Measurement and analysis of single phase water flow through fractured and non-fractured low permeability porous media

In order to have a better understanding of flow phenomena through fractured low permeability tight porous media, a series experiments of single phase water flow through non-fractured and fractured tight sand media at differen t inlet, outlet and overburden pressures were performed. The experimental d ata obtained for both fractured and non-fractured samples were analyzed usi ng the Darcy equation. The results showed good potential of the Darcy flow formulation for describing water flow behavior in both fractured and non-fr actured media under different overburden and system pressures. Furthermore, the single-phase transient experiments compared well with steady state run s. This proves the reliability of transient data that results in significan t savings in time and expense in low permeability core analysis. Our experimental results showed a decrease in water flow rate and permeabil ity due to an increase in confining pressure, for both non-fractured and fr actured media. A higher value of water flow rate and permeability for the f ractured medium compared to the non-fractured medium was obtained, which is due to a different flow pattern in the neighborhood of the fracture and an overall increase in permeability due to fracturing.