Patent Document ID: 9416630
Application ID: 13920728
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A method of orienting a flow model of a formation, the method comprising: selecting a plurality of cells representing a region of the formation, the plurality of cells having an orientation; estimating, by a processor, a first principal flow direction and a second principal flow direction for each of the plurality of cells, the first principal flow direction associated with a first magnitude and the second principal flow direction associated with a second magnitude; estimating a combined principal flow direction of each of the plurality of cells based on the first principal flow direction and the second principal flow direction, wherein estimating the combined principal flow direction includes calculating a ratio between the first magnitude and the second magnitude for at least one cell of the plurality of cells, and assigning a weight to the at least one cell based on the ratio; and adjusting, by a processor, the orientation of the plurality of cells based on the combined principal flow direction.