On a boundary layer problem related to the gas flow in shales

Abstract

The development of gas deposits in shales has become a significant energy resource. Despite the already active exploitation of such deposits, a mathematical model for gas flow in shales does not exist. Such a model is crucial for optimizing the technology of gas recovery. In the present article, a boundary layer problem is formulated and investigated with respect to gas recovery from porous low-permeability inclusions in shales, which are the basic source of gas. Milton Van Dyke was a great master in the field of boundary layer problems. Dedicating this work to his memory, we want to express our belief that Van Dyke's profound ideas and fundamental book Perturbation Methods in Fluid Mechanics (Parabolic Press, 1975) will live on-also in fields very far from the subjects for which they were originally invented. © 2013 US Government.