Journal of Geology & Geophysics
Open Access

Abstract

Boundary Dominated Flow, the Effect of Power-Law Trends

Tom Aage Jelmert

Sometimes a fractional model based on the assumption of power-law trends, may be more realistic than a traditional one. Steady state and pseudo-steady state flows are dominated by the external boundary conditions. We refer to these flow periods as boundary dominated. A generalized inflow performance relationship has been proposed. The theory is based on the assumption of rock properties of single term power-law type. Power-law functions are easy to integrate and analytical solutions are available. We find that the resulting equations, for all practical purposes, include the corresponding homogeneous solution as a special case. The sensitivity of the productivity index, PI, and the flow efficiency, FE, to stimulation and densification of wells are investigated. The proposed methodology may be of interest in petroleum engineering, groundwater hydrology and for geothermal reservoirs.