US 11,568,111 B2Granted

Numerical simulation method for proppant transport considering wall-retardation effect

AssigneeSouthwest Petroleum University

InventorsHangyu Zhou, Jianchun Guo, Tao Zhang, Kun Sun, Mingyong Zeng

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Abstract

The present invention discloses a numerical simulation method for proppant transport considering wall-retardation effect, comprising the followings: establish a physical model of laboratory experiment on proppant transport with a large flat-panel device; establish a drag coefficient model considering wall-retardation effect according to the numerical simulation experiment; establish a computational geometric model; set boundary conditions and physical parameters of the geometric model according to the two-fluid simulation method for solid proppant quasi-fluidization; verify the grid independence of the computational geometric model to obtain the transport characteristics and placement pattern of the proppant in fractures. The present invention employs a numerical simulation method to study the migration and distribution patterns of proppant under the retardation effect of narrow walls during the hydraulic fracturing. The method is reliable in principle and can accurately predict proppant transport in subsurface hydraulic fractures with consideration of the wall-retardation effect on proppant transport.

Claims4

Dependent claims

A numerical simulation method for proppant transport considering wall-retardation effect, comprising the following steps:

Step 1:
Establish a physical model of a laboratory experiment on proppant transport with a large flat-panel device, of which the size is 4 m by 0.3 m by 0.01 m (length×height×width);
Step 2:
Calculate a drag force of particles under wall-retardation effect and introduce dimensionless parameter H/d, that is, the ratio of the particle-to-wall distance to the particle size, and obtain a drag coefficient model considering wall-retardation effect;
Step 3:
Establish a computational geometric model having a grid, according to parameters of the drag coefficient model and the physical model of the laboratory experiment on proppant transport with a large flat-panel device;
Step 4:
Set boundary conditions and physical parameters of the computational geometric model according to two-fluid simulation method for solid proppant quasi-fluidization;
Step 5:
Verify if the computational geometric model is independent of the grid to eliminate an influence of any grid subdivision on calculation results of Step 2, and finally, simulate a transport process of proppant in a fracture with the computational geometric model to obtain a transport characteristics and placement pattern of the proppant in fractures;
wherein the drag coefficient model considering wall-retardation effect in Step 1 is as follows:
When
⁢
⁢
H
/
d
≥
2
,
C
D
=
1.671
[
24
α
1
⁢
Re
s
[
1
+
0.15
(
α
1
⁢
Re
s
)
0.687
]
+
0.42
1
+
4.25
×
10
4
⁢
(
α
1
⁢
Re
s
)
-
1.16
]
⁢
(
H
/
d
)
-
0.565
When
⁢
⁢
H
/
d
<
2
,
C
D
=
24
α
1
⁢
Re
s
[
1
+
0.15
(
α
1
⁢
Re
s
)
0.687
]
+
0.42
1
+
4.25
×
10
4
⁢
(
α
1
⁢
Re
s
)
-
1.16
;
Where, CD is the drag coefficient;
αI is the liquid volume fraction;
Res is the particle Reynolds number;
H is the particle-to-boundary distance;
d is the particle size.

123 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/825,264Filed 26 May 2022
Priority: CN 202110638210.38 Jun 2021
Published: US 2022/0391567 A18 Dec 2022
Granted: 31 Jan 2023
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

G06F 30/28
Design optimisation, verification or simulation: using fluid dynamics, e.g. using Navier-Stokes equations or computational fluid dynamics [CFD]
E21B 43/267
By forming crevices or fractures: reinforcing fractures by propping
G06F 30/25
Design optimisation, verification or simulation: using particle-based methods
E21B 2200/20
Special features related to earth drilling for obtaining oil, gas or water: computer models or simulations, e.g. for reservoirs under production,…