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Numerical simulation of proppant transport and tip screen-out in hydraulic fracturing with the extended finite element method

Hosseini, N ; Sharif University of Technology | 2020

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  1. Type of Document: Article
  2. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmms.2020.104247
  3. Publisher: Elsevier Ltd , 2020
  4. Abstract:
  5. In this paper, a numerical model is developed based on the X-FEM technique to simulate the proppant transport and tip screen-out in hydraulic fracturing. The governing equations are based on the momentum balance and mass conservation of the fluid. The hydro-mechanical coupling between the fracture and surrounding porous medium is fulfilled through the weak form of the governing equations. The fluid inflow within the fracture is modeled using the one-dimensional mass conservation of the injected slurry and proppant along the fracture, in which the viscosity of the slurry is dependent on the proppant concentration. The transition from the Poiseuille to Darcy flow regime is incorporated into the computational model as the proppant concentration reaches its maximum pack value. In order to represent the fracture, the extended finite element method (X-FEM) is employed by applying the appropriate enrichment functions. The fracture imposes a discontinuity in the rock displacement, as well as, the gradient of the fluid pressure in normal direction to the fracture. Finally, several numerical examples of typical hydraulic fracturing problems are simulated to investigate the behavior of the fracture propagation in the case of proppant transport and tip screen-out formation. The influence of various parameters of the proppant, such as the injection concentration and proppant size, as well as the porous medium, such as the permeability, is investigated. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd
  6. Keywords:
  7. Extended–FEM ; Hydraulic fracturing ; Proppant transport ; Tip screen-out ; Crack propagation ; Flow of fluids ; Fracture ; Numerical methods ; Numerical models ; One dimensional ; Porous materials ; Proppants ; Computational model ; Enrichment functions ; Extended finite element method ; Fracture propagation ; Hydromechanical coupling ; Proppant concentrations ; Proppant transports ; Tip screen outs ; Finite element method ; Computer simulation ; Darcy law ; Fluid flow ; Numerical model ; Permeability ; Porosity
  8. Source: International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences ; Volume 128 , 2020
  9. URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1365160919304873