On a new kind of methods to solve the plane problems of two-phase flow through porous media (Q789991)

The authors present a new kind of method for solving problems of two phase flow in porous media. The incomplete cubic Hermite finite element method is used to solve the pressure equation. An exact formula, derived by the method of characteristics and describing the saturation propagation along the streamlines, is used in combination with the semi- analytical solution of pressure gradient to obtain the numerical results of the saturation field. The results obtained give a better description of the mechanical characteristics of the problem, in comparison to those obtained by traditional methods.