and Smith 1 for explaining mass exchange between flowing and stagnant pores.
Laboratory experiments were conducted to test the
validity of the model. In this work, use was made of a

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simple technique to study the behavior of fractured

media. A core of Berea sandstone was inserted within
a hollow plastic cylinder. Because of the irregularity
of the core surface, there resulted a thin annular
space between the core and the cylinder. This annular
space actuated as a fracture of the system. Potasium
chloride solutions of different concentration were
used as the displacing and displaced fluids. The concentration of the effluent was measured by electrical
means. A good agreement between theory and experiment
was found.

FORMULATION
To establish the mathematical formulation, suppose
that a linear fractured porous medium is completely
saturated with a fluid; then, at a given time, a second
fluid begins to be injected at one end. Assuming that
the fluids are miscible, it is desired to find an ana,
lytical expression which gives concentration of the
injected fluid as a function of distance and time.
Laboratory and field. experiments indicate that
fracture permeability is much greater than matrix permeability. Consequently, it will be considered that
fluid displacement takes place exclusively through the
fractures by a convection-dispersion process, while
the matrix blocks act as stagnant elements which exchange matter with the fractures by molecular diffusion. By material balance considerations, it is found
that the differential equation that describes the pro. 2
cess 1.S

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4
~
= f

+ (1 _ f)

at

~c*
0

Clt

~ 1)

where D is the dispersion coefficient, u is the average intersticial velocity, x is distance, t time,
c fracture concentration of the injected fluid,
matrix concentration of the injected fluid, and f
fraction of pore space occupied by fractures. This
equat'ion has the same form as that proposed by Coats
and Smith 1 for the case of homogeneous media that
contain dead-end pores; however, in the present case,
c* represents the average concentration within the
blocks which, for a block at a given time, is defined
as

c"(t) = JJffc. (r.t)dV

(2)

where c'(r,t) is the concentration at a point within

the block and V is the block pore volume.
Equation 1 has two unkowns: c and c*; hence,
another equation is needed to obtain explicit solutions for these variables. This can be accomplished
by physical considerations, as follows: At the onset
of the experiment, the fracture concentration of the
injected fluid is zero. When the injection begins, the
fluid advances preferentially through the fractures
and in a short time reaches a quasi-steady state, so
that the fracture concentration can be approximated
by a constant value which will be denoted by c q
The injected fluid penetrates the blocks exclusively by molecular diffusion; consequently, the concentration within the blocks obeys a diffusion equation

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of the form.

. . . . . . . ( 3)

where D' is the molecular diffusion coefficient.

The initial and boundary conditions are
cl(within a block)
cl(on the surface)

=0
= cq

for

for

~ 0

In Appendix A, equation 3 is solved with conditions given by equations 4 and 5, for four different
systems consisting of: (1) infinite parallel plates,
(2) cubes, (3) spheres, and (4) infinite parallel
cylinders. For the four cases it is found that
c q - c* = c~ exp(-kt)
where

c~

(6)

and k are constants.

,

Deriving equation 6 with respect to time, yields

- -ac* - -

at

clk
exp(-kt)
q

=-

k(c q

(7)

As stated above, c q is only an approximation of

the actual fracture concentration, c, so that using
this value instead of c q , and defining K = (1 - f)k,
equation 7 reduces to

oc*= K(c

(1 - f) --

ch

. . . . . . . (8 )

where K is the so called mass transfer coefficient

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between matrix and fractures.

Equation 8 was originally proposed by Coats and

1
Smith for explaining mass transfer between flowing
and stagnant (dead-end) pores of homogeneous media.
Its validity has been established by some investigators. 1 ,3,4 In this paper it is shown that the same
expression can be applied to fractured media provided
that c~ represents the average block concentration
defined by equation 2. Although here only four cases
are analyzed, the results obtained suggest that equation 8 is a general expression which applies to any
block shape.
The analytical solution to the system formed by
equation 1 and 8 is presented in Appendix B, where
use is made of dimensionless variables. When the
injection of the displacing fluid is made in a continuous form, and the appropiate initial and boundary
conditions are used, the solution for the fracture
concentration is
,

CO

fa
(9)

An expression for the average block concentration can be obtained in a similar way. In Appendix C
it is shown that

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1> =

exp( t n )

II

b exp(Mxn )
~
2
ri
2 2J
2 (b+1-z )cos(ztn-NXn)
0 L(b+1) +z (1+z)

+z(b+2) sene ztn-NXn)] dz

(10)

It is interesting to make a comparison between the

behavior of fracture concentration (given by equation
9) and matrix concentration (given by equation 10).
For illustrating purposes, consider a system of length
L with the following characteristics: dimensionless
dispersion coefficient DD = 4, dimensionless mass
transfer coefficient ED = 1, and volumetric fraction
of fractures f = 0.05. Also consider that the observations are made at the outlet of the sample, that is
for Xn = 1 (see Appendix B). The results obtained are
shown in figure 1.
This figure shows that, at the beginning of the
run, the fracture concentration increases much more
rapidly than the
matrix concentration. This means
,
that the injected fluid channels through the fractures.
However, as time goes on, the displacing fluid begins
to penetrate the matrix, so that for long times the
two concentrations tend to become equal.
The curve for the fracture concentration presents
two well-defined regions. The large slope region
corresponds to that part of the process which is dominated by the displacement of fracture fluids, while
the small slope region represents the part dominated
by the mass exchange between matrix and fractures.

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EXPERIMENTAL WORK

The experimental study of fluid flow through

fractured porous media is not an easy problem, due
to the difficulty of having a precise control over
the geometrical properties of the fracture network.
To deal with this type of problems, generally use
is made of simple arrangements that in some way are
equivalent to natural systems. In the present study,
use was made of a system of simple geometry that
reproduces in a realistic way the displacement mechanisms of fractured media.
Essentially, the system consists in a cylindrical sample of homogeneous porous rock inserted within
a plastic container, as shown schematically in figure
2. The rock sample, R, is fitted within the hollow
cylinder, 0, of smooth walls. Due to the external
irregularities of the porous sample, a thin annular
space, F, is formed between the rock and the container. The fluids enter through A and leave at B. When
fluids are flowing, they move much more rapidly through
the annular space than through the rock, so that the
annular space acts as a fracture of a fractured medium.
By means of the pairs of electrodes I-I' and 0_0'
electrical measurements can be made, from which it is
possible to determine the relative concentrations of
the salt solutions used as displacing and displaced
fluids.
The experimental runs were carried out with a
cleaned and stabilized Berea sandstone core inserted
within a plastic cylinder. The characteristics of the
system are indicated in table 1.

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The displacement runs were performed at constant

flow rate, using two solutions of potssium chloride:
15 g/cm 3 for the displacing fluid and 3 g/cm 3 for the
displaced fluid.
The experimental results for a run are shown in
figure 3. By fitting a theoretical curve to the experimental points, it was found that DD = 0.20, KD = 0.36,
f = 0.25. As it can be seen, there is a good agreement
between theory and experiment.
It should be noted that the theoretical f is 4
times greater than the measured value (compare values
of f from figure 3 and table 1). This is probably due
to the fact that the fluids deep inside the sample do
not participate in the movement of fluids, so that the
pore volume associated with these fluids behaves as if
it were part of the solid phase.

CON C L U S ION S
1. Miscible displacement within fractured media occurs
in two steps. The first one, of short duration, is
dominated by the movement of fracture fluids, and
the second step, of large duration, is associated
to fluid exchange between matrix and fractures.
2. The mathematical formulation which governs displacement processes in fractured media is similar to
that of homogeneous media.

3. Although in this work only four particular cases

were analyzed, it is considered that the formulation obtained is of a general type.

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10

4. The good agreement

betwee~

confirms the validity of

theory and experiment

~he

mathematical model

arrived at in this paper.

NOM ENe 1 A T U R E
concentra~~on

c = fracture

concentratic~

c' = matrix

* = average

cD

concentration within a block

= fracture

dimension:ess concentration

c; = dimensionless avera5e concentration within

a block
Co
cq

= initial
=

concentration of displacing fluid

quasi-steady fract~~e concentration

D = dispersion coefficient
n' z molecular diffusioL coefficient
Dn = dimensionless dispe~sion coefficient
f = fraction of pore space occupied by fractures
K

= mass

transfer coefficient between matrix and

fractures
~

= dimensionless mass :ransfer coefficient

= thickness of

infin~~e

plate; edge length of

cubic block
r = radial distance
R = radius of spherica: block; radius of infinite
cylinder
t
~

= time
= dimensionless

time
u = average intersticial velocity

= block

volume

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11

= distance
=

dimensionless distance

REF ERE N C E S
1. Coats, K.H. and Smith, B.D.: "Dead-End Pore Volume
and Dispersion in Porous Media", Soc. Pet. Eng. J.
(March 1964) pp. 73-84.
2. Perez-Rosales, C. and Perez-Cardenas, F.C.: "Disper-

si6n de Trazadores en Medios Porosos Fracturados",

Ingenieria Petrolera (Nov. 1985) pp. 19-25; Revista
del Instituto Mexicano del Petr6leo (April 1986)
pp. 26-31.

3. Brigham, W.E.: "Mixing Equations in Short Laboratory

Cores", Soc. Pet. Eng. J. (Feb. 1974) pp. 91-99.
4. Baker, L. E.: "Effects of Dispersion and Dead-End
Pore Volume in Miscible Flooding", Soc. Pet. Eng.
J. (June 1977) pp. 219-227.

5. Crank, J.: The Mathematics of Diffusion, Oxford at

the Clarendon Press, Second Edition (1975).
6. Churchill, R. V.: Modern Operational Mathematics
in Engineering, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.,
l~ew York (1944).

7. Perez-Cardenas, F. C.: Dispersi6n de Trazadores

en Medios Porosos Fracturados, Tesis Profesional,
Facultad de Ciencias, National University of Mexico
(1986).

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12

APPENDIX
Solutions

equation 3 with conditions

~o

give~

by

equations 4 and 5 are here presented, for four systems

of different geometries.
Infinite Parallel Plates
In this case, an infinite plate parallel to plane

Y-Z, of thickness L, is considered. In one

c~mens~on,

equation 3 takes the form

(A-1)

and the initial and boundary conditions are

'-c' (O,t)

Using the

c' (L,t)

~ethod

(;"-2 )

0< x<L

c'(x,=;=O

(A-3)

t>o

cq

of separation of variaoles, one

arrives at the solution

L
CO

4
- 'IT
-

sen
----2
n+ 1

(2n+1) n"x

exp
-

(-:]'

(2n"'1)2~t)J
Lt:::
r

n=O

and the average concentration given by

duces to

equa~ion

(A-4 )

2 re-

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13

c (t)

=i

fa

c' (x, t)dx

exp (

CD

Cq~

~ _ _1~-=-2

- _a2

L-

1/

_ D I (2n+ 1 ) 2 1r 2 t )
2

n=O

(2n+1)

(A-5)

In figure A-1, graphs of -In c q - c*) /cqJ

versus time are presented, for four different cases.
Curve A corresponds to a system of parallel plates with
L = 1Q cm. It is seen
D I = 1.35 X 10 -5 cm 2 /seg and
that, with the exception of small times, the behavior
I

can be described by a straight line. Therefore, if k

is the slope of the straight

c - c
In( 9
)
cq

pa~~,

c.

(A-6)

c' exp(- kt)

(A-7)

kt +

where d is a constant. Whence,

c
where

c~ =

c' = c exp(- d)
q
q

Cubes
In this case, it suffices

~ith

considering a

single cube. If it is assumed tt-at the diffusion

coefficient is isotropic, one has

(A-8)

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14

To avoid dividing by zero when using the method

of separation of variables, it is convenient to define
Q(x,y,z,t)

...

1 - c' (x,y,z,t)

(A-9)

With this new variable, equation (A-8) takes the form

(A-10)

By considering a cube of edge L, and applying to

c' the same conditions used in the previous case, by
the method of separation of variables it is found that
Q(x,y,z,t)

= Qp(x,t)Qp(y,t)Qp(z,t)
= (1-c'(x,t))(1-c'(y,t))(1-c'
(z,t
p
p
p
(A-11)

where the CIS

are solutions of the form of equation
p
A-4.
From equations A-9 and A-11, we have that
c' (x,y,z,t) = [ 1-(1-C' (x,t)(1-c' (y,t(1-c' (z,tl
p
p
P
J
(A-12)
Consequently, the average concentration within the
cube is given by

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15

c (t) - _1 (
3

L L
(

Jo Jo Jo

- L

c' (x,y,z,t)dxdydz

.dxdydz
L

= 1 -

D. 1:,(

1- c

~ ( x. t) ) dXr

(A-13)

Curve B of figure A-1 illustrates the behavior of

a system with D l = 1.35 X 10- 5 cm 2/seg and L = 10 cm.
As it is seen, its behavior is similar to the case of
parallel plates.
Spheres
Here, a sphere of radius R is considered. Since
the ~iffusion is radial, the equation to be solved is
(A-14)
with the conditions
cl(r,O)=0

c' (R,t)

cq

,
,

r<R

By making the substitution

. . . . . (A-15)

(A-16)

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16

..

c'r

. {A-17)

equation A-14 transforms into

(A-18)

whose solution is
CD

c' (r, t)

+ 2R

1rr

.k1ln
n

n=1

. (A-19)

and
c*(t)

Its behavior for D' = 1.35 X 1C- 5 c~2 =eg and

R = 5 cm is indicated by curve C of :igure

~-1.

Parallel Infinite Cylinders

In this case, a cylinder of

rad~us

considered. Due to the cylindrical

B v:ll be

s~e~I7.

the dif-

ferential ecuation is

.1.

-1(rD' aC') = act

r ar
ar
at

(A-21)

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17

with the conditions

c' (r,O) = 0
c'(R,t)=c q

. ..
. . .

r<.3.

t ~o

. . . (A-22)
. . . (A-23)

In terms of Bessel functio~s, t~~ solution is 5

(A-24)

where

are the positive roots of J \R~ ) =

n o n

o.

c*

is obtained in the same way c3 in the previous

cases. Its value is given by

co

c (t)

- R2

L
n=1

1
2
n

(A-25)

Curve D of figure A-1 indicates

this variable for a system with D

~~e

behavior of

= 1.35 X 10- 5

cm2/seg

and R = 5 cm.

APPENDIX

To solve the system formed by e~;3tions 1 and 8,

use will be made of the following di~:nsionless variables:
X

tn

=
=

x;'L

utjL

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18

nn
Kn
cn
t\

Cn

= D/uL
= LK/u
= clc o
it
= c Ic o

where L is the length of the sample and Co is the

initial concentration of the displacing fluid. From
the definition of dimensionless time, tn' it is seen
that this variable is equal to the number of pore
volumes injected. With the above relationships, equations 1 and 8 take the form

(B-1)

and
(B-2)

For a simi-infinite medium, the initial and

boundary conditions are

=0 ,
cn(~'O)
=0
*
cn(cc,tn) = 0 ,
cn(O,t n ) = 1
cn(Xn,O)

Xn ? 0
Xn ? 0
tn; 0
t n lO

Using the method of the complex inversion integral of the Laplace transformation,6 the solution is

seE 2 0798
19

. . . . . . . . . . (B-3)
where
M

= 2~D

(1 -

=~

Jesen

Je'COS ~)
~

v
e = arctan U
U

= 4DDZ

1 +

411n~ +

[f

Knb + Kn(1 +

(1 +

(1 + b) 2 +

b~

::)]

+ z2 ]

Kn

1 + f

APPENDIX

In this appendix a general expression for the

average concentration, c;, within a block is obtained.
The Laplace transform of equation B-2 is
(C-1)

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20

And making s

-*
cD =

1 + iz, one arrives at

KD

(C-2)

(1 + iz)(1 - f) +

Now, according to equation C.4 of reference 7, cD

can be expressed as

On =

exp(MXn) ~
2 (cosNx..n - z senNx..n) - i (senNXn
1 +

+ z COSNx..n)]

". . . . . . . . (C-3)

By substituting equation C-3 into equation C-2,

and separating the real and imaginary parts, yields

-*
cD =

b exp(MxD).
[(b + 1) 2 + z2J( 1 + z2)

{Eb

+ 1 - z2)cosNxD

- z(b + z)senNxDJ - i[(b + 1 - z2)senNXD

+ z(b + 2)

COSN"DJ}

(C-4)

The inverse Laplace transform can be obtained by

means of the relationship6

cD

co

exp( t D)
tr

fc

(p cos

o
. (C-5)

SP.E 2 0798

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where p and q are the real and imaginary parts, respectively. Using the pertinent substitutions, one
arrives at

.
i
Cf:)

r:

b exp(Mxn )
2
2 2J
2 L(b+ 1-z ) cos (ztn-NxD )
L(b+1) +z (1+z)

r,

+z(b+2)sen(z~-Nx:n)Jdz

(C-6)

81 Metric Conversion Factors

in X 2.54

E+OO

in 2 X 6.451 6
E+OO
in 3 X 1.638 706 E+01

=
=
=

cm
cm2
cm 3

Ibm X 4.535 924 E-01 = kg

md X

'*

9.869 233

Convers~on

E-04

= pm2

factor is exact.

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TABLE 1 - CHARACTERISTICS OF SAMPLE

Code: DMF-1
Diameter: 3.8 cm
Length: 5.4 cm
Primary porosity: 0.20
Secondary porosity: 0.03
Fracture volumetric fraction: 0.06
Permeability: 3.3 d

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1.0
z:
o
i=;

'<
0:::
to-

0.8

z:

L&.I

0.6

8
en
en

z:

Do= 4

0.4

o
c;;
z:

~
2i

Ko= I
f

0.2

=0.05

Xo= I
O_...a....---a......---&....---L----Ir....-...a...---a......-.a...__a..---J

0.4
0.8
1.2
1.6
PORE VOLUME INJECTED Ito

2.0

FIG. 1.- BEHAVIOR OF FRACTURE AND MATRIX

CONCENTRATION.

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-c

I".....

-_:'"':

FIG.2:-SYSTEM FOR STUDYING FRACTURED MEDIA.

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, 1.0

-!;i
0

0.8

....Z
0::

L&J

0.6

u
en
en
L&J

...J

-z

OD=0.20

0.4

KD=0.36

en

L&J

f =0.25

0.2

2i

0
0

0.4

0.8

1.6
PORE VOLUME INJECTED
1.2

FIG.3:-THEORETICAL aJRVE ATTED TO

EXPERIMENTAL POINTS.

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r-"'1
Dt

* (.)

f:J1t'

(.)

~
I
-I
I

O~oIoo-....a--

........---.........

--&...---a..""""-.lr....-.II

TIME I DAYS

FIG. A.I:-BEHAVIOR OF FOUR SYSTEMS. A:

PLATES,B:CUBES,C:SPHERES,O:CYLINDERS.

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