Experimental investigation of fracture width limitations of granular lost circulation treatments

Alsaba, Mortadha; Nygaard, Runar; Saasen, Arild; Nes, Olav Magnar

doi:10.1007/s13202-015-0225-3

Cited by 30 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Natural particles are rarely spherical, but exhibit eccentricity, angularity and roughness 1,16,17 . Shape emerges as a critical parameter in lost circulation treatment during oil drilling 5,18,19 , sand control methods 20,21 and in the development of novel construction materials 22,23 . Previous research has investigated the role of particle shape on packing density and mechanical properties of granular media 24,25 .…”

Section: Openmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of particle shape on discharge and clogging

Hafez

Liu

Finkbeiner

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Granular flow is common across different fields from energy resource recovery and mineral processing to grain transport and traffic flow. Migrating particles may jam and form arches that span constrictions and hinder particle flow. Most studies have investigated the migration and clogging of spherical particles, however, natural particles are rarely spherical, but exhibit eccentricity, angularity and roughness. New experiments explore the discharge of cubes, 2D crosses, 3D crosses and spheres under dry conditions and during particle-laden fluid flow. Variables include orifice-to-particle size ratio and solidity. Cubes and 3D crosses are the most prone to clogging because of their ability to interlock or the development of face-to-face contacts that can resist torque and enhance bridging. Spheres arriving to the orifice must be correctly positioned to create stable bridges, while flat 2D crosses orient their longest axes in the direction of flowlines across the orifice and favor flow. Intermittent clogging causes kinetic retardation in particle-laden flow even in the absence of inertial effects; the gradual increase in the local particle solidity above the constriction enhances particle interactions and the probability of clogging. The discharge volume before clogging is a Poisson process for small orifice-to-particle size ratio; however, the clogging probability becomes history-dependent for non-spherical particles at large orifice-to-particle size ratio and high solidities, i.e., when particle–particle interactions and interlocking gain significance.

show abstract

Section: Openmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of particle shape on discharge and clogging

Hafez

Liu

Finkbeiner

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Table 3 presents the PSD regarding D10, D25, D50, D75, and D90 of the LCM formulation after blending the entire ingredient as indicated in Table 2 and conducting the sieve PSD analysis. A previous study (Alsaba et al 2016) proposed that the PSD of the LCM blend affects the formulation sealing ability significantly and is one of the reasons why one LCM formulation gives a different sealing pressure compared to the others. However, the comparison between each formulation is not the objective of this experiment.…”

Section: Lcm Formulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Focusing on fracture sealing in the impermeable rock matrix, Alsaba et al (2014cAlsaba et al ( , 2016 presented the effects of LCM type, shape, concentration, particle size distribution (PSD), and temperature on the seal integrity with respect to differential pressure at different fracture widths. It was found that LCM can effectively seal the fractures if the D90 value is equal to or slightly larger than the anticipated fracture width; however, the size of conventional LCM particles is limited by the risk of plugging the downhole tools.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of testing conditions on the performance of lost circulation materials: understandable sealing mechanism

Jeennakorn

Alsaba

Nygaard

et al. 2018

J Petrol Explor Prod Technol

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Lost circulation materials (LCMs) are added to drilling fluids to mitigate lost circulation (LOC) problems. Designing the fluid requires a good understanding of sealing mechanisms and all the parameters affecting the sealing performance. Laboratory testing apparatus is the key concept for LCM evaluation ensuring successful treatment. The high-pressure test cell containing fracture discs is an effective tool among the broadly designed apparatus. A variety of formulations has been developed from the LCM physical properties. Recently, the testing conditions such as the slot wall angles and the fracture disc thickness were found to have significant effects on the evaluation results. However, the effect of the base fluids, fluid density, types of weighting materials and aging conditions has not been addressed. In this study, two different base fluids, water-based fluids and oil-based fluids, were used to compare the base-fluid effect. Drilling fluid density was raised up using barite and/or hematite to investigate the effect of the weight agents. Barite was sieved to study the effect of fine particles on the sealing. Finally, the dynamic aging tests were conducted in LCM-treated WBF using two temperature levels (200 °F and 400 °F) and two aging periods (24 and 72 h). The results showed that the base fluids affected the sealing performance depending on the complex interaction between the solid particles and the fluids. Adding weighting agents tended to improve the seal integrity. Adding proper size of fine particles improved the LCM sealing performance. Aging conditions affected LCM properties depending on the thermal stability of the materials.

show abstract

“…Whitfill 2008 [11] proposed a method for selecting a particle size distribution (PSD) based on the expected fracture width, where the D50 value should be equal to the fracture width to ensure the formation of an effective seal or plug. In 2015, Alsaba et al [12] studied lost circulation materials of different shapes and their ability to seal fractures up to 2000 µm. They concluded that PSD had a significant effect on the seal integrities, and in particular the D90 value.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Fundamental Principles and Standard Evaluation for Fluid Loss and Possible Extensions of Test Methodology to Assess Consequences for Formation Damage

Klungtvedt

Saasen

Vasshus³

et al. 2021

Energies

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Industry testing procedures such as ANSI/API 13B-1 [1] describe a method for measuring fluid loss and studying filter-cake formation against a medium of either a filter paper or a porous disc, without giving information about potential formation damage. Considering the thickness of the discs, it may also be possible to extend the method to gain an insight into aspects of formation damage. A new experimental set-up and methodology was created to evaluate changes to the porous discs after HTHP testing to generate insight into signs of formation damage, such as changes in disc mass and permeability. Such measurements were enabled by placing the disc in a cell, which allowed for reverse flow of fluid to lift off the filter-cake. Experiments were conducted with different drilling fluid compositions to evaluate the use of the new methodology. The first test series showed consistent changes in disc mass as a function of the additives applied into the fluid. The data yield insights into how the discs are sealed and to which degree solids, fibers or polymers are entering the discs. A second series of tests were set up to extend the procedure to also measure changes in the disc’s permeability to air and water. The results showed that there was a positive correlation between changes in disc mass and changes in permeability. The conclusions are that the methodology may enable identifying signs of formation damage and that further studies should be conducted to optimize the method.

show abstract

Experimental investigation of fracture width limitations of granular lost circulation treatments

Cited by 30 publications

References 29 publications

The effect of particle shape on discharge and clogging

The effect of particle shape on discharge and clogging

The effect of testing conditions on the performance of lost circulation materials: understandable sealing mechanism

The Fundamental Principles and Standard Evaluation for Fluid Loss and Possible Extensions of Test Methodology to Assess Consequences for Formation Damage

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About