Experimental validation of an Ab initio model for the flow and temperature distribution in the steam chamber in SAGD oil recovery.

Recently, we proposed an Ab initio model, founded on fundamental fluid mechanics, to compute the instantaneous flow and temperature distribution of steam injected in the steam chamber in a homogeneous reservoir of extra heavy oil. Our model also takes into account the steam condensation at the edge of the steam chamber and the resulting flow of water in the recovery lower pipe. Experiments were made by using a two-inches thickness iron slab having a large elliptic perforation at the middle. The perforation was filled with 3 and 6 mm diameter glass spheres and after covered with armored glass plates to avoid their explosive rupture due to the thermal shock. As usual, through the upper injection pipe, a flux of steam was injected and, due to the lower temperature of the porous matrix, water was recovered at the bottom. Through careful measurements of the spatial temperature distribution and of the recovered water we determine that there exists a unique steam flux that allows the maximum water recovering. All these results back the main predictions of the theoretical model.