Lattice Boltzmann Method for Modelling Fluid Flow in Porous Media
Ardian Nurcahya, Azmi Syauqi, Muhammad Ilham Rizki, Irwan Ary Dharmawan*

Department of Geophysics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, Universitas Padjadjaran.
*iad[at]geophys.unpad.ac.id

Abstract

Fluid flow in porous media is essential in determining the characteristics of petroleum reservoirs. Darcys law states the relationship of parameters in the porous media such as flow velocity, pressure gradient, porosity, and permeability. The basic principle used in fluid flow in porous media is using mass conservation, which states that the total mass of fluid entering is equal to the total mass of fluid exiting. Traditional fluid mechanics approaches cannot be used to solve the complexity of fluid flow interfaces in porous media. The Lattice-Boltzmann method is a model that can be used to solve fluid flow equations in porous media in a micro-scale form. The fluid flow simulation is carried out in a single-phase steady state using openLB software with the D2Q9 model. The results of the study obtained the pressure drop value which is affected by permeability. The greater the permeability the smaller the pressure drop. The performance of the results can be validated by comparing the exact value with the estimated value in the form of absolute error.

Keywords: Porous Media- Darcys Law- Lattice-Boltzmann method- Permeability- Pressure drop

Topic: COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCES