A fully-implicit solving approach to an adaptive multi-scale model - coupling a vertical-equilibrium and full-dimensional model for compressible, multi-phase flow in porous media

Abstract Vertical equilibrium models have proven to be well suited for simulating fluid flow in subsurface porous media such as saline aquifers with caprocks. However, in most cases the dimensionally reduced model lacks the accuracy to capture the dynamics of a system. While conventional full-dimensional models have the ability to represent dynamics, they come at the cost of high computational effort. We aim to combine the efficiency of the vertical equilibrium model and the accuracy of the full-dimensional model by coupling the two models adaptively in a unified framework and solving the emerging system of equations in a monolithic, fully-implicit approach. The model domains are coupled via mass-conserving fluxes while the model adaptivity is ruled by adaptive criteria. Overall, the adaptive model shows an excellent behaviour both in terms of accuracy as well as efficiency, especially for elongated geometries of storage systems with large aspect ratios.