Computer simulations of proppant transport in a hydraulic fracture
The equations of motion of a slurry in a narrow slot, such as a hydraulic fracture, are presented and solved numerically to obtain an estimate of the amount of gravity-driven vertical motion of proppant that can occur within a fracture during placement. Two types of gravity-driven motion are studied: settling of heavy proppant particles; and convective proppant transport, which refers to the motion driven by large-scale density differences between regions of different proppant concentration. Computer simulations are performed using realistic parameter values. In particular, the authors compare the vertical motion of proppant in a slurry in which the proppant particles are uniformly distributed across the fracture width (referred to as homogeneous flow) with that in a slurry in which some unspecified, but rapid, process has caused all the proppant to migrate across the fracture width into a close-packed sheet at the fracture center (referred to as sheet flow).
- OSTI ID:
- 403062
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9603154--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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