Evaluating the stability and volumetric flowback rate of proppant packs in hydraulic fractures using the lattice Boltzmann-discrete element coupling method  

作　　者：Duo Wang Sanbai Li Rui Wang Binhui Li Zhejun Pan 

机构地区：[1]National Key Laboratory of Continental Shale Oil,Northeast Petroleum University,Daqing,163318,China [2]Institute of Unconventional Oil&Gas,Northeast Petroleum University,Daqing,163318,China [3]School of Environmental Science and Engineering,Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen,518055,China [4]National Center for Applied Mathematics Shenzhen(NCAMS),Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen,518055,China [5]National Key Laboratory of Continental Shale Oil,Daqing Oilfield of CNPC,Daqing,163002,China [6]Daqing Oilfield Exploration and Development Research Institute,Daqing,Heilongjiang,163712,China

出　　处：《Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering》2024年第6期2052-2063,共12页岩石力学与岩土工程学报（英文版）

基　　金：Funding support from Heilongjiang"Open Competition"project(Grant No.DQYT2022-JS-758)is greatly acknowledged;Financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.52304025 and 52174025)is acknowledged;supports from Northeast Petroleum University and Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation;support from the Heilongjiang Touyan Innovation Team Program.

摘　　要：The stability and mobility of proppant packs in hydraulic fractures during hydrocarbon production are numerically investigated by the lattice Boltzmann-discrete element coupling method(LB-DEM).This study starts with a preliminary proppant settling test,from which a solid volume fraction of 0.575 is calibrated for the proppant pack in the fracture.In the established workflow to investigate proppant flowback,a displacement is applied to the fracture surfaces to compact the generated proppant pack as well as further mimicking proppant embedment under closure stress.When a pressure gradient is applied to drive the fluid-particle flow,a critical aperture-to-diameter ratio of 4 is observed,above which the proppant pack would collapse.The results also show that the volumetric proppant flowback rate increases quadratically with the fracture aperture,while a linear variation between the particle flux and the pressure gradient is exhibited for a fixed fracture aperture.The research outcome contributes towards an improved understanding of proppant flowback in hydraulic fractures,which also supports an optimised proppant size selection for hydraulic fracturing operations.

关 键 词：Numerical simulation Hydraulic fracturing Proppant flowback Closure stress Particulate flow 

分 类 号：TU457[建筑科学—岩土工程] TP18[建筑科学—土工工程]