Investigation of fluid flow mechanisms in fractured porous media using a Laplace transformation coupled embedded discrete fracture protocol

Numerical simulation of fluid flow in fractured porous media is a challenging topic due to the intensive computational overhead brought by the complex and heterogeneous characteristics of fracture networks. In this paper, Laplace Transformation coupled Embedded Discrete Fracture Model (LTEDFM) protocol is proposed to simulate the fluid flow dynamics in fractured porous media, which employs the Laplace transformation to substitute the backward temporal Euler differentiation by a semi-analytical solution. Comparing to the conventional EDFM models, the LTEDFM model is Newton's iteration free, and the solution would be independent of the temporal discretization (progressive time-steps). Results of various numerical experiments demonstrate that the proposed LTEDFM is a more computational robust solution protocol to simulate the flow dynamics of undersaturated oil reservoirs in fractured porous media comparing to other versions of EDFM models. Moreover, the proposed LTEDFM can be employed to simulate the field responses of heterogeneous and anisotropic systems, reservoirs with the existence of complex fracture networks and reservoirs developed using multiple hydraulic fractured wells.