Integrated numerical simulation of hydraulic fracturing and production in shale gas well considering gas-water two-phase flow

Based on the displacement discontinuity method and the discrete fracture unified pipe network model,a sequential iterative numerical method was used to build a fracturing-production integrated numerical model of shale gas well considering the two-phase flow of gas and water.The model accounts for the influence of natural fractures and matrix properties on the fracturing process and directly applies post-fracturing formation pressure and water saturation distribution to subsequent well shut-in and production simulation,allowing for a more accurate fracturing-production integrated simulation.The results show that the reservoir physical properties have great impacts on fracture propagation,and the reasonable prediction of formation pressure and reservoir fluid distribution after the fracturing is critical to accurately predict the gas and fluid production of the shale gas wells.Compared with the conventional method,the proposed model can more accurately simulate the water and gas production by considering the impact of fracturing on both matrix pressure and water saturation.The established model is applied to the integrated fracturing-production simulation of practical horizontal shale gas wells.The simulation results are in good agreement with the practical production data,thus verifying the accuracy of the model.

Simulation of Gas-Water Two-Phase Flow in Tight Gas Reservoirs Considering the Gas Slip Effect

A mathematical model for the gas-water two-phase flow in tight gas reservoirs is elaborated.The model can account for the gas slip effect,stress sensitivity,and high-speed non-Darcy factors.The related equations are solved in the framework of a finite element method.The results are validated against those obtained by using the commercial software CMG(Computer Modeling Group software for advanced recovery process simulation).It is shown that the proposed method is reliable.It can capture the fracture rejection characteristics of tight gas reservoirs better than the CMG.A sensitivity analysis of various control factors(initial water saturation,reservoir parameters,and fracturing parameters)affecting the production in tight gas wells is conducted accordingly.Finally,a series of theoretical arguments are provided for a rational and effective development/exploitation of tight sandstone gas reservoirs.

Parametric study of gas−liquid two-phase flow field in horizontal stirred tank

Based on Fluent software,the gas−liquid two-phase flow in the horizontal stirred tank was simulated with SST k−ωturbulence model,Eulerian−Eulerian two-fluid model,and multi-reference flame method.The mixing process in the tank was calculated by tracer method.The results show that increasing the rotating speed or gas flow is conducive to a more uniform distribution of the gas phase and accelerates the mixing of the liquid phase.When the rotating speed exceeds 93 r/min,the relative power demand remains basically constant.The change in the inclination angle of the upper impeller has minimal effect on the gas phase distribution.When the inclination angle is 50°,the relative power demand reaches the maximum.An appropriate increase in the impeller distance from the bottom improves the gas holdup and gas phase distribution but increases the liquid phase mixing time.

Near-source characteristics of two-phase gas-solid outbursts in roadways

Coal and gas outbursts compromise two-phase gas-solid mixtures as they propagate as shock waves and flows from their sources.Propagation is influenced by the form of the outburst,proximity to source,the structure and form of the transmitting roadways and the influence of obstacles.The following characterizes the propagation of coal and gas outbursts as two-phase gas-solid flows proximal to source where the coupled effects of pulverized coal and gas flows dominate behavior.The characteristics of shock wave propagation and attenuation were systematically examined for varied roadway geometries using experiments and numerical models.The results demonstrate that the geometry of roadway obstructions is significant and may result in partial compression and sometimes secondary overpressurization in blocked and small comer roadways leading to significant attenuation of outburst shock waves.The shock waves attenuate slowly in both straight and abruptly expanding roadways and more significantly in T-shaped roadways.The most significant attenuation appears in small angle comers and bifurcations in roadways with the largest attenuation occurring in blocked roadways.These results provide basic parameters for simplifying transport in complex roadway networks in the far-field,and guidance for the design of coal and gas outburst prevention facilities and emergency rescue.

Mechanism from particle compaction to fluidization of liquid–solid two-phase flow

A new model of particle yield stress including cohesive strength is proposed,which considers the friction and cohesive strength between particles.A calculation method for the fluidization process of liquid–solid two-phase flow in compact packing state is given,and the simulation and experimental studies of fluidization process are carried out by taking the sand–water two-phase flow in the jet dredging system as an example,and the calculation method is verified.

NUMERICAL MODELING OF TURBULENTEVAPORATING GAS-DROPLET TWO-PHASE FLOWS IN AN AFTERBURNER DIFFUSOR OF TURBO-FAN JET ENGINES

The two-dimensional turbulent evaporating gas-droplet two-phase flows in an afterburner diffusor of turbo-fan jet engines are simulated by the k-ε turbulence model and the particle trajectory model. Comparison of predicted gas velocity and temperature distributions with experimental results for the cases without liquid spray shows pretty good agreement. Gas-droplet two-phase flow predictions give plausible droplet trajectories, fuel-vapor concentration distribution, gas-phase velocity and temperature field in presence of liquid droplets. One run of computation with this method is made for a particular afterburner. The results indicate that the location of the atomizers is not favorable to flame stabilization and combustion efficiency. The proposed numerical modeling can also be adopted for optimization design and performance evaluation of afterburner combustors of turbo-fan jet engines.

SIMULATION OF GAS AND LIQUID TWO-PHASE FLOW THROUGH THE BLAST FURNACE DROPPING ZONE

A three-dimensional mathematical model,based on differential balances of mass and momentum,hasbeen developed to describe the two-phase flow of gas and liquid through the dropping zone of the blast fur-nace.Agreement between observed and calculated values verifies the validity of this model.On the basis of this model,various parameters for the surrounding of the dry zone of Blast FurnaceNo.I-BF of the Beijing Iron and Steel Company have been computed,from which a diagram for demar-cation of fluidization of coke and flooding of slag has been proposed.

Criterion of gas and solid dual-phase flow atomization crash in molten metal

A self-invented atomization process, in which molten metal is atomized into powder by a high-velocity gas stream carrying solid particles as the atomization medium, was introduced. The characteristics of powders prepared by common gas atomization and dual-phase flow atomization under similar conditions were compared. The experimental results show that the dual-phase flow-atomized powders have average particle sizes that are one-half that of the common gas-atomized particles;additionally, they possess a finer microstructure and higher cooling rate under the same atomization gas pressure and the same gas flow. The Weber number in the crash criteria of liquid atomization is adopted to measure the crash ability of the atomization media. The Weber number of the dual-phase flow atomization medium is the sum of that of the gas and the solid particles. Furthermore, the critical equation of the crash model in dual-phase flow atomization is established, and the main regularities associated with this process were analyzed.

Inter-layer interference for multi-layered tight gas reservoir in the absence and presence of movable water

Due to the dissimilarity among different producing layers,the influences of inter-layer interference on the production performance of a multi-layer gas reservoir are possible.However,systematic studies of inter-layer interference for tight gas reservoirs are really limited,especially for those reservoirs in the presence of water.In this work,five types of possible inter-layer interferences,including both absence and presence of water,are identified for commingled production of tight gas reservoirs.Subsequently,a series of reservoir-scale and pore-scale numerical simulations are conducted to quantify the degree of influence of each type of interference.Consistent field evidence from the Yan'an tight gas reservoir(Ordos Basin,China)is found to support the simulation results.Additionally,suggestions are proposed to mitigate the potential inter-layer interferences.The results indicate that,in the absence of water,commingled production is favorable in two situations:when there is a difference in physical properties and when there is a difference in the pressure system of each layer.For reservoirs with a multi-pressure system,the backflow phenomenon,which significantly influences the production performance,only occurs under extreme conditions(such as very low production rates or well shut-in periods).When water is introduced into the multi-layer system,inter-layer interference becomes nearly inevitable.Perforating both the gas-rich layer and water-rich layer for commingled production is not desirable,as it can trigger water invasion from the water-rich layer into the gas-rich layer.The gas-rich layer might also be interfered with by water from the neighboring unperforated water-rich layer,where the water might break the barrier(eg weak joint surface,cement in fractures)between the two layers and migrate into the gas-rich layer.Additionally,the gas-rich layer could possibly be interfered with by water that accumulates at the bottom of the wellbore due to gravitational differentiation during shut-in operations.

Three-dimensional Simulation of Gas/Solid Flow in Spout-fluid Beds with Kinetic Theory of Granular Flow

A three-dimensional Eulerian multiphase model, with closure law according to the kinetic theory of granular flow, was used to study the gas/solid flow behaviors in spout-fluid beds. The influences of the coefficient of restitution due to non-ideal particle collisions on the simulated results were tested. It is demonstrated that the simulated result is strongly affected by the coefficient of restitution. Comparison of simulations with experiments in a small spout-fluid bed showed that an appropriate coefficient of restitution of 0.93 was necessary to simulate the flow characteristics in an underdesigned large size of spout-fluid bed coal gasifier with diameter of lm and height of 6m. The internal jet and gas/solid flow patterns at different operating conditions were obtained. The simulations show that an optimal gas/solid flow pattern for coal gasification is found when the spouting gas flow rate is equal to the fluidizing gas flow rate and the total of them is two and a half times the minimum fluidizing gas flow rate. Besides, the radial distributions of particle velocity and gas velocity show similar tendencies; the radial distributions of particle phase pressure due to particle collisions and the particle pseudo-temperature corresponding to the macroscopic kinetic energy of the random particle motion also show similar tendencies. These indicate that both gas drag force and particle collisions dominate the movement of particles.

Prediction of Flowing Bottomhole Pressures for Two-Phase Coalbed Methane Wells

A method is proposed to predict the flowing bottomhole pressures （FBHPs） for two-phase coalbed methane （CBM） wells. The mathematical models for both gas column pressure and two-phase fluid column pressure were developed based on the well liquid flow equation. FBHPs during the production were predicted by considering the effect of entrained liquid on gravitational gradients. Comparison of calculated BHPs by Cullender-Smith and proposed method was also studied. The results show that the proposed algorithm gives the desired accuracy of calculating BHPs in the low- productivity and low-pressure CBM wells. FBHP is resulted from the combined action of wellhead pressure, gas column pressure and fluid column pressure. Variation of kinetic energy term, compressibility and friction factors with depth increments and liquid holdup with velocity should be considered to simulate the real BHPs adequately. BHP is a function of depth of each column segment. The small errors of less than 1.5% between the calculated and measured values are obtained with each segment within 25 m. Adjusting BHPs can effectively increase production pressure drop, which is beneficial to CBM desorption and enhances reservoir productivity. The increment of pressure drop from 5.37 MPa2 to 8.66 MPa2 leads to an increase of CBM production from 3270 m3/d to 6700 m3/d and is attributed to a decrease in BHP from 2.25 MPa to 1.33 MPa.

A new numerical approach of coupled modeling for solid deformation and gas leak flow in multi-coal-seams

From the viewpoint of interaction mechanics for solid and gas, a coupled mathematical model was presented for solid coal/rock deformation and gas leak flow in parallel deformable coal seams. Numerical solutions using the SIP (Strong Implicit Proce- dure) method to the coupled mathematical model for double parallel coal seams were also developed in detail. Numerical simulations for the prediction of the safety range using protection layer mining were performed with experimental data from a mine with potential danger of coal/gas outbursts. Analyses show that the numerical simulation results are consistent with the measured data in situ.

Numerical Simulation of Gas-Solid Flow in Square Cyclone Separators with Downward Exit

Cyclone separators are widely used in industrial applications. The separation efficiency and pressure drop are the most important parameters to evaluate the performance of processing system. In the simulations,the flow behavior of gas and particles within a square cyclone separator is simulated by means of computational fluid dynamics. The RNG k- ε model and the Reynolds stress model( RSM) are used to model gas turbulence. The flow behavior is examined in the term of tangential velocity components,static pressure and pressure drop contour plots for flow field and solid volume fraction. The effects of the turbulence model and solid volume fraction on the square cyclone are discussed. The results indicate that the pressure drop increases with the increase of solid volume fraction,and increase with the increase of inlet velocities for two turbulence models, moreover,the simulations results are compared with pressure field. For all runs,the RSM model gives a higher pressure drop compared to the RNG k- ε model. The RSM model provides well the forced vortex and free vortex,and captures better the phenomena occurring during intense vortex flow in the presence of walls within cyclone separators.

Heat Transfer Method for Solid Flow Rate Measurement in Gas-Solid Two Phase Flow

A new method for measuring the solid flow rate in gas solid two phase flow is introduced in this paper. An electrically heated probe was put in a gas solid two phase flow. For certain solid particles, the flow media with different velocities and concentrations of particles produced different effects on heat transfer with the probe. The solid flow rate can be measured according to the intensity of heat transfer. Experiments were made on a pilot pneumatic conveying device. Research results prove that the method works effectively and reliably.

A study on periodic boundary condition in direct numerical simulation for gas–solid flow

Direct numerical simulation(DNS) of gas–solid flow at high resolution has been carried out by coupling the lattice Boltzmann method(LBM) for gas flow and the discrete element method(DEM) for solid particles. However,the body force periodic boundary condition(FPBC) commonly used to cut down the huge computational cost of such simulation has faced accuracy concerns. In this study, a novel two-region periodic boundary condition(TPBC) is presented to remedy this problem, with the flow driven in the region with body force and freely evolving in the other region. With simulation cases for simple circulating fluidized bed risers, the validity and advantages of TPBC are demonstrated with more reasonable heterogeneity of the particle distribution as compared to the corresponding case with FPBC.

Mathematical modeling for coupled solid elastic-deformation and gas leak flow in multi-coal-seams

Based on the new viewpoint of solid and gas interaction mechanics, gas leakage in a double deformable coal seam can be understood. That is, under the action of geophysical fields, the methane flow in a double deformable coal seam can be essentially considered to be compressible with time dependent and mixed permeation and diffusion through a pore cleat deformable heterogeneous and anisotropy medium. Based on this new viewpoint, a coupled mathematical model for coal seam deformation and gas leakage in a double coal seam was formulated and numerical simulations for gas emission from the coal seam are presented. It is found that coupled models might be closer to reality.

Gas Condensate Two Phase Flow Performance in Porous Media Considering Capillary Number and Non-Darcy Effects

Retrograde condensation frequently occurs during the development of gas condensate reservoirs. The loss of productivity is often observed due to the reduced relative permeability to gas as condensate accumulates near the well bore region. How to describe the condensate blockage effect exactly has been a continuous research topic. However, up to now, the present methods usually over-estimate or underestimate the productivity reduction due to an incorrect understanding of the mechanism of flow in porous medium, which inevitably results in an inaccurate prediction of production performance. It has been found in recent numerous theoretical and experimental studies that capillary number and non-Darcy flow have significant influence on relative permeability in regions near the well bore. The two effects impose opposite impacts on production performance, thus leading to gas condensate flow showing characteristics different from general understanding. It is significant for prediction of performance in gas condensate wells to understand the two effects exactly. The aim of the paper is to describe and analyze the flow dynamics in porous media accurately during the production of gas condensate reservoirs. Based on the description of three-zone flow mechanism, capillary number and non-Darcy effect are incorporated in the analysis of relative permeability, making it possible to describe the effect of condensate blockage. The effect of capillary number and inertial flow on gas and condensate relative permeability is analyzed in detail. Novel Inflow Performance Relation (IPR) models considering high velocity effects are formulated and the contrast analysis of different IPR models is conducted. The result shows that the proposed method can help predict the production performance and productivity more accurately than conventional methods.

Numerical simulation on gas-solid flow during circulating fluidized roasting of bauxite by a computational particle fluid dynamics method

A full-cycle numerical simulation of a circulating fluidized bed(CFB)by the use of the computational particle fluid dynamics(CPFD)method has been developed.The effects of the presence or absence of the secondary air,different secondary air positions,and different secondary air ratios on the gas–solid flow characteristics were explored.The results show that the presence of the secondary air makes a core-annular structure of the velocity distribution of particles in the fluidized bed,which enhances the uniformity of particles’distribution and the stability of fluidization.The position and the ratio of the secondary air have a significant impact on the particle distribution,particle flow rate,and gas flow rate in the fluidized bed.When the secondary air position and ratio are optimal,the particles,particle flow rate,and air flow rate in the CFB are evenly distributed,the gas–solid flow state is good,and the CFB can operate stably.

Application of time–frequency entropy from wake oscillation to gas–liquid flow pattern identification

Gas–liquid two-phase flow abounds in industrial processes and facilities. Identification of its flow pattern plays an essential role in the field of multiphase flow measurement. A bluff body was introduced in this study to recognize gas–liquid flow patterns by inducing fluid oscillation that enlarged differences between each flow pattern. Experiments with air–water mixtures were carried out in horizontal pipelines at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure. Differential pressure signals from the bluff-body wake were obtained in bubble, bubble/plug transitional, plug, slug, and annular flows. Utilizing the adaptive ensemble empirical mode decomposition method and the Hilbert transform, the time–frequency entropy S of the differential pressure signals was obtained. By combining S and other flow parameters, such as the volumetric void fraction β, the dryness x, the ratio of density φ and the modified fluid coefficient ψ, a new flow pattern map was constructed which adopted S（1–x）φ and （1–β）ψ as the vertical and horizontal coordinates, respectively. The overall rate of classification of the map was verified to be 92.9% by the experimental data. It provides an effective and simple solution to the gas–liquid flow pattern identification problems.

RESEARCH ON METHOD TO CALCULATE VELOCITIES OF SOLID PHASE AND LIQUID PHASE IN DEBRIS FLOW

Velocities of solid phase and liquid phase in debris flow are one key problem to research on impact and abrasion mechanism of banks and control structures under action of debris flow. Debris flow was simplified as two-phase liquid composed of solid phase with the same diameter particles and liquid phase with the same mechanical features. Assume debris flow was one-dimension two-phase liquid moving to one direction, then general equations of velocities of solid phase and liquid phase were founded in two-phase theory. Methods to calculate average pressures, volume forces and surface forces of debris flow control volume were established. Specially, surface forces were ascertained using Bingham＇s rheology equation of liquid phase and Bagnold＇s testing results about interaction between particles of solid phase. Proportional coefficient of velocities between liquid phase and solid phase was put forward, meanwhile, divergent coefficient between theoretical velocity and real velocity of solid phase was provided too. To state succinctly before, method to calculate velocities of solid phase and liquid phase was obtained through solution to general equations. The method is suitable for both viscous debris flow and thin debris flow. Additionally, velocities every phase can be identified through analyzing deposits in-situ after occurring of debris flow. It is obvious from engineering case the result in the method is consistent to that in real-time field observation.