Application of the lattice Boltzmann/lattice gas technique to multi-fluid flow in porous media

The lattice Boltzmann approach to modeling fluid flow provides an efficient and reliable method for solving the Navier-Stokes equations and studying multi-fluid flow problems. In this paper, we report state of the art capabilities of our lattice Boltzmann simulator for single- and two-fluid flows in two- and three-dimensional problems. We review the development of the code and present some of the latest results. Some of the flexibility available in the model includes arbitrary pore space descriptions, wettability effects, surface tension relations, and chemical reactivity. Simulations of two-fluid flow through a digitized micromodel geometry, and through a high resolution, digitized sample of Berea sandstone are presented. Relative permeability as a function of wettability and capillary number is discussed. Integration of the lattice Boltzmann approach into larger scale models to build a more powerful tool for analyzing constitutive behavior is considered.