Laboratory Testing and Numeric Simulation on Laws of Proppant Transport in Complex Fracture Systems

Li, Nianyin; Li, Jun; Zhao, Liqiang; Luo, Zhifeng; Liu, Pingli; Guo, Yujie

doi:10.2118/181822-ms

Cited by 20 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…where V ′ refers to the volume of proppant (m 3 ); ε s denotes the volume fraction of proppant (dless); β is calculated with the Gidaspow drag model (kg/ðm 3 sÞ) [5,24], as shown in Equation ( 9); and the drag coefficient C D is considered by Equation (10).…”

Section: Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sahai et al [9] experimentally studied the proppant distribution in fracture networks. Li et al [10] researched the laws of proppant distribution in complex fracture networks through many experiments and the Eulerian-Eulerian simulation method. They proposed that using a large injection rate, low particle diameter, and sand ratio can improve the effective proppant placement in fracture networks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantitative Study on Bed Load Proppant Transport during Slickwater Hydraulic Fracturing

Liu

Zhang

et al. 2021

Lithosphere

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Bed load proppant transport is a significant phenomenon during slickwater hydraulic fracturing. However, the mechanism of bed load proppant transport is still unclear. In the present study, the proppant transport process during slickwater hydraulic fracturing was simulated with a coupled computational fluid dynamics- (CFD-) discrete element method (DEM) model, and the mechanism of the bed load proppant transport was analyzed. A model for calculating the mass flux of the bed load layer was proposed and verified with experimental results from the literature. The results show that bed load migration is an essential mechanism of proppant transport. When the shear force of fluid acting on the surface of the sand bank reaches the critical Shields number, the proppant in the upper layer of the sand bank begins to migrate in the form of bed load. The movement of the bed load layer increases the time for the sand bank to reach the equilibrium height. In addition, the mass flux of the bed load layer significantly affects the equilibrium height of the sand bank. The mass flux of the bed load layer decreases, and the equilibrium height increases as the proppant density, proppant diameter, or rolling friction coefficient and static friction coefficient of the proppant increase, but the mass flux of the bed load layer increases, and the equilibrium height decreases as the fluid viscosity increases.

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Section: Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative Study on Bed Load Proppant Transport during Slickwater Hydraulic Fracturing

Liu

Zhang

et al. 2021

Lithosphere

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“…There are many factors that cause shale reservoir fracturing fracture deformation, and many scholars at home and abroad (Boyer et al, 2014;Li et al, 2016;Liu et al, 2019;Ao et al, 2020) have carried out related research. In 2009, H. Abass et al (2009) simulated the effect of small particle size proppant on fracture conductivity and optimized the number of fractures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Study on Fracturing Fracture Deformation Mechanism of Shale Reservoir

Xiang

Ding

et al. 2022

Front. Energy Res.

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After large-scale sand fracturing of horizontal wells in shale gas reservoir, fracturing fractures will deform in the production process. However, fracture deformation will lead to the decrease in fracture conductivity and then cause the decrease of gas well productivity. Therefore, in order to evaluate the fracturing fracture deformation mechanism of shale reservoirs, the shale proppant-supported fracture deformation evaluation experiments were carried out under different proppant types, particle sizes, sanding concentrations, and closure pressure conditions, respectively, and the variation curves of fracture width was calculated by a stereomicroscope under different experimental conditions. Then based on the experimental results, the fracture sensitivity factors and fracture deformation mechanism were analyzed, and the deformation mechanisms of fracturing fractures affected by proppant embedding and crushing were studied emphatically. The analysis results of fracture sensitivity factors indicate that the larger the particle size and hardness of proppant, the lower the sand concentration, proppant embedded on the shale rock surface. Moreover, the deeper the proppant is embedded, the faster the fracture conductivity decreases. In addition, the greater the closure pressure, the more serious is the proppant embedment, and the faster the fracture width decreases. The analysis results of fracture deformation mechanism show that, on the on hand, under variable closure pressure, the proppant with larger hardness and larger particle size is used for fracturing, and the proppant embedded in the fracture surface is the main cause of fracture deformation. However, if only the sand concentration of the proppant in the fracture is changed, the fracture deformation is jointly dominated by the embedding and crushing of the proppant. On the other hand, under constant closure pressure, the main mechanism of fracture deformation is that the proppant is embedded into the fracture surface when the closure pressure is low, but if the closure pressure is high, the main mechanism of fracture deformation is the crushing and compaction of proppant.

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“…The pick-up, migration, deposition, and clogging of fine particles in porous media are frequently encountered phenomena in different engineering fields [ 1 ]. These applications include the injection of zero valence iron (ZVI) particles for environmental remediation [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ], grouting [ 5 ], the piping failure of earthen dams [ 6 ], clogging and particle loss at the interface of the capillary break layer (coarse-grained layer) and moisture-retaining layer (fine-grained particles) in a cover system for blocking the ingress of oxygen and meteoric water into waste landfill [ 7 ], the clogging of sandstone in methane hydrate exploration [ 8 ], the movement of clay particles in rock and soil reducing the efficiency of oil recovery [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ], the propping of fractures in hydraulic fracking [ 14 , 15 ], and the geological sequestration of CO 2 [ 16 , 17 ]. ZVI particle injection has been proposed to remove heavy metals, organochlorine, and other contaminants in groundwater and soils [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Migration and Deposition Behaviors of Montmorillonite and Kaolinite Particles in a Two-Dimensional Micromodel

et al. 2022

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The pick-up, migration, deposition, and clogging behaviors of fine particles are ubiquitous in many engineering applications, including contaminant remediation. Deposition and clogging are detrimental to the efficiency of environmental remediation, and their mechanisms are yet to be elucidated. Two-dimensional microfluidic models were developed to simulate the pore structure of porous media with unified particle sizes in this study. Kaolin and bentonite suspensions were introduced to microfluidic chips to observe their particle deposition and clogging behaviors. Interactions between interparticle forces and particle velocity profiles were investigated via computational fluid dynamics and discrete element method simulations. The results showed that (1) only the velocity vector toward the micropillars and drag forces in the reverse direction were prone to deposition; (2) due to the negligible weight of particles, the Stokes number implied that inertia was not the controlling factor causing deposition; and (3) the salinity of the carrying fluid increased the bentonite deposition because of the shrinkage of the diffused electrical double layer and an increase in aggregation force, whereas it had little effect on kaolin deposition.

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Laboratory Testing and Numeric Simulation on Laws of Proppant Transport in Complex Fracture Systems

Cited by 20 publications

References 6 publications

Quantitative Study on Bed Load Proppant Transport during Slickwater Hydraulic Fracturing

Quantitative Study on Bed Load Proppant Transport during Slickwater Hydraulic Fracturing

Experimental Study on Fracturing Fracture Deformation Mechanism of Shale Reservoir

The Migration and Deposition Behaviors of Montmorillonite and Kaolinite Particles in a Two-Dimensional Micromodel

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