A model for gas transport in microfractures of shale and tight gas reservoirs

摘要

A model for gas transport in microfractures of shale and tight gas reservoirs is established. Slip flow and Knudsen diffusion are coupled together to describe general gas transport mechanisms, which include continuous flow, slip flow, transitional flow, and Knudsen diffusion. The ratios of the intermolecular collision frequency and the molecule-wall collision frequency to the total collision frequency are defined as the weight coefficients of slip flow and Knudsen diffusion, respectively. The model is validated by molecular simulation results. The results show that: (1) the model can reasonably describe the process of the mass transform of different gas transport mechanisms; (2) fracture geometry significantly impacts gas transport. Under the same fracture aperture, the higher the aspect ratio is, the stronger the gas transport capacity, and this phenomenon is more pronounced in the cases with higher gas pressure and larger fracture aperture. (c) 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 2079-2088, 2015