Multiphase flow in heterogeneous porous media: A classical finite element method versus an implicit pressure explicit saturation-based mixed finite element finite volume approach

Various discretization methods exist for the numerical simulation of multip hase flow in porous media. In this paper, two methods are introduced and an alyzed-a full-upwind Galerkin method which belongs to the classical finite element methods, and a mixed-hybrid finite element method based on an impli cit pressure-explicit saturation (IMPES) approach. Both methods are derived from the governing equations of two-phase flow. Their discretization conce pts are compared in detail. Their efficiency is discussed using several exa mples. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.