Static proppant-settling characteristics of non-Newtonian fracturing fluids in a large-scale test model

Journal Article · Thu Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1991 · SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) Production Engineering; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2118/19735-PA· OSTI ID:5874332

McMechan, D E; Shah, S N ^[1]

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1. Halliburton Services (US)

Large-scale testing of the settling behavior of propants in fracturing fluids was conducted with a slot configuration to model realistically the conditions observed in a hydraulic fracture. The test apparatus consists of a 1/2{times}8-in. (1.3{times}20.3-cm) rectangular slot 141/2 ft (4.4m) high, faced with Plexiglas and equipped with pressure taps at 1-ft (1.3m) intervals. This configuration allows both qualitive visual observations and quantitative density measurements for calculation of proppant concentrations and settling velocities. In this paper, the authors examine uncrosslinked hydroxypropyl guar (HPG) and hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) fluids, as well as crosslinked guar, HPG, and carboxymethyl HPG (CMHPG) systems. Sand loadings of 2 to 15 lbm/gal (240 to 1797 kg/m{sup 3}) (3 to 40 vol% of solids) were tested. Experimental results were compared with the predictions of existing particle-settling models for a 40-lbm/1,000-gal (4.8-kg/m{sub 3}) HPG fluid system.

• OSTI ID: 5874332
• Journal Information: SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) Production Engineering; (United States), Journal Name: SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) Production Engineering; (United States) Vol. 6:3; ISSN SPENE; ISSN 0885-9221
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
DATA
ENHANCED RECOVERY
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FLOW MODELS
FLOW VISUALIZATION
FLUIDS
FRACTURING
FRACTURING FLUIDS
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
INFORMATION
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NUMERICAL DATA
OIL WELLS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
POLYMERS
PROPPING AGENTS
RECOVERY
RESERVOIR ROCK
STIMULATION
TESTING
WELL STIMULATION
WELLS