Erosion of sand screens by solid particles: a review of experimental investigations

Abstract

In oil and gas industry, sand can be carried with oil and gas, when producing from unconsolidated sandstone reservoirs. The existence of sand particles with fluids flow can lead to severe damages to production system’s components. Therefore, sand control techniques are needed to prevent potential damages. Standalone sand screens (SAS) are widely used because they can provide reliable sand control with low cost and low complexity. However, SAS application can become disadvantageous because of mechanical erosion due to sand particle impingement. The experimental investigation of sand screens erosion is challenging, as the measurements are to be carried out for a representative SAS material and geometry at laboratory-scale simulated conditions. The simulated conditions should mimic the real flow conditions, which involve many interrelated parameters. Some of these parameters are related to the entrained sand particles (i.e., particle shape, size and, concentration) while other parameters are related to the flow characteristics (i.e., flow velocity and fluid properties). In this review, the key factors influencing sand screens erosion are described, and erosion mechanisms are highlighted. In addition, experimental results showing the effects of key parameters on SAS erosion are discussed and evaluated. Also, challenges associated with previous studies, along with a proposed outlook to overcome those challenges, are presented. It has been found that the limitations of the previous studies are related to test setup and flow direction, particle–particle interaction, and particle–fluid interaction considerations. This review highlighted noticeable research gaps in sand screens erosion measurements that can be considered in future.

Metallurgical, erosion, and sensitization performance of TiAlN monolayer and TiAlN/TiN multilayer ceramic coatings on AISI 304 boiler steel

“…Different particle flow rates and angles were used. As reported in previous works, 12,13 different impingement angles were used to check the nature of material whether it is brittle or ductile, brittle failure occurs at 90°, whereas ductile failure occurs at 30°. The particle flow rate is just an attempt to check what will be the results as we change the flow rate from 2 g/min to 3 g/min.…”

Investigating the Impact of Sieve Analysis on the Choice of Gravel Pack Design for Wells in Unconsolidated Sandstone Formations in the Niger Delta

“…Failure to implement sand management techniques can cause problems such as wellbore sanding, erosion, sand fouling, and sand accumulation which have the overall effect of causing formation damage, wellbore instability, casing collapse, impairment or failure of downhole and surface equipment, lost production time due to well shut-in, workover expenses, and environmental issues [4]. The main effect of sand production is damage to surface and sub-surface production equipment which could lead to material wear or mechanical erosion of the equipment [6]. Niger delta formations are unconsolidated as well and prone to sand production, and the oil and gas companies in the area also face these problems and effects associated with it.…”

“…Possible sand control methods include restricting production rate, increasing flow area, selective perforating, in-situ sand consolidation techniques, resin-coated gravel pack, and mechanical methods which involves the use of slotted liners, standalone screens, open hole and cased hole gravel pack, or frac-packs completions to prevent sand production [3]. Mechanical sand control methods are the most widely used due to their simplicity and low cost [6] which is the focus of this study.…”

“…According to Ahad et al [4], the most suitable mechanical sand control methods are standalone screens and gravel packs on the basis of information from literature. Research has however shown that standalone screens which is the simplest scenario for applying sand control methods can be used to effectively minimize sand production since it can prevent sand of a specified size from flowing into the wellbore [6]. Screens have different geometries and selection of a suitable screen depends on the particle size distribution of grains in the formation.…”

Optimization of calcium carbonate precipitation during alpha-amylase enzyme-induced calcite precipitation (EICP)

“…In comparison to chemical methods, mechanical techniques are typically more expensive and time-consuming ( ben Mahmud et al, 2020 ). They also face other issues like a decline in productivity index, complicated installation equipment, installation-related damage, workover difficulties, zonal isolation issues, collapsed screens, and equipment erosion and plugging ( Arukhe et al, 2005 ; Abduljabbar et al, 2022 ). Additionally, they are useless at containing tiny sand particles.…”