Facies Connectivity Modelling: Analysis and Field Study

Nurafza, Peyman; King, Peter; Masihi, Mohsen

doi:10.2523/100333-ms

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Similar scaling equations may be written for other percolation properties, and in particular for the permeability. Nurafza et al () used the FSS of X a , fraction of the conducting sites connected to the SSC, to analyze results from a semirealistic model of a porous medium. They investigated the appropriate scaling plots to determine the scaling functions by computer simulations.…”

Section: Percolation Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Flow, Transport, and Reaction in Porous Media: Percolation Scaling, Critical‐Path Analysis, and Effective Medium Approximation

Hunt

Sahimi

2017

Reviews of Geophysics

135

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We describe the most important developments in the application of three theoretical tools to modeling of the morphology of porous media and flow and transport processes in them. One tool is percolation theory. Although it was over 40 years ago that the possibility of using percolation theory to describe flow and transport processes in porous media was first raised, new models and concepts, as well as new variants of the original percolation model are still being developed for various applications to flow phenomena in porous media. The other two approaches, closely related to percolation theory, are the critical‐path analysis, which is applicable when porous media are highly heterogeneous, and the effective medium approximation—poor man's percolation—that provide a simple and, under certain conditions, quantitatively correct description of transport in porous media in which percolation‐type disorder is relevant. Applications to topics in geosciences include predictions of the hydraulic conductivity and air permeability, solute and gas diffusion that are particularly important in ecohydrological applications and land‐surface interactions, and multiphase flow in porous media, as well as non‐Gaussian solute transport, and flow morphologies associated with imbibition into unsaturated fractures. We describe new applications of percolation theory of solute transport to chemical weathering and soil formation, geomorphology, and elemental cycling through the terrestrial Earth surface. Wherever quantitatively accurate predictions of such quantities are relevant, so are the techniques presented here. Whenever possible, the theoretical predictions are compared with the relevant experimental data. In practically all the cases, the agreement between the theoretical predictions and the data is excellent. Also discussed are possible future directions in the application of such concepts to many other phenomena in geosciences.

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Section: Percolation Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Flow, Transport, and Reaction in Porous Media: Percolation Scaling, Critical‐Path Analysis, and Effective Medium Approximation

Hunt

Sahimi

2017

Reviews of Geophysics

135

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“…In practice, often the connectivity of several realizations of a stochastic model obtained with the same input parameters will have a range of connectivity properties. The statistical relations between the connectivity metrics and the input parameters of various stochastic models have been analyzed [61][62][63] and can be used as a guide to select an appropriate model or a set of parameters when required.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Connectivity metrics for subsurface flow and transport

Renard

Allard

2013

Advances in Water Resources

339

258

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a b s t r a c tUnderstanding the role of connectivity for the characterization of heterogeneous porous aquifers or reservoirs is a very active and new field of research. In that framework, connectivity metrics are becoming important tools to describe a reservoir. In this paper, we provide a review of the various metrics that were proposed so far, and we classify them in four main groups. We define first the static connectivity metrics which depend only on the connectivity structure of the parameter fields (hydraulic conductivity or geological facies). By contrast, dynamic connectivity metrics are related to physical processes such as flow or transport. The dynamic metrics depend on the problem configuration and on the specific physics that is considered. Most dynamic connectivity metrics are directly expressed as a function of an upscaled physical parameter describing the overall behavior of the media. Another important distinction is that connectivity metrics can either be global or localized. The global metrics are not related to a specific location while the localized metrics relate to one or several specific points in the field. Using these metrics to characterize a given aquifer requires the possibility to measure dynamic connectivity metrics in the field, to relate them with static connectivity metrics, and to constrain models with those information. Some tools are already available for these different steps and reviewed here, but they are not yet routinely integrated in practical applications. This is why new steps should be added in hydrogeological studies to infer the connectivity structure and to better constrain the models. These steps must include specific field methodologies, interpretation techniques, and modeling tools to provide more realistic and more reliable forecasts in a broad range of applications.

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“…In a second group, other authors evaluated new ways to describe and measure connectivity, or analyzed how connectivity metrics are correlated to K eq . Some of them studied continuous k(r) fields (Masihi et al, 2016, Tyukhova andWillmann, 2016), while others considered multi-facies media, with a discrete distribution of k(r) values (Nurafza et al, 2006, Fleckenstein and Fogg, 2008, Vassena et al, 2010, Rongier et al, 2016. In all cases, it is concluded that measuring the connectivity of the high k(r) classes is crucial to assess groundwater flow.…”

Section: Equivalent Conductivity and Connectivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As explained above, as many flow features are determined by the connectivity of the k + facies (Nurafza et al, 2006), a percolative analysis is of interest for accurate flow modelling and K eq estimation. In this regard, we highlight three important issues:…”

Section: Upscaling and Percolation In Binary Mediamentioning

confidence: 99%