Experimental Study of Fracture Permeability for Stimulated Reservoir Volume (SRV) in Shale Formation

“Stimulated reservoir volume”(SRV) makes shale gas production economic through new completion techniques including horizontal wells and multiple hydraulic fractures. However, the mechanism behind these treatments that provide sufficient permeability is not well understood. The effects of different stimulation treatments need to be further explored. To understand the effects of fracture surface roughness, fracture registration, confining pressure, proppant type and distribution mode, fiber and acidizing treatment on fracture permeability, a series of laboratory permeability experiments were performed on fractured cores from shale formation of Shengli Oilfield. The results of this study demonstrate that sedimentary bedding of shale has important influence on matrix permeability. At 35 MPa confining pressure, the permeability of aligned fracture (unpropped and without fracture offset) can increase about 1–3 orders of magnitude over shale matrix. The permeability of displaced fracture can increase about 1–2 orders of magnitude over the aligned fracture. The permeability of fracture propped with proppant can increase about 2–4 orders of magnitude over unpropped fracture. The greater the fracture surface roughness, the higher the permeability. The increasing degree of displaced fracture permeability is not proportional to the amount of fracture offset. In the microfracture of shale, the effect of ceramic proppant is still better than that of quartz sand, and the permeability of a centralized fairway distribution of proppant is about 1.2 times better than an even monolayer distribution of proppant. Under high pressure, proppant is easy to cause the break of fracture faces of brittle shale, and increase local fracture permeability to some extent. However, quartz sand are more easily broken to embed and block microcracks just made, which results in fracture permeability lower than that of ceramic proppant. At the same time, the argillation phenomenon is easy to happen on propped fracture faces of shale, which is one of the main factors that leads to a substantial decline in fracture permeability. The permeability of displaced fracture propped with proppant is greater than that of aligned fracture propped with proppant. Because of added fiber presence, the permeability of microfractures presented in SRV is greatly reduced. The pressure dependence of aligned fractures in shale obeys Walsh’s theory, but the pressure dependence of propped and displaced fractures in shale obeys Walsh’s law over a limited range of pressures. Deviations reflect proppant seating, proppant embedding and breaking. For shale formation with the high carbonate content, acidizing treatment should be carefully implemented. Experimental results may provide more valuable information for effective design of hydraulic fracturing in shale reservoir.     

单裂缝中携砂液流动规律研究

裂缝中携砂液流动是一种固液两相流,携砂液的运移与支撑剂的铺置是水力压裂裂缝保持导流能力的关键.本文基于FLUENT流体计算软件,采用双流体模型,将颗粒看作拟流体,携砂液按照牛顿流体处理,分析了支撑剂体积分数α_s、阿基米德数Ar、颗粒雷诺数Re以及裂缝入口边界对流动规律的影响.研究结果表明:携砂液在裂缝中的流动过程中,发展成为支撑剂体积分数不同的四个区域,包括砂堤区、颗粒悬浮区、颗粒滚流区和无砂区;支撑剂的沉降程度随着支撑剂体积分数和阿基米德数的增加而增加,而随着雷诺数增加而降低;入口为网眼型时,进入裂缝后过流面积的增加导致流速突降,使得支撑剂更容易在入口处产生堆积,在同一入口流速下,较均匀入口的工况铺砂高度大.     

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基于射孔完井水平裂缝中支撑剂均匀充填，考虑充填层强度、油层和流体 物性以及裂缝的渗流条件，研究了地应力及渗流引起的附加应力联合作用的支撑剂充填层渗 流模型和力学模型，并进行现场应用. 研究表明，所建立的模型对压裂油井支撑剂回采出砂 状况分析具有较高的符合率，油井总体符合率、不出砂井符合率和出砂井符合率分 别为84.66\%, 84.18\%和88.10\%, 为大庆油田压裂油井防砂措施实施方案制定提 供了决策支持，有利于提高措施有效率.     

Experiment and simulation of slurry flow in irregular channels to understand proppant transport in complex fractures

Slurry flow and proppant placement in irregular fractures are crucial to evaluate hydraulic fracturing stimulation but need to be better understood. This study aims to investigate how irregular fracture affects proppant transport and distribution using laboratory experiments and micro-scale numerical models. The unresolved method of the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and the discrete element method (DEM) considers Saffman lift force, Magnus force, and virtual mass force to accurately capture the frequent interaction between proppant and slickwater. Experimental results validated the reliability of the optimized CFD-DEM model and calibrated primary parameters. The effects of crack height and width, bending angle, and distance between the crack and inlet on particle distribution were studied. The results indicated that the improved numerical method could rationally simulate proppant transport in fractures at a scale factor. The small crack height causes downward and upward flows, which wash proppant to the fracture rear and form isolated proppant dunes. A wider region in the fracture is beneficial to build up a large dune, and the high dune can hinder particle transport into the fracture rear. When the crack is close to the inlet, the primary fracture without proppants will close to hinder gas production. The smaller the bending angle, the smaller the proppant dune. A regression model can precisely predict the dune coverage ratio. The results fundamentally understand how complex fractures and natural cracks affect slurry flow and proppant distribution.     

Effects of Heterogeneous Fracture Aperture on Multiphase Production from Shale Reservoirs

Production simulation from fractured shale reservoirs is often performed by simplifying the hydraulic fractures as rectangular planes with homogeneous aperture. This study investigates the effects of heterogeneous fracture aperture and proppant distribution in realistic, non-rectangular fractures on the multi-phase production from shales. The heterogeneous hydraulic fractures are generated with the GEOS multiphysics simulator under realistic 3D stress field. These fractures are embedded into the TOUGH+ multi-phase flow simulator for production simulation. The results emphasize the importance of flow barriers within the hydraulic fractures, due both to low-aperture regions caused by the stress-shadow effect and the settling of proppant. The production rate is particularly sensitive to aperture heterogeneity if the flow barriers are close to the wellbore such that a great portion of fracture volume is isolated from the well. A stage-to-stage comparison reveals that production from different stages could vary significantly because the local stress field leads to different fracture area and aperture. The use of proppant prevents fracture closure, but if the propped regions are far from the well, they do not enhance production because flow barriers between these regions and the well act as bottlenecks. The present study highlights the importance of incorporating aperture heterogeneity into production simulation, provides insights on the relationship between flow barriers, proppant concentration, and well production, and proposes a practical method to mitigate numerical difficulties when modeling heterogeneous fractures.

     

Experimental Method to Simulate Coal Fines Migration and Coal Fines Aggregation Prevention in the Hydraulic Fracture

A simple and effective experimental method is proposed to simulate coal fines migration through the proppant pack; such migration inevitably occurs during the process of fracturing fluid flowback or dewatering and gas production in coalbed methane (CBM) reservoirs. The damage to conductivity caused by coal fines migration in the pack and the factors affecting such migration are analyzed. A dispersion agent of coal fines applicable to hydraulic fracturing in CBM is optimized, consequently solving the problem of coal fines aggregation and retention in the proppant pack. Discharging coal fines with water or water-based fracturing fluid from the proppant pack can be difficult because of the adsorption and hydrophobicity of coal fines. Thus, coal fines are likely to aggregate and be retained in the proppant pack, thereby resulting in pore throat plugging, which causes serious damage to fracture conductivity. Two percent coal fines can reduce propped fracture conductivity by 24.4 %. The mobility and retention of coal fines in the proppant pack are affected by proppant size, proppant type, flowback rate, and coal fines property. When flowback rate exceeds the critical value, coal fines can be discharged from the pack, consequently reducing damage to propped fracture conductivity. More importantly, the steady discharging of coal fines requires steady dewatering and gas production to avoid flow shock, which causes pressure disturbance to drive coal fines in a remote formation. The optimized dispersant FSJ-02 employed in this paper can effectively change the wettability and surface potential of coal fines to improve their suspension and dispersion in water-based fracturing fluid. The recovery rate of coal fines increased by 31.5 %, whereas conductivity increased by 13.3 %.     

PP/CF增强珊瑚砂水泥基复合材料冲击压缩力学性能研究

在人工海水制备珊瑚砂水泥基复合材料中混杂加入碳纤维和聚丙烯纤维,得到4种不同纤维掺量的碳-聚丙烯混杂纤维增强珊瑚砂水泥基复合材料。采用直径100 mm的分离式Hopkinson压杆,对材料进行5种应变率下的冲击压缩试验,采用LS-DYNA进行相应的冲击压缩数值模拟。结果表明:(1) 试验应变率临界值为200 s?1,当试验应变率大于200 s?1时,混杂碳纤维和聚丙烯纤维所形成的纤维网络对试块的增韧效果加强;(2) 碳-聚丙烯混杂纤维增强珊瑚砂水泥基复合材料峰值应力具有明显的应变率效应,且动态增强因子对应变率的敏感程度较高;(3) 使用珊瑚砂细骨料导致试块内微裂纹和微空洞等缺陷较多,在珊瑚砂水泥基复合材料内混杂掺加碳纤维和聚丙烯纤维后,试块冲击抗压强度的提升有限,但珊瑚砂水泥基复合材料的抗冲击韧性显著提升;(4) 通过试验数据和参数调试确定了HJC模型的参数,试块峰值应力的模拟结果与试验结果的误差在5.97 %以内。     

Simulation of proppant transport at intersection of hydraulic fracture and natural fracture of wellbores using CFD-DEM

Proppants transport is an advanced technique to improve the hydraulic fracture phenomenon, in order to promote the versatility of gas/oil reservoirs. A numerical simulation of proppants transport at both hydraulic fracture (HF) and natural fracture (NF) intersection is performed to provide a better understanding of key factors which cause, or contribute to proppants transport in HF–NF intersection. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in association with discrete element method (DEM) is used to model the complex interactions between proppant particles, host fluid medium and fractured walls. The effect of non-spherical geometry of particles is considered in this model, using the multi-sphere method. All interaction forces between fluid flow and particles are considered in the computational model. Moreover, the interactions of particle–particle and particle–wall are taken into account via Hertz–Mindlin model. The results of the CFD-DEM simulations are compared to the experimental data. It is found that the CFD-DEM simulation is capable of predicting proppant transport and deposition quality at intersections which are in agreement with experimental data. The results indicate that the HF–NF intersection type, fluid velocity and NF aperture affect the quality of blockage occurrence, presenting a new index, called the blockage coefficient which indicates the severity of the blockage.     

Experimental Study on the Pore Structure Fractals and Seepage Characteristics of a Coal Sample Around a Borehole in Coal Seam Water Infusion

In this study, a two-dimensional fully coupled computational model is developed for simulation of proppant settlement in hydro-fractures with the use of the extended finite element framework. The porous domain is governed by the well-known \((\mathbf{u}-p)\) formulation, which consists of the momentum balance equation of the bulk, in conjunction with the momentum balance and continuity equations of the pore fluid. The hydro-fracture inflow is modeled as a 1D flow on the basis of the Darcy law, in which fracture permeability is incorporated by means of the cubic law. Contact constraints are elaborated to eliminate the overlap of fracture edges and the leak-off flow. Proppant settlement is conducted on the basis of Stokes’ law for particle terminal velocity, in which the effects of fracture walls, concentration, viscosity and bridging are incorporated into the model. A fixed-point algorithm is introduced to achieve the optimum combination for the proppant injection. Using the extended finite element method, the strong discontinuity in the displacement field due to crack body, as well as the weak discontinuity in the pressure field due to leakage, is included in the model with the use of the Heaviside and modified level set enrichment functions, respectively. The robustness and versatility of the proposed numerical algorithm in determining the optimum proppant injection is examined through several numerical simulations.     

基于XFEM-MBEM的嵌入式离散裂缝模型流固耦合数值模拟方法

离散缝网的表征与模拟是目前国内外研究的热点. 在非常规油气开发过程中, 由于地应力场的存在会对裂缝的流动属性产生显著影响, 若将裂缝视为静态对象, 与矿场数据会出现极大偏差, 因此要基于动态裂缝做更深入的研究. 本文针对致密油藏应力场?渗流场耦合力学问题, 提出了一种高效的混合数值离散化方法, 其中采用扩展有限元法 (XFEM) 求解岩石的弹性形变, 采用了混合边界元法 (MBEM) 精确计算基岩与裂缝间的非稳态窜流, 这两种数值格式是完全耦合的, 并对整体计算格式的时间项进行了全隐式求解, 可准确表征致密油藏开采过程中的裂缝变形及流体流动机理. 此外, 本文采用了嵌入式离散裂缝前处理算法显式表征大尺度水力压裂缝, 并考虑了支撑剂的作用; 采用了双孔有效应力原理和双重介质隐式裂缝表征方法, 可捕捉基质与小尺度天然裂缝的动态信息; 由此, 本文所提出的混合模型综合表征了基质?天然裂缝?水力压裂缝共同组成的致密油藏复杂渗流环境, 并通过几个实例论证了模型的准确性, 研究表明: 对致密油藏压裂水平井进行产能评价时, 应力场所引起渗流参数的改变及裂缝开度降低的影响不可忽略. 本文研究可为非常规油气资源的开发提供理论指导.      

金属纤维增强PTFE基复合材料的摩擦学性能

研究了钢纤维、铜纤维及二者混杂增强聚四氟乙烯基复合材料的摩擦学性能，用扫描电子显微镜观察了复合材料的磨损表面形貌．结果表明：分别以这２种金属纤维增强都能大幅度降低聚四氟乙烯的磨损，钢纤维的增强效果比铜纤维的好，２种纤维混杂增强的效果比单一纤维增强的更好；增强纤维支承负荷、抑制磨损表面龟裂是其改善聚四氟乙烯抗磨性的主要机理．     

二氧化碳在砂岩透镜体中充注封存的盖层岩石抗断裂性能分析

把CO2这一主要的温室气体注入到地下深处具有适当封闭条件的地层中进行封存和隔离,已被公认为是有效减少CO2排放量的一种比较安全的技术途径。砂岩透镜体油气藏具有良好的圈闭构造和储层物性,油气濒临枯竭的砂岩透镜体是较理想的CO2地质封存箱。基于币形裂纹模型和水力致裂原理,将纵向厚度和横向展布长度均远小于盖层岩石尺度的水平产状砂岩透镜体简化为盖层岩石中的I型币形裂纹,从岩石断裂力学角度分析封存箱盖层岩石的抗断裂性能。采用叠加原理给出了盖层岩石币形裂纹尖端（砂岩透镜体尖灭部位）应力强度因子的计算公式,在此基础上提出了断裂力学判别准则（K=KIC）和临界有效压应力判别准则（P=PC）,从岩石断裂力学角度为砂岩透镜体封存箱盖层岩石抗断裂性能分析和评价提供了一种新的研究思路。     

Mechanical characterization of sisal reinforced cement mortar

This work aims at evaluating the mechanical behavior of sisal fiber reinforced cement mortar. The composite material was produced from a mixture of sand, cement, and water. Sisal fibers were added to the mixture in different lengths. Mechanical characterization of both the composite and the plain mortar was carried out using three point bend, compression, and impact tests. Specimens containing notches of different root radii were loaded in three point bending in an effort to determine the effect of the fibers on the fracture toughness of the material. The results obtained indicate that, while fiber reinforcement leads to a decrease in compressive strength, J-integral calculations at maximum load for the different notch root radii have indicated, particularly for the case of long fibers, a significant superiority of the reinforced material in comparison with the plain cement mortar, in consistence with the impact test data.     

水工混凝土小角度冲蚀磨损特性的研究

选用55kW的3GQ-2/70型高压清洗水射流装置作为水工混凝土的冲蚀磨损设备,考察了小角度条件下含沙高速水射流作用下混凝土材料的冲蚀磨损性能。结果表明：混凝土肥到严重的冲蚀磨损;在冲击角度较小时,混凝土材料的冲蚀磨损机制主要表现为硬质磨粒沿水平速度方向的切削作用,以及沿垂直方向的冲击作用导致的表面裂纹和脆性断裂;钢纤维对混凝土材料的小角度冲蚀破坏有明显的增强作用。     

复合材料层合板面内渐进损伤分析的CDM模型

基于连续介质损伤力学,提出了一个预测复合材料层合板面内渐进损伤分析的模型,它包括损伤表征、损伤判定和损伤演化3 部分. 模型能够区分纤维拉伸断裂、纤维压缩断裂、纤维间拉伸损伤和纤维间压缩损伤4 种损伤模式,定义了与4 个损伤模式对应的损伤状态变量,导出了材料主轴系下损伤前后材料本构之间的关系. 损伤起始采用Puck 准则判定,损伤演化由特征长度内应变能释放密度控制. 假定材料服从线性应变软化行为,建立了损伤状态变量关于断裂面上等效应变的渐进损伤演化法则. 模型涵盖了复合材料面内损伤起始、演化直至最终失效的全过程. 完成了含孔[45/0/-45/90]_2S 层合板在拉伸和压缩载荷下失效分析,结果表明该模型能合理进行层合板的强度预测和损伤失效分析.      

复合材料层合板面内渐进损伤分析的CDM模型简

基于连续介质损伤力学,提出了一个预测复合材料层合板面内渐进损伤分析的模型,它包括损伤表征、损伤判定和损伤演化3 部分. 模型能够区分纤维拉伸断裂、纤维压缩断裂、纤维间拉伸损伤和纤维间压缩损伤4 种损伤模式,定义了与4 个损伤模式对应的损伤状态变量,导出了材料主轴系下损伤前后材料本构之间的关系. 损伤起始采用Puck 准则判定,损伤演化由特征长度内应变能释放密度控制. 假定材料服从线性应变软化行为,建立了损伤状态变量关于断裂面上等效应变的渐进损伤演化法则. 模型涵盖了复合材料面内损伤起始、演化直至最终失效的全过程. 完成了含孔[45/0/-45/90]_2S 层合板在拉伸和压缩载荷下失效分析,结果表明该模型能合理进行层合板的强度预测和损伤失效分析.     

Kevlar纤维增强复合材料动态压缩力学性能实验研究

通过实验较系统地研究了Kevlar纤维增强复合材料的动态压缩力学性能,实验结果表明,在冲击压缩载荷作用下Kevlar纤维增强复合材料有明显的损伤软化现象和应变率效应,针对Kevlar纤维增强复合材料动态应力应变实验曲线,提出了含损伤的率相关动态本构方程,由于所引入的损伤最反映了Kevlar纤维增强复合材料内部基体开裂、脱层、纤维断裂等多种破坏模式的总体效果,因此所提出的本构方程形式相对说来比较简便并易于嵌入目前有关冲击力学的有限元或有限差分程序,有一定的工程应用价值。     

Micromechanical modeling of the microbond test to quantify the interfacial properties of fiber-reinforced composites

The present study has focused on achieving a micromechanical understanding of the microbond test, which involves pulling a fiber out of a bead of matrix (i.e. droplet) through a knife-edge, in order to quantify the interfacial fracture properties of fiber-reinforced composites. According to the microbond test results for carbon-fiber and epoxy-resin system, matrix cracking occurred during the fiber pullout, in addition to the debonding at the fiber–matrix interface. Therefore, in evaluating the fracture properties of the fiber–matrix interface, we should pay attention to the coupling effects of matrix failure and interfacial debonding on the test results. Then, we discuss how to best extract the interfacial properties while excluding the influence of matrix plasticity and cracking, using numerical simulations. The key mechanism demonstrated here is that the pullout force, in the cases where the influence of matrix cracking is negligible, appears as the upper limit among the experimental data of the pullout force for a constant initial embedded length of the fiber in the matrix. For this reason, the upper-limit data all over the range of embedded fiber length in experiments can be reasonably evaluated by the simulation focusing on the debonding process with matrix plasticity. This evaluation technique is effective as a way of extracting interfacial properties appropriately from microbond test results.     

超高速撞击玄武岩及Kevlar纤维布填充防护结构研究

利用二级轻气炮对玄武岩及Kevlar纤维布填充Whipple防护结构进行了超高速撞击实验研究。以Nextel/Kevlar撞击极限曲线为参照,分析了双层未涂胶玄武岩及Kevlar纤维布填充防护结构和双层涂环氧树脂胶玄武岩及Kevlar纤维布填充防护结构的防护性能、填充材料及舱壁的损伤情况。实验表明：双层未涂胶玄武岩及Kevlar纤维布填充防护结构和双层涂环氧树脂胶玄武岩及Kevlar纤维布填充防护结构在高速区都具有优良的防护性能。此外,通过涂环氧树脂胶改善了玄武岩及Kevlar纤维布填充防护结构在高速区的防护性能。Kevlar纤维丝在低速区主要依靠塑性变形及断裂吸收弹丸的动能,玄武岩纤维丝在高速区主要依靠脆性断裂及高温碳化将弹丸破碎或融化为更小的碎片或熔球,减轻了对舱壁的损伤。玄武岩及Kevlar纤维丝在高速区存在高温熔化及碳化现象。     

Analysis on small scale bridging in fibrous monolithic ceramics

Based on shear lag model of interface between fiber and matrix, a new formula that relates the crack opening displacement and bridging force in fibrous monolithic ceramics was constructed under the framework of small scale bridging. This formula was applied to predict the fracture resistance orR-curve response of a three-point bending specimen made of fibrous monolithic ceramics. A parametric investigation on the influences of fiber volume fraction, fiber radius, characteristics of constituents, BN's fracture toughness and specimen's geometry on the bridging forces and fracture resistance in Si₃N₄/BN composite was carried out. The upper and lower limits of theR-curve of Si₃N₄/BN in small scale bridging were derived. This research revealed the role played by the above parameters in the fracture toughness of fibrous monolithic ceramics. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (59632090).