DISCRETIZATION AND GRID BLOCKS

Author: Professor Jon Kleppe

Assistant producers:
Farrokh Shoaei
Khayyam Farzullayev

NTNU

ENTER
 Discretization and Grid Blocks

Contineous and
Contineous and discrete systems
discrete systems

Constant grid block

sizes

Variable grid block

sizes

 Continuous system:  Discrete system:

Time discretization

Numerical
formulations

Sensitivity to
 2 p  C  p
number of grid
blocks  
x 2  K  t
?
Sensitivity to Time
step

Capillary and viscous

forces

Upscaling

QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT

 Discretization and Grid Blocks

Contineous and
Constant grid block sizes
discrete systems
 Forward expansion of pressure:

Constant grid block i-1 i i+1

sizes

Variable grid block x

sizes

Px  x, t   Px, t  

x
P '  x, t  
x  P' ' x, t   x  P' ' ' x, t   ...
2 3

Time discretization 1! 2! 3!

 Backward expansions of pressure:

Numerical
formulations
i-1 i i+1
Sensitivity to
number of grid
blocks x

Px  x, t   Px, t  

 x 
P '  x, t  
 x 
2
P ' '  x, t  
 x 
3
P' ' ' x, t   ...
Sensitivity to Time
1! 2! 3!
step

 For i=2 to N-1:

Capillary and viscous
forces
Summation of forward and backward equations give us:

 
t
Upscaling   2 P  Pi t 1  2 Pi t  Pi t 1
 2    O x 
2

 x i x  2

QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT

 Discretization and Grid Blocks

 For i=1:
Contineous and
discrete systems
PL
1 2
Constant grid block
sizes x
Px  0, t   P x, t  
 x / 2
P '  x, t  
 x / 2 P' ' x, t    x / 2 P' ' ' x, t   ...
2 3

Variable grid block

Eq. I
1! 2! 3!
sizes

 
t
Solving forward equation and Eq. I give us:  2P  P2t  3P1t  2 PL
  2    O x 
2
Time discretization
 x 1 3
(x) 2
4
Numerical
formulations
 For i=N:

Sensitivity to
N-1 N
PR
number of grid
blocks
x
Sensitivity to Time
step x / 2 x / 2 P' ' x, t   x / 2 P' ' ' x, t   ...
2 3
P  x  N , t   P  x, t   P '  x, t   Eq. II
1! 2! 3!
Capillary and viscous
forces
 Solving backward equation and Eq. II give us:
 
t
 2P  PNt 1  3PNt  2 PR
 2    O x 
2
Upscaling
 x  N 3
(x) 2
4
QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT
 Discretization and Grid Blocks

Contineous and
Variable grid block sizes
discrete systems

 More realistic grid system  Finer description of geometry

Constant grid block
sizes
 Better accuracy in areas of rapid changes in pressures and saturations

Variable grid block  Specially useful in the neighborhood of production and injection wells
sizes

Time discretization i-1 i i+1

Numerical
formulations
xi-1 x xi+1
Sensitivity to
number of grid
blocks
 The Taylor expansions:
Sensitivity to Time
step
Pi 1  Pi 
(xi  xi 1 ) / 2
Pi
(xi  xi 1 ) / 2 P (xi  xi 1 ) / 2 P...
2 3

i i
1! 2! 3!
Capillary and viscous
forces
Pi 1  Pi 
 (xi  xi 1 ) / 2
Pi
 (xi  xi 1 ) / 2 P  (xi  xi 1 ) / 2 P...
2 3

i i
Upscaling 1! 2! 3!

QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT

 Discretization and Grid Blocks

Contineous and
 The flow term :
discrete systems
 P   P 
f ( x )  f ( x )
P   x  i 1/ 2  x  i 1/ 2
Constant grid block
 

x 
f ( x)  
x  i xi

 O x 
2

sizes

Where :
Variable grid block
sizes P  Pi P P
 P   P 
   1 i 1  O(x)    1 i i 1  O(x)
 x  i 1 / 2 2 (xi  xi 1 )  x i 1/ 2 2 (xi  xi 1 )
Time discretization

Numerical
formulations  For i=2 to N-1 :

( Pi 1  Pi ) ( Pi  Pi 1 )
Sensitivity to 2 f ( x)i 1/ 2  2 f ( x)i 1/ 2
number of grid   P  (xi 1  xi ) (xi  xi 1 )
blocks  f ( x)    O(x)
x  x  i xi

Sensitivity to Time  Due to the different block sizes, the error terms are of first order only.
step
 Flow equation for i=1 and i=N depends to boundary conditions.
Capillary and viscous
forces

Upscaling

QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT

 Discretization and Grid Blocks

Contineous and  Boundary conditions

discrete systems
 Pressure condition at the sides of slab:
Constant grid block
sizes

PL  P  P P
Variable grid block 1 2    1 L  O(x)
 x 1/ 2 (x1 ) / 2
sizes
x1 x2

Time discretization

 For i=1:
Numerical
formulations ( P2  P1 ) ( P  PL )
2 f ( x)11 / 2  2 f ( x)11 / 2 1
  P  (x 2  x1 ) (x1 )
f ( x )   O(x)
Sensitivity to x  x  1 x1
number of grid
blocks

Sensitivity to Time  For i=N:

step
 Same for pressure at the right hand side:

Capillary and viscous

forces ( PR  PN ) ( PN  PN 1 )
2 f ( x) N 1/ 2  2 f ( x) N 1/ 2
  P  (xN ) (xN  xN 1 )
 f ( x)    O(x)
Upscaling x  x  N xN

QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT

 Discretization and Grid Blocks

Contineous and
 Flow rate specified at the sides of slab:
discrete systems
 For flow rate at the left hand side:
Constant grid block
sizes
QL  P  B
kA  P  1 2    QL
Variable grid block QL    
B  x  12  x 1/ 2 kA
sizes
x1 x2
Time discretization

Numerical
formulations ( P2  P1 ) B
2 f ( x)11 / 2  QL
  P  (x 2  x1 ) kA
f ( x )   O(x)
Sensitivity to x  x  1 x1
number of grid
blocks

Sensitivity to Time
step  Same for flow rate at the right hand side:

Capillary and viscous B ( PN  PN 1 )

forces  QR  2 f ( x) N 1 / 2
  P  kA (x N  x N 1 )
f ( x )   O(x)
Upscaling
x  x  N x N

QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT

 Discretization and Grid Blocks

Contineous and
Time discretization
discrete systems

Constant grid block

sizes  Expansion forward:
t (t ) 2 (t )3
Variable grid block P( x, t  t )  P( x, t )  P( x, t )  P( x, t )  P( x, t )  ...
1! 2! 3!
sizes

t  t
 P  Pi t  t  Pi t
Time discretization     O(t )
 t i t
Numerical
formulations

 Expansion backward:
Sensitivity to
number of grid
blocks
 t (t ) 2 (t )3
P( x, t )  P( x, t  t )  P( x, t  t )  P( x, t  t )  P( x, t  t )  ...
1! 2! 3!
Sensitivity to Time
step t  t
 P  Pi  Pi
t t
    O(t )

 i
t  t
Capillary and viscous
forces

Upscaling

QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT

 Discretization and Grid Blocks

Contineous and
Numerical formulations
discrete systems
 Explicit method:
Constant grid block
sizes  Use the forward approximation of the time derivative at time level t.

Variable grid block  The left hand side is also at time level t.
sizes
 Solve for pressures explicitly.
Time discretization t  t
Pi t 1  2 Pi t  Pi t 1  c  Pi  Pi t
 
Numerical
x 2  k  t
formulations
 All parameters except pi at (t+Δt) are in time t and are known , so simply by solving
equation you can find pi at (t+Δt).
Sensitivity to
number of grid
blocks i-1 i i+1
t + Δt
Sensitivity to Time
step
i-1 i i+1
t
Capillary and viscous
forces
x

Upscaling This formulation has limited stability, and is therefore seldom used.

QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT

 Discretization and Grid Blocks

Contineous and
 Implicit method:
discrete systems
 Use the backward approximation of the time derivative at time level t+Δt.
Constant grid block
sizes  The left hand side is also at time level t+Δt.

 Solve for pressures implicitly.

Variable grid block
sizes

Pi t 1t  2 Pi t  t  Pi t 1t  c  Pi t  t  Pi t

 
Time discretization
x 2  k  t

Numerical
formulations i-1 i i+1
t + Δt
Sensitivity to
number of grid i-1 i i+1
blocks t

Sensitivity to Time x
step

 A set of N equations with N unknowns, which must be solved simultaneously.

Capillary and viscous  For instance using the Gaussian elimination method.
forces

Upscaling This formulation is unconditionally stable.

QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT

 Discretization and Grid Blocks

 Crank-Nicholson method:
Contineous and
discrete systems

 Use the central approximation of the time derivative at time level t+Δt / 2.
Constant grid block
sizes
 The left hand side is also at time level t+Δt / 2.

Variable grid block

sizes

Time discretization 1  Pi t 1  2Pi t  Pi t 1 Pi t 1t  2Pi t  t  Pi t 1t   c  Pi t  t  Pi t

    
2 x2 x 2   k  t
Numerical
formulations

Sensitivity to
number of grid  The resulting set of linear equations may be solved simultaneously just as in the
blocks implicit case.

Sensitivity to Time  The formulation is unconditionally stable, but may exhibit oscillatory behavior, and is
step
seldom used.

Capillary and viscous

forces

Upscaling

QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT

 Discretization and Grid Blocks

Sensitivity to number of grid blocks

Contineous and
discrete systems 1 i 10
 10 grid blocks:
Constant grid block
sizes 1 i 20
 20 grid blocks:

Variable grid block

sizes 1 i 40
 40 grid blocks:

Time discretization
1 i 100
 100 grid blocks:
Numerical
formulations 1

Sensitivity to
1-Sor 10
number of grid 20
blocks
SW 40
Sensitivity to Time 100
step

SWir
Capillary and viscous
forces
0
0 X/L 1
Upscaling
 The more grid blocks we have, the smaller are the blocks sizes (Δx), smaller is the numerical dispersion
because the discretization error is proportional to Δx2 .
QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT
 Discretization and Grid Blocks

Sensitivity to time step

Contineous and
discrete systems 1

0,9 Δt = 20 sec
Constant grid block
sizes Δt = 10 sec
1-Sor 0,8

Variable grid block 0,7

Δt = 1 sec
sizes
0,6

Time discretization
0,5
SW
Numerical 0,4
formulations
0,3

Sensitivity to
number of grid SWir 0,2
blocks
0,1

Sensitivity to Time
step 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

X/L
Capillary and viscous
forces
 The smaller are the time steps (Δt), the smaller is the numerical dispersion due to the
Upscaling discretization where the error is proportional to Δt.

QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT

 Discretization and Grid Blocks

Contineous and
Capillary and viscous forces
discrete systems
 pressure difference across a grid block will be directly proportional to the size of this (
in the flow direction ).
Constant grid block
sizes
 The direct effect of capillary pressure will therefore often be dominating in a core-sized
Variable grid block
grid block while it is negligible in a full field simulation formation scale grid block.
sizes

Time discretization production injection

Capillary forces (capillary endpoint pressure)

0.7 bar
Numerical
formulations  Core plug:

10 cm Viscous forces (viscous pressure drop)

Sensitivity to
number of grid
blocks
production injection

Sensitivity to Time
step

Capillary and viscous  Simulation grid block:

forces

0.7 bar
Upscaling
150 m

QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT

 Discretization and Grid Blocks

Contineous and
Upscaling
discrete systems
 Geological models may contain millions of grid blocks representing geologically
interpolated data (geostatistical realizations).
Constant grid block
sizes
 Numerical simulators cannot handle this level of detail due to cost limitations
Variable grid block
(applicable with less than millions of grid blocks).
sizes
 The magnitude of the difference between fine and coarse scales is very significant.
Time discretization
 The key problem is how to obtain effective input for the numerical flow simulator from
Numerical data on finer scales.
formulations

 This process is called upscaling.

Sensitivity to
number of grid
blocks

Sensitivity to Time
step

Capillary and viscous

forces

Upscaling

QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT

 Discretization and Grid Blocks

Contineous and
discrete systems

Constant grid block High permiability Low permiability

sizes

 Laminar sclae
Variable grid block grid blocks: 1.5 * 0.5 m
sizes
core plug

Time discretization

 Formation scale
Numerical grid blocks: 1.5 * 0.5 m
formulations

Sensitivity to
number of grid
blocks  Formation scale
grid blocks: 12 * 2.5 m
Sensitivity to Time
step

Capillary and viscous  Formation scale

forces
grid blocks: 60 * 5 m

Upscaling

QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT

 Discretization and Grid Blocks

Contineous and
discrete systems  Fine grids and coarse grids:

Constant grid block  Fine grids:

sizes

Variable grid block

sizes

Time discretization

Numerical
formulations

Sensitivity to
number of grid  Coarse grids:
blocks

Sensitivity to Time
step

Capillary and viscous

forces

Upscaling

QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT

 Discretization and Grid Blocks

Contineous and  Permeability tensor:

discrete systems

Constant grid block

sizes

Variable grid block

sizes Fij

Time discretization

Numerical
Cij
formulations

Sensitivity to
number of grid
blocks

Sensitivity to Time
step

Capillary and viscous

forces  The permeability tensor of a porous medium is specified on each fine-scale cell
Fij, and must be upscaled or homogenized over each coarse-scale or
computational cell Cij
Upscaling

QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT

 Discretization and Grid Blocks

Contineous and
discrete systems
 Quality control:
Constant grid block
sizes

Variable grid block

sizes
Fine grid model with original relative permeability
Recovery

Time discretization Coarse grid model with upscaled relative permeability

Numerical
formulations

Sensitivity to
number of grid
blocks Time

Sensitivity to Time
step  Every single upscaling step is quality controlled during the upscaling by
comparing recovery from the fine model with the recovery from the upscaled
Capillary and viscous coarse gridded model incorporating the pseudo curves.
forces

Upscaling

QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT

 Discretization and Grid Blocks

Contineous and
Questions
discrete systems
1. Use Taylor series to derive the following approximations (include error terms):
Constant grid block
sizes a) Forward approximation of P
t
b) Backward approximation of P
Variable grid block
sizes t
c) Central approximation of 2P (constant x)
Time discretization x 2
2P
d) Central approximation of (variable x)
x 2
Numerical
formulations

Sensitivity to 2. Modify the approximation for grid block 1, if the left side of the grid block is
number of grid
maintained at a constant pressure, PL.
blocks

Sensitivity to Time 3. Modify the approximation for grid block 1, if grid block is subjected to a constant flow
step
rate, QL.
Capillary and viscous
forces
4. Write the discretized equation on implicit and explicit forms.

Upscaling

QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT

 Discretization and Grid Blocks

Contineous and
References
discrete systems

Constant grid block

sizes
 Kleppe J.: Reservoir Simulation, Lecture note 3

Variable grid block

sizes
 EPS

Time discretization

Numerical
formulations

Sensitivity to
number of grid
blocks

Sensitivity to Time
step

Capillary and viscous

forces

Upscaling

QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT

 Discretization and Grid Blocks

Contineous and
About this module
discrete systems

 Title: DISCRETIZATION AND GRID BLOCKS (PDF)

Constant grid block
sizes

 Author:
Variable grid block
sizes
 Name: Prof. Jon Kleppe

Time discretization  Address:

NTNU
S.P. Andersensvei 15A
Numerical
formulations 7491 Trondheim

Sensitivity to  Website
number of grid
blocks
 Email

Sensitivity to Time
step
 Size: 660 KB
Capillary and viscous
forces

Upscaling

QUESTIONS REFERENCES ABOUT EXIT