An improved relative permeability model for gas-water displacement in fractal porous media

Many researchers have revealed that relative permeability depends on the gas-water-rock interactions and ultimately affects the fluid flow regime. However, the way that relative permeability changes with fractal porous media has been unclear so far. In this paper, an improved gas-water relative permeability model was proposed to investigate the mechanism of gas-water displacement in fractal porous media. First, this model took the complexity of pore structure, geometric correction factor, water film, and the real gas effect into account. Then, this model was compared with two classical models and verified against available experimental data. Finally, the effects of structural parameters (pore-size distribution fractal dimension and tortuosity fractal dimension) on gas-water relative permeability were investigated. It was found that the sticking water film on the surface of fracture has a negative effect on water relative permeability. The increase of geometric correction factor and the ignorance of real gas effect cause a decrease of gas relative permeability.