• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • Theses & Dissertations
    • 2018 - Mines Theses & Dissertations
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • Theses & Dissertations
    • 2018 - Mines Theses & Dissertations
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of Mines RepositoryCommunitiesPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    Login

    Mines Links

    Arthur Lakes LibraryColorado School of Mines

    Statistics

    Display Statistics

    Simulation of proppant transport in slickwater with DNS-derived drag correlations

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    Li_mines_0052E_11648.pdf
    Size:
    2.908Mb
    Format:
    PDF
    Download
    Author
    Li, Xiaoqi
    Advisor
    Yin, Xiaolong
    Date issued
    2018
    Keywords
    drag correlation
    proppant transport
    direct numerical simulation
    sedimentation
    Lattice Boltzmann
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    URI
    https://hdl.handle.net/11124/172827
    Abstract
    This dissertation is developed to address a need of multiphase flow models for proppant transport: problem-relevant drag correlations. This dissertation consists of small-scale simulations by direct numerical simulations (DNS) and larger, fracture-scale simulations by MFIX (Multiphase Flow with Interaction eXchange). DNS was employed to study the influences of several dimensionless numbers, namely the Reynolds number of cross flow, 〖Re〗_x, the Archimedes number, Ar, consisting of gravity, density difference, slickwater viscosity, and proppant size, the density of proppants relative to that of the fracturing fluid, ρ_p⁄ρ_f , the ratio of fracture width over proppant dimension, W⁄d_p , and proppant concentration, ϕ_s. Another independent parameter was firstly evaluated in this study is the inclination angle of fracture, θ. DNS results show that W⁄d_p plays a significant role in proppant transport. Narrower fractures impede proppant settling more. Cross flow and proppant density over that of fluid (provided that Ar is held as a constant) were found to have negligible effects on the settling velocity. Ar, ϕ_s, and inclination were found to have significant influences on settling. When factures were placed with a large fracture width, the effect of proppant concentration on settling was found to be reversed from that in vertical fractures. The lower the proppant concentration, the slower proppants settle. The aim of DNS was not only to understand the influence of the dimensionless numbers, but also to obtain data for developing drag correlations. Drag correlations were developed from DNS data using quadratic polynomials and interpolations. These drag correlations were incorporated into MFIX to close the momentum equations of fluid and solid phases. MFIX simulation results include the rate of proppant bank formation and the equilibrium height and transition length of the end proppant distribution. First, DNS-derived drag correlation predicted slower proppant bank formation compared to other default drag laws, because proppant settling speed is slower in narrow fractures, a factor that to date has not been considered in proppant transport simulations. Second, the influences of key parameters, proppant size, proppant density, proppant concentration, fluid viscosity, and inclination, on proppant bank formation and distribution, were found to be mostly consistent with their roles in affecting the settling velocity. Higher settling velocity always leads to more rapid formation of proppant banks and shorter transition length. Equilibrium height of proppant bank generally increases with increasing proppant concentration and decreases with increasing fluid viscosity.
    Rights
    Copyright of the original work is retained by the author.
    Collections
    2018 - Mines Theses & Dissertations

    entitlement

     
    DSpace software (copyright © 2002 - 2023)  DuraSpace
    Quick Guide | Contact Us
    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.