Higher-Order Godunov Methods for Reducing Numerical Dispersion in Reservoir Simulation

Abstract

Abstract Standard finite difference methods used in reservoir simulation employ large amounts of numerical dispersion. This inherent numerical dispersion causes sharp fronts to be smeared over many grid blocks, and can cause their shapes to be wildly distorted. In this paper we discuss a new method that substantially reduces the effects of numerical dispersion. The new method significantly improves the resolution of fronts, and is specifically constructed to be essentially free of grid orientation effects.