CAREER: Mathematical Analysis and Numerical Methods for the Underground Oil Recovery Models

University Of Oklahoma Norman Campus, Norman OK

Investigators

Abstract

This CAREER award supports a coordinated set of research and educational activities with the goals of elucidating the modeling and computation of underground oil recovery and stimulating the environment for research and study in applied analysis and computation at the University of Oklahoma. The project involves the Oklahoma Applied Analysis & Computing Group, a team consisting of undergraduate and graduate students, postdoc researchers, University of Oklahoma faculty, and faculty from Oklahoma's network of universities and colleges. Accurate mathematical analysis and efficient numerical methods play a more and more important role in studying partial differential equation (PDE) models in the petroleum industry. The goal of this project is to perform research in the mathematical analysis and high order accuracy numerical methods design for the PDE models describing the water-drive secondary underground oil recovery. The PI will combine mathematical analysis, numerical scheme design and computational techniques in our proposed research. The mathematical analysis is based on PDE theory, and the numerical methods proposed are based on state-of-the-art discontinuous Galerkin (DG) schemes. Furthermore, the obtained results will be cross-validated using data from laboratory experiments provided by the PI's academic collaborator, and oil reservoir simulation provided by the PI's industry collaborator. The interdisciplinary nature of this project will provide an environment of communication and collaboration, as well as provide an opportunity for students at different levels and with diverse background to apply mathematical and computational tools to investigate the underground oil recovery models. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.