Islam, Jinia (2015-04). Leakage Rate and Hydraulic Head Change Evaluation through Conduits in Deep Storage Aquifers. Doctoral Dissertation. Thesis uri icon

abstract

  • Understanding flow leakage through different conduits (abandoned wells, fracture, faults, etc) has become an intensively investigated subject in the subsurface hydrology and petroleum engineering in recent years. This study represents an efficient mathematical model for estimating leakage rate by hydraulic head change evaluation through different conduits or leakage pathways coupled with an injection well. The leakage rate is estimated using Darcy's law by evaluating hydraulic head change between the upper and the lower aquifers through leakage conduit (abandoned well and fracture). The analysis is conducted by solving the governing equations of fluid flow in the aquifer coupled with the flow through different conduits. The single-phase flow is considered which is capable of explaining both fluid and CO2 plume flow in an aquifer system by neglecting the variable density effect. The result is obtained in the Laplace domain and subsequently inverted to yield the real-time domain solution. The model developed here will significantly advance our understanding of the flow leakage process through different pathways; it helps accurately quantify the fluid leakage rate, and the leakage volume through them. For leakage pathways, the first analysis has been done considering an abandoned well coupled with an injection well and the later one involves a fracture coupled with an injection well. Because of the limited analytical solution or complex numerical solution, this new model provides an efficient way to estimate the leakage rate through both an abandoned well and also fracture coupled with an injection well. The sensitivity analysis has been conducted to indicate the most sensitive parameters to the leakage rate through leakage pathways.

ETD Chair

  • Zhan, Hongbin  Holder of Endowed Dudley J. Hughes '51 Chair in Geology and Geophysics

publication date

  • May 2015