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Proppant transport in slickwater and linear gels in complex slot systems: investigating proppant particle density effects on transport
Tsuber, Leonid
Tsuber, Leonid
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2020
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Abstract
Proppant transport has become a significant concern in hydraulic fracturing treatments as slickwater fluid systems have become the norm in the industry. In traditional designs, a cross-linked, highly viscous fluid was more than enough to suspend proppant until it was placed into the fracture. This is not the case in a slickwater fluid system, and proppant transport in these thin, low viscosity fluid systems is not entirely understood to the extent that it is in viscous fluids. This research provides understanding into how the specific gravity, or density, of a proppant plays into how it is transported in complex fracture networks using a thin fluid. Additionally, how easily the proppant is able to enter secondary and tertiary fractures in the network is demonstrated. A lab-scale fracture network setup is used in this work with similar tests conducted using proppants of varying densities. Predictably, lower density proppants are generally transported better throughout the fracture network, but the size of the particles inside the secondary and tertiary fractures tend to be on the finer spectrum of the proppant grade as these smaller particles are transported further into the fractures. All proppants examined in this work, except one, required a fully developed turbulent flow regime to adequately transport proppant in the fluid.
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