This work experimentally examines the cocurrent\r\nflow of oil and water in moderately oil-wet smoothwalled\r\nsingle fractures. The focus of our investigation is on\r\nstudying the effects of varying fracture aperture and flow\r\nrate ratios on relative permeability to oil and water. The\r\nphase distribution and flow regimes within the fracture\r\nwere closely monitored and found to vary with the flow\r\nrate ratio and total flow rate, and appeared to have a direct\r\nimpact on the relative permeability. Experimental relative\r\npermeability data exhibited variations in shape indicating\r\nthe effects of fracture aperture and flow ratios. Also, the\r\ndata show the effects of oilââ?¬â??water phase interference, and\r\nphase saturation changes on the relative permeabilities for\r\neach fracture configuration. A couple of two-phase relative\r\npermeability models, namely, viscous coupling model, and\r\nhomogenous single-phase approach, were tested against the\r\nexperimental relative permeability data. This work provides\r\ninsight into the nature of two-phase flow in a single\r\nfracture and could help in better modeling of more complex\r\nfracture networks.
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