| THEORY & FORMULAE |
This calculator takes in the specific gravity of the natural gas (and molar fractions of gaseous impurities, if any) and outputs estimates of 3 physical properties of natural gas - Real gas deviation factor (Z), Gas viscosity (μ) and Formation volume factor (Bg). The 3 properties are listed and plotted for the specific temperature and pressure entered as well as for pressures in the range zero to 5000 psig.
Z-factor is computed using the Hall-Yarborough direct method. This consists of 2 equations:
where:
ppr = pseudo-reduced pressure
t = reciprocal of pseudo-reduced temperature
y = "reduced" density (an unknown).
The specific gravity and gas composition values are first used to determine the constants in the equations (critical and pseudo-reduced pressures and temperatures). The second non-linear equation is solved for "y" using the Newton-Raphson iterative technique, and the result is plugged into the first equation.
Gas formation volume factor Bg is derived from Z according to the equation:
Bg = [Z*psc*TR]/[5.615pR*Tsc] ... reservoir bbls/scf
where:
psc = pressure at standard conditions (14.7 psia)
pR = pressure at reservoir condition (psia)
Tsc = temperature at standard conditions (60 + 460 ° R)
TR = temperature at reservoir condition (° R)
Finally, Gas viscosity is computed from the correlations by Carr et al.