Core-scale simulation of polymer flow through porous media

In the single-phase simulations, the shear thinning, shear thickening, and degradation flow regimes were successfully modeled, but numerical issues arose for the highest injection rates corresponding to the polymer degradation flow regime. Analytical models developed to predict porous medium apparent viscosities were used with appropriate adjustments of the permeability reduction factor RRF to history match core-scale experimental pressure drop data. In the two-phase polymer flood in a water-wet porous medium, the modeled polymer behavior spanned from the shear thinning to the shear thickening flow regimes, but did not include any polymer degradation data. With this model, both the pressures and cumulative oil production were successfully matched. Ultimately, understanding, modeling and predicting the polymer behavior on a core-scale under various flow conditions will improve the ability to design polymer floods on the field scale.