Numerical simulation of proppant transport in tortuous fractures
After hydraulic fracturing,numerous tortuous fractures can be generated and formed in the reservoir,and the mi-gration and distribution behavior of proppants in these tortuous fractures is not clear.In this study,in coupling with a simula-tion software of granular materials,a dense particle flow model was proposed to simulate the effects of tortuosity angle,prop-pant size,injection rate,carrying fluid density and proppant density on the migration of proppants and sand plugging in tortu-ous fractures.The results show that most proppants can accumulate at the location of first turning angle of the fracture.The variation in tortuosity angle can significantly affect the migration of proppants and the occurrence of sand plugging,with a higher tortuosity angle leading to more severe sand plugging.Proppants with higher density and smaller particle size tend to form dense proppant accumulation during sand plugging,exacerbating the severity of sand plugging.Higher injection rates can result in longer migration distances of proppants in the fracture,but increasing injection velocity and carrying fluid densi-ty can exacerbate the severity of sand plugging.
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