Methods for monitoring gel fluid composites

Abstract

According to embodiments disclosed herein, a method of monitoring a gel fluid composite may include directing the gel fluid composite into a wellbore extending into a subsurface where the wellbore has one or more downhole fractures so that the gel fluid composite enters the one or more downhole fractures, transforming the gel fluid composite from an aqueous phase to a gel phase, irradiating light onto the gel fluid composite so that the fluorescent compounds emit one or more photons, and detecting the one or more photons using a detection device. The gel fluid composite may include a nanosilica gel that includes silica nanoparticles and an activator, wherein the silica nanoparticles have a maximum cross-sectional dimension of from 3 nm to 100 nm, and one or more fluorescent compounds, wherein the one or more fluorescent compounds are dispersed in the nanosilica gel, bonded to the silica nanoparticles, or both.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.