A FRACTAL-BASED MODEL OF RELATIVE PERMEABILITY IN POROUS MEDIA

A fractal-based model of relative permeability in porous media is established, considering the concurrent presence of two-phase fluids within the pores. The influence of various fractal parameters, pore structures, and capillary forces on relative permeability is examined. Each parameter has a clear physical significance and does not use empirical constants. The proposed model’s predicted results achieve good consistency with previous experimental results, which confirms the model’s effectiveness and demonstrates its capability to accurately represent biphasic fluid flow in porous media. The results indicate that (1) as the fractal parameter increases, the relative permeability value shows the opposite trend; (2) when multiphase flow exists in porous media, the effect of capillary force cannot be ignored; and (3) as the porosity decreases, the capillary force increases and the overall relative permeability curve shifts to the left.