High-velocity compressible gas flow modelling through porous media considering the quadratic pressure gradient: Part 2. experimental investigations and numerical analysis

This research investigates reliability of existing methods for analysis of transient Pressure Pulse Decay (PPD) test results. Analysis of experimental data reported by previous studies using existing conventional analysis methods revealed significant discrepancies, in some cases with more than 300% error between different experiments on the same sample. New experiments (Knudsen number ranged from 0.22 to 0.34) were designed and conducted in our laboratory, reducing the uncertainty by eliminating slip flow and net stress effects under low and high-pressure conditions. These experimental results aligned much better with the recently proposed analytical solution for improved interpretation of PPD experimental results. The differences are around 25% between different pulses, confirming the reliability of the conducted experiments and newly proposed methodology. Numerical simulations using a commercial software package were conducted to complement experimental and analytical findings. The simulator, which demonstrated good agreement with the proposed analytical solution, facilitated conducting sensitivity analyses on permeability variations and compressive storage capacity effects. These simulations validated the findings of the proposed analytical solution, which accounts for both pressure difference and absolute pressure values, and explains the discrepancies observed in lower pressure scenarios using conventional methods. Overall, this study presents a comprehensive framework integrating experimental, analytical, and numerical approaches to enhance our understanding and better analysis of transient PPD test results for compressible gas flows. The findings also offer a more robust approach for analysing gas flow behaviour in porous media.