Customized minimization techniques for phase equilibrium computations in reservoir simulation

This paper discusses a minimization algorithm for the solution of the Gibbs free energy minimization problem involving at most two phases. There are three major aspects to this paper. The first is the selection of descent directions and step lengths in order to handle the poorly scaled phase equilibrium problems associated with mixtures near bubble points and critical points. The second is the prevention of convergence to trivial solutions in both the Gibbs free energy minimization problem for two-phase mixtures and the associated phase stability test for single-phase mixtures. The third is the use of effective convergence criteria to obtain either the desired level of accuracy in the solution or the maximum accuracy allowed by the problem and the computer. © 1987.

Duke Scholars

Author John A. Trangenstein Mathematics