Fractal analysis of invasion depth of extraneous fluids in porous media

Applications of the fractal theory to analyze transport properties of porous media in science and engineering have received steady attention in the past two decades. However, the theory was rarely used to analyze invasion by extraneous fluids into a permeable bed where there is initially no such fluid present. Spills and leaks of non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) and formation damage in drilling and completion wells are two typical examples. In this work, a fractal capillary model is proposed to analyze the depth of extraneous fluid invasion, where the tortuosity of capillaries and capillary pressure effect are taken into account. The quantitative relationship between average flow velocity and average beeline velocity are discussed based on the fractal geometry theory. Based on the proposed model, the depth of extraneous fluid invasion can be determined when the operation conditions, extraneous fluid properties and formation structure parameters are available, and the model predictions are in good agreement with the available data. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.