Numerical Simulation Study for Improvement of Polymer Flooding by Viscoelastic Effect

In this article, a finite volume method for the numerical solution of viscoelastic flows is presented. The flow of Phan-Thien-Tanner(PTT) model fluid through an abrupt expansion has been chosen as a prototype example. The conservation and constitutive equations are solved using the finite volume method (FVM) in a staggered grid with an upwind scheme for the viscoelastic stresses and a hybrid scheme for the velocities. An enhanced-in-speed pressure-correction algorithm is used and a method for handling the source term of the momentum equations is introduced. Improved accuracy is achieved by a special discretization of the boundary conditions. Stable solutions are found for high Weissenberg number, further extending the range of simulations with the FVM. Numerical results show the viscoelasticity of polymer solutions is the main factor influencing sweep efficiency.