Theory of Three-Component, Three-Phase Displacement in Porous Media

Abstract

Summary A theory of multicomponent, multiphase displacement in porous media is further developed for three-component, three-phase systems. In regions of a tie-triangle in which one or two of the phases is (are) immobile, the description of solutions to the differential equations that govern flow is shown to be independent of the way relative permeabilities depend on saturations. When three phases flow simultaneously, key features of the mathematical solution space can be described analytically for an exponent-type relative permeability model.