Evaluating the stability and volumetric flowback rate of proppant packs in hydraulic fractures using the lattice Boltzmann-discrete element coupling method

The stability and mobility of proppant packs in hydraulic fractures during hydrocarbon production are numerically investigated by the lattice Boltzmann-discrete element coupling method(LB-DEM).This study starts with a preliminary proppant settling test,from which a solid volume fraction of 0.575 is calibrated for the proppant pack in the fracture.In the established workflow to investigate proppant flowback,a displacement is applied to the fracture surfaces to compact the generated proppant pack as well as further mimicking proppant embedment under closure stress.When a pressure gradient is applied to drive the fluid-particle flow,a critical aperture-to-diameter ratio of 4 is observed,above which the proppant pack would collapse.The results also show that the volumetric proppant flowback rate increases quadratically with the fracture aperture,while a linear variation between the particle flux and the pressure gradient is exhibited for a fixed fracture aperture.The research outcome contributes towards an improved understanding of proppant flowback in hydraulic fractures,which also supports an optimised proppant size selection for hydraulic fracturing operations.

Kinetics and fractionation of hydrogen isotopes during gas formation from representative functional groups

A gold tube simulation device was used to study the cleavage of representative compounds into gas.The goal of this study is to investigate hydrogen isotope composition change of gaseous hydrocarbons during maturity.Gas chromatography and isotopic analyses were conducted to determine how the yield of natural gas components and their hydrogen isotopic composition were related to experimental temperature and heating rate.A chemical kinetic model for the generation of each component of the natural gas and for the hydrogen isotopic fractionation was established and calibrated based on the results.Results indicate that the hydrogen isotopic fractionation during the evolution of various gas-forming organic materials can be satisfactorily described by chemical kinetic models.During regular methane generation,the reactions at low-activation-energy region had a greater contribution than the high-activation-energy region.While the reactions with high-activation-energy region had greater contribution of deuterium-rich methane.Compared with carbon isotope fractionation,this results in a greater hydrogen isotopic fractionation,which is more sensitive to changes in maturity.This study lays a foundation for further investigations of genesis and maturity of natural gas provided by hydrogen isotopic fractionation.It also provides fundamental knowledge for investigating the filling history of natural gas reservoir and for identifying.

Experimental analysis of the pore structure, relative permeability, and water flooding characteristics of the Yan'an Formation sandstone, southwestern Ordos Basin

The oil and gas potential of the Yan'an Formation in the Ordos Basin has yet to be fully tapped. In this study, the pore structure, mobile fluid saturation, and water flooding micro-mechanism of the Yan'an Formation sandstone are systematically studied through the application of a series of rock physics and fluid experiments. The results show that there is a good positive correlation between porosity and permeability, and the reservoirs are divided into types Ⅰ, Ⅱ, and Ⅲ. Mercury injection tests show that the average pore throat radius of the oil-bearing reservoir ranges from 1 to 7 μm. The displacement pressure of the Yan'an Formation is also relatively low, and it decreases from 0.1 MPa to 0.01 MPa as the rock porosity increases from 11% to 18%. NMR tests show that small (diameter <0.5 μm) and medium pores (diameter ranging from 0.5 to 2.5 μm) are predominant in the reservoir. Different types of reservoirs have different characteristics of relative permeability curve. In addition, when the average oil recovery rate is less than 1 ml/min, the oil displacement efficiency increases faster. However, when the average oil recovery rate is between 1–3.5 ml/min, the oil displacement efficiency is maintained at around 27%–30%. Physical properties of the reservoir, pore-throat structure, experimental pressure difference, and pore volume injected — all have significant effects on oil displacement efficiency. For Type Ⅰ and Type Ⅱ reservoirs, the increase of the pore volume injected has a significant effect on oil displacement efficiency. However, for Type Ⅲ reservoirs, the change of pore volume injected has insignificant effect on oil displacement efficiency. This study provides a reference for the formulation of estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) measures for similar sandstone reservoirs.

Bandgap evolution of Mg_(3)N_(2) under pressure:Experimental and theoretical studies

Wide bandgap semiconductors are crucially significant for optoelectronic and thermoelectric device applications.Metal nitride is a class of semiconductor material with great potential.Under high pressure,the bandgap of magnesium nitride was predicted to grow.Raman spectra,ultra-violet-visible(UV-Vis)absorption spectra,and first-principles calculations were employed in this study to analyze the bandgap evolution of Mg_(3)N_(2).The widening of the bandgap has been first detected experimentally,with the gap increasing from 2.05 eV at 3 GPa to 2.88 eV at 47 GPa.According to the calculation results,the enhanced covalent component is responsible for the bandgap widening.

Origin and geological control of desorbed gas in multi-thin coal seam in the Wujiu depression, Hailar Basin, China

To understand the natural gas characteristics of multi-thin coal seam,this study selected the desorbed gas of coal seams in different layers of Well A in the Wujiu depression,Hailar Basin in northeast Inner Mongolia.The results show that the heavy hydrocarbon content of desorbed gas increases significantly with the increasing depth.Methane carbon(δ13C_(1))and ethane carbon(δ13C_(2))isotope values are vertically become heavier downwards,while the δ13 values did not change significantly.The kerogen is close to the III–II mixed type with the source rocks mainly deposited in a shore/shallow lake or braided-river delta front,and the gas produced has certain characteristics of oil associated gas.However,the characteristics of oil associated gas produced by the organic formed in the shallow-water environment(braided-river delta plain)are not obvious.The sandstone pore and fracture systems interbedded with multi-thin coal seam are well developed.And it is conducive to the migration of methanogenic micro-organisms to coal seams via groundwater,making it easier to produce biogenic gas under this geological condition.During the burial evolution of coal-bearing strata in the study area,when the burial depth reaches the maximum,there are significant differences in the paleotemperature experienced by different vertical coal seams,caused by a high-paleogeothermal gradient,increasing the δ13C_(2) of desorbed gas with increasing depth.The above research indicates that there is less biogenic gas in the multi-thin coal seams with relatively developed mudstone,and the multi-thin coal seams with relatively developed sandstones have obvious biogenic gas characteristics.Therefore,for the exploration and development of biogenic gas in low-rank multi-thin coal seams,it is necessary to give priority to the layer with high sandstone content.