TITLE:
Verification of an Explicitly Coupled Thermal-Phase Field-Mechanical Electromagnetic (TPME) Framework by the Method of Manufactured Solutions
AUTHORS:
Travis S. Ramsay
KEYWORDS:
Radio Frequency Heating, In-Situ Pyrolysis, Oil Shale, Multiphysics, Explicit Coupling, Finite Element Method, Method of Manufactured Solutions
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Modelling and Simulation,
Vol.9 No.1,
December
10,
2020
ABSTRACT: An explicitly coupled
two-dimensional (2D) multiphysics finite element method (FEM) framework
comprised of thermal, phase field, mechanical and
electromagnetic (TPME) equations was developed to simulate the conversion of
solid kerogen in oil shale to liquid oil through in-situ pyrolysis by radio frequency
heating. Radio frequency heating as a
method of in-situ
pyrolysis represents a tenable enhanced oil recovery method, whereby an applied
electrical potential difference across a target oil shale formation is
converted to thermal energy, heating the oil shale and causing it to liquify to
become liquid oil. A number of in-situ pyrolysis methods are
reviewed but the focus of this work is on the verification of the TPME
numerical framework to model radio frequency heating as a potential dielectric
heating process for enhanced oil recovery. Very few studies exist which describe production
from oil shale; furthermore, there are none that
specifically address the verification of numerical models describing
radio frequency heating. As a result, the Method of Manufactured Solutions
(MMS) was used as an analytical verification method of the developed numerical
code. Results show that the multiphysics finite element framework was
adequately modeled enabling the simulation of kerogen conversion to oil as a
part of the analysis of a TPME numerical model.