Numerical simulation of inverse mode propagation in-situ combustion direct-flow waves

One of the promising technologies for enhanced oil recovery in the development of unconventional oil reservoirs is the thermo-gas method. The method is based on the injection of an oxygen-containing mixture into the formation and its transformation into a highly efficient displacing agent miscible with the formation of oil due to spontaneous in-situ oxidative processes. In some cases, this method has great potential compared to other methods of enhanced oil recovery. This paper discusses some issues of the propagation of in-situ combustion waves. Depending on the parameters of the reservoir and the injected mixture, such waves can propagate in different modes. In this paper, only the direct-flow inverse propagation mode is considered. In this mode, the combustion wave propagates in the direction of the oxidant flow and the reaction front lags behind the heatwave, in which the substance (hydrocarbon fractions, porous skeleton, etc.) is heated to temperatures sufficient for the oxidation reaction to occur. The paper presents the results of an analytical study and numerical simulation of the structure of the inverse wave of in-situ combustion. in two-phase flow in a porous layer. Some simplifying assumptions about the thermal properties of fluid phases was accepted, which allow, on the one hand, to modify the in-situ combustion model observable for analysis, and with another is to convey the main features of this process. The solution of the “running wave” type is considered and the conditions of its implementation are specified. Selected two modes of reaction trailing front regime in-situ combustion waves: hydrodynamic and kinetic. Numerical simulation of the in-situ combustion wave propagation was carried out with using the thermohydro-dynamical simulator developed for the numerical integration of non-isothermal multicomponent filtration flows accompanied by phase transitions and chemical reaction.