The targeted aim of this class is to bring basic fundaments to flow in underground reservoirs. The main applications are devoted to groundwater, but the physics as well as numerous technical practices in engineering are very similar to those routinely handled for oil hydrodynamics. Therefore, the class also gives insights to the notions that ought to be mastered in the context of petroleum engineering. The following items are developed.
- Descriptive hydrogeology: hydrogeological maps, identification of the flow features at the scale of a reservoir, identification of the main reservoirs at the regional scale and their interactions.
- Steady-state flow in porous media: calculations for sizing ditches, wells and other small structures for keeping water levels and pressure under control in underground reservoirs;
- Transient flow: Elaboration and discussion of the equations, transient regime of forced flow for the identification of hydrodynamic parameters.
- Basics of mass transfer in porous and/or fractured media (solute, oil saturation, contaminant concentration …). Elaboration and discussion of the equations. A few generic items acting on mass transfers are also presented, such as: sorption mechanisms onto the solid phase, chemical reactions either under equilibrium or kinetically controlled in the solid and fluid phases.
The whole program shortly depicted above is associated with various practical exercises emphasizing some specific points. One can for instance establish analytical solutions to flow in porous media or manipulate traded numerical codes solving the partial differential equations of flow and transport in underground reservoirs.
Finally, this class is the natural prerequisite to further topics in year 3 of schooling – special "Hydro3G" where, for instance, numerical tools and methods or multiphase flow are approached. These specialized classes are complements suited to better grasp the complexity of underground systems in essence hardly visible and thus under-sampled.