Calculating the number of radial cracks around a wellbore fractured by liquid CO2 phase transition blasting technology

Integrating liquid CO_(2)phase transition blasting(LCPTB)technology with hydraulic fracturing(HF)methods can help reduce wellbore damage,create multiple radial fractures,and establish a complex fracture network.This approach significantly increases the recovery efficiency of low-permeability oil and gas fields.Accurately calculating the number of fractures caused by LCPTB is necessary to predict production enhancement effects and optimize subsequent HF designs.However,few studies are reported on large-scale physical model experiments in terms of a method for calculating the fracture number.This study analyzed the initiation and propagation of cracks under LCPTB,derived a calculation formula for crack propagation radius under stress waves,and then proposed a new,fast,and accurate method for calculating the fracture number using the principle of mass conservation.Through ten rock-breaking tests using LCPTB,the study confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed calculation approach and elucidated the variation rule of explosion pressure,rock-breaking scenario,and the impact of varying parameters on fracture number.The results show that the new calculation method is suitable for fracturing technologies with high pressure rates.Recommendations include enlarging the diameter of the fracturing tube and increasing the liquid CO2 mass in the tube to enhance fracture effectiveness.Moreover,the method can be applied to other fracturing technologies,such as explosive fracturing(EF)within HF formations,indicating its broader applicability and potential impact on optimizing unconventional resource extraction technologies.

Liquid Jet Blasting Using Ultra-High Frequency Supersonic Pulsed Air Jet

This paper reports an experimental study on a liquid injector assembly integrated with an ultra-high frequency pulsed air jet that operates at 21 kHz. The active air-blasting assembly steadily injects a liquid through four micro-nozzles of 0.4 mm diameters each, positioned around a 1 mm nozzle through which the pulsed actuation jet flows out at supersonic velocity. High-frequency compressible air vortexes and shock waves generated by the injector atomize the liquid stream into finer droplets and distribute them to a larger area to improve mixing with the ambiance. The paper presents the design details and preliminary studies on the flow field characteristics of this novel injection scheme, which is a potential candidate for high-speed flow mixing and control applications.

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.