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Project: 

Modeling Helium Flow Behavior in Porous Reservoirs and Wellbores Using CFD

Location

British Virgin Island

Client

Helium One

Expertise

Multiphysics

Keywords

helium extraction, porous reservoir flow, wellbore gas dynamics

The aim of this project is to run a series of CFD simulations to investigate the flow dynamics in a wellbore used to extract helium. One of the objectives of this project was to understand the pattern of helium passing through the porous media around the wellbore. Another objective was to see the effect of different gas phase composition, particularly for helium (ranging from 0.5-10.5%). Usually multiphase flows in wells may undergo different regime transitions. In this case, it was predicted that the flow regime would be dispersed bubbly at the bottom of the well. By decreasing the depth and the pressure in the well, the bubbles would expand and occupy more volume. Depending on well’s overall depth and volume fraction of gases from well openings and inlets, it is possible that the expanding bubble reach fractions which results in coalescence of small bubbles and generating larger ones. This would eventually make the flow regime annular, churn or slug. Our approach was to assume a realistic condition around the well by simulating the reservoir as porous media with predefined parameters, provided by the client. Despite its expensive nature in terms of resources, this method proved to be an accurate method and better represented the physics in reality. The results provided the client with volume fraction, temperature and velocity at different depths.

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