In 2021, HeliumOne commissioned the project "Modeling Helium Flow Behavior in Porous Reservoirs and Wellbores Using CFD" to address a defined challenge in the process and manufacturing sector. The assignment combined computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and multiphysics analysis with a decision-focused engineering study. Its purpose was to explain the governing physical behaviour, identify the variables controlling performance, and convert the findings into practical recommendations for design, operation and future development.

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. 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.

The methodology centred on a coupled porous-media and multiphase CFD model of the helium reservoir region and extraction wellbore. The representation retained the porous formation, well openings and vertical well geometry across which pressure reduction drives gas expansion and flow-regime change. Boundary and operating conditions covered reservoir parameters supplied by the client, well depth, pressure, gas composition and helium fractions across the stated operating range, with material, fluid and equipment properties assigned from the available design information. Resolution was concentrated in regions where steep velocity, thermal, concentration or phase gradients were expected, while the overall model remained efficient enough to compare several credible configurations. This balance allowed system-level performance to be linked to the local mechanisms responsible for it.

The assessment compared representative extraction conditions and composition cases. Performance was judged using gas volume fraction, helium distribution, pressure, temperature, velocity, bubble expansion and the transition between bubbly, slug, churn or annular behaviour. Results were reviewed through quantitative summaries and engineering visualisations, such as contours, vectors, streamlines, sections and time histories, selected to suit the physics. Important assumptions and operating uncertainties were considered so that the recommendations relied on repeatable comparative trends rather than a single nominal case.

For HeliumOne, the principal value was a more realistic understanding of extraction behaviour and the data needed for well design and operating planning. The final evidence linked each recommendation to the relevant model or process output, making it suitable for internal design reviews, supplier or contractor discussions and, where applicable, planning, safety or regulatory dialogue. The work also created a reusable baseline that can be updated as geometry, operating data or test results become available, reducing the cost and risk of later design iterations.