Iteration and evaluation of shale oil development technology for continental rift lake basins

By benchmarking with the iteration of drilling technology,fracturing technology and well placement mode for shale oil and gas development in the United States and considering the geological characteristics and development difficulties of shale oil in the Jiyang continental rift lake basin,East China,the development technology system suitable for the geological characteristics of shale oil in continental rift lake basins has been primarily formed through innovation and iteration of the development,drilling and fracturing technologies.The technology system supports the rapid growth of shale oil production and reduces the development investment cost.By comparing it with the shale oil development technology in the United States,the prospect of the shale oil development technology iteration in continental rift lake basins is proposed.It is suggested to continuously strengthen the overall three-dimensional development,improve the precision level of engineering technology,upgrade the engineering technical indicator system,accelerate the intelligent optimization of engineering equipment,explore the application of complex structure wells,form a whole-process integrated quality management system from design to implementation,and constantly innovate the concept and technology of shale oil development,so as to promote the realization of extensive,beneficial and high-quality development of shale oil in continental rift lake basins.

Mechanistic investigation of gas injection treatment in a continental shale gas condensate reservoir

Low thermal evolution degree of gas and connected fracture network are key features in the continental shale gas reservoirs.When the pressure decreases lower than the dew point pressure,gas condensate diminishes the mobility of subsurface fluid forms in the near well region,which further reduces the productivity and final recovery factor in addition to the low connected fracture network.This work is motivated to investigate the application of gas injection,proven to be a feasible technique in conventional/marine-shale gas condensate reservoirs,in continental shale gas condensate reservoirs.We apply a compositional model to investigate the mechanism of gas injection treatment taking a continental shale gas condensate reservoir in the Fuxing area,Sichuan Basin,China as an example.The results demonstrate that for the removal of gas condensate during CO_(2)injection,re-vaporization plays the main mechanism through two processes including pressurization and development of miscibility,while the former is overwhelming.Considering the variation trend of the total volume of gas condensate,we divide the whole injection process into four and six stages in the single fracture model and fracture network model,respectively,and reason the trend with respect to phase behavior and flow pattern.A sensitive study on the injected gas type indicates that the sorting of the gas injection performance to remove gas condensate produced gas followed by CH4,and followed by CO_(2).Finally,we investigate the performance of cyclic produced-gas injection and optimize the injection scheme.This work provides technical and theoretical support for the development of continental shale gas reservoirs.

Mechanisms of fracture propagation from multi-cluster using a phase field based HMD coupling model in fractured reservoir

Natural fractures(NFs)are common in shale and tight reservoirs,where staged multi-cluster fracturing of horizontal wells is a prevalent technique for reservoir stimulation.While NFs and stress interference are recognized as significant factors affecting hydraulic fracture(HF)propagation,the combined influence of these factors remains poorly understood.To address this knowledge gap,a novel coupled hydromechanical-damage(HMD)model based on the phase field method is developed to investigate the propagation of multi-cluster HFs in fractured reservoirs.The comprehensive energy functional and control functions are established,while incorporating dynamic fluid distribution between multiple perforation clusters and refined changes in rock mechanical parameters during hydraulic fracturing.The HMD coupled multi-cluster HF propagation model investigates various scenarios,including single HF and single NF,reservoir heterogeneity,single HF and NF clusters,and multi-cluster HFs with NF clusters.The results show that the HMD coupling model can accurately capture the impact of approach angle(θ),stress difference and cementation strength on the interaction of HF and NF.The criterion of the open and cross zones is not fixed.The NF angle(a)is not a decisive parameter to discriminate the interaction.According to the relationship between approach angle(θ)and NF angle(a),the contact relationship of HF can be divided into three categories(θ=a,θ<a,andθ>a).The connected NF can increase the complexity of HF by inducing it to form branch fracture,resulting in a fractal dimension of HF as high as2.1280 at angles of±45°.Inter-fracture interference from the heel to the toe of HF shows the phenomenon of no,strong and weak interference.Interestingly,under the influence of NFs,distant HFs from the injection can become dominant fractures.However,as a gradually increases,inter-fracture stress interference becomes the primary factor influencing HF propagation,gradually superseding the dominance of NF induced fractures.

Further discussion of CO_(2) huff-n-puff mechanisms in tight oil reservoirs based on NMR monitored fluids spatial distributions

Due to the poor physical properties of tight reservoirs,CO_(2) huff-n-puff(HNP)is considered a potential enhanced oil recovery(EOR)method after primary depletion.Optimization plays a critical role in the effective implementation of CO_(2) huff-n-puff.But the optimization requires a good understanding of the EOR mechanisms.In this work,the spatial distribution of oil saturation under different experimental conditions was analyzed by the NMR method to further discuss the HNP mechanisms.According to the variation of 1D frequency signal amplitude,we divided the core into the hardly movable area and movable area,the region with the obvious signal decline was defined as the movable area,and the hardly movable area was the region with limited signal decline.Based on that the recovery characteristics of different scenarios were evaluated.Firstly,the necessity of the soaking stage was studied,where three scenarios with different soaking times were carried out.Secondly,the injection pressure was adjusted to investigate the effect of the pressure gradient.The T_(2) spectra show that soaking has significantly improved the production of crude oil in small pores,and higher oil recovery in a single cycle is observed,but it is lower when the elapsed time(total operation time)is the same.31.03% of oil can be recovered after 3 cycles HNP,which increases to 33.8% and 37.06% for the 4 cycles and 6 cycles cases.As the pressure gradient increases,more oil is removed out of the matrix,and the oil in the deep part of the reservoir can be effectively recovered.During the CO_(2) huff-n-puff process,the oil distributions are similar to the solution gas drive,the residual oil is distributed at the close end of the core and the range that the oil can be efficiently recovered is limited.

Simulation study of supercritical carbon dioxide jet fracturing for carbonate geothermal reservoir based on fluid-thermo-mechanical coupling model

Geothermal energy is a kind of renewable,sustainable and clean energy resource.Geothermal energy is abundant in carbonate reservoirs.However,low matrix permeability limits its exploitation.The super-critical carbon dioxide(SC-CO_(2))jet fracturing is expected to efficiently stimulate the carbonate geothermal reservoirs and achieve the storage of CO_(2) simultaneously.In this paper,we established a transient seepage and fluid-thermo-mechanical coupled model to analyze the impact performance of sc-CO_(2) jet fracturing.The mesh-based parallel code coupling interface was employed to couple the fluid and solid domains by exchanging the data through the mesh interface.The physical properties change of sC-CO_(2) with temperature were considered in the numerical model.Results showed that SC-CO_(2) jet frac-turing is superior to water-jet fracturing with respect to jetting velocity,particle trajectory and pene-trability.Besides,stress distribution on the carbonate rock showed that the tensile and shear failure would more easily occur by SC-CO_(2) jet than that by water jet.Moreover,pressure and temperature control the jet field and seepage field of sC-CO_(2) simultaneously.Increasing the jet temperature can effectively enhance the impingement effect and seepage process by decreasing the viscosity and density of SC-CO_(2).The key findings are expected to provide a theoretical basis and design reference for applying SC-CO_(2) jet fracturing in carbonate geothermal reservoirs.

Shale oil recovery by CO_(2)injection in Jiyang Depression,Bohai Bay Basin,East China

Laboratory experiments,numerical simulations and fracturing technology were combined to address the problems in shale oil recovery by CO_(2)injection.The laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the displacement mechanisms of shale oil extraction by CO_(2)injection,and the influences of CO_(2)pre-pad on shale mechanical properties.Numerical simulations were performed about influences of CO_(2)pre-pad fracturing and puff-n-huff for energy replenishment on the recovery efficiency.The findings obtained were applied to the field tests of CO_(2)pre-pad fracturing and single well puff-n-huff.The results show that the efficiency of CO_(2)puff-n-huff is affected by micro-and nano-scale effect,kerogen,adsorbed oil and so on,and a longer soaking time in a reasonable range leads to a higher exploitation degree of shale oil.In the"injection+soaking"stage,the exploitation degree of heavy hydrocarbons is enhanced by CO_(2)through its effects of solubility-diffusion and mass-transfer.In the"huff"stage,crude oil in large pores is displaced by CO_(2)to surrounding larger pores or bedding fractures and finally flows to the production well.The injection of CO_(2)pre-pad is conducive to keeping the rock brittle and reducing the fracture breakdown pressure,and the CO_(2)is liable to filter along the bedding surface,thereby creating a more complex fracture.Increasing the volume of CO_(2)pre-pad can improve the energizing effect,and enhance the replenishment of formation energy.Moreover,the oil recovery is more enhanced by CO_(2)huff-n-puff with the lower shale matrix permeability,the lower formation pressure,and the larger heavy hydrocarbon content.The field tests demonstrate a good performance with the pressure maintained well after CO_(2)pre-pad fracturing,the formation energy replenished effectively after CO_(2)huff-n-puff in a single well,and the well productivity improved.

Optimization method of fracturing fluid volume intensity for SRV fracturing technique in shale oil reservoir based on forced imbibition:A case study of well X-1 in Biyang Sag of Nanxiang Basin,China

An optimization method of fracturing fluid volume strength was introduced taking well X-1 in Biyang Sag of Nanxiang Basin as an example.The characteristic curves of capillary pressure and relative permeability were obtained from history matching between forced imbibition experimental data and core-scale reservoir simulation results and taken into a large scale reservoir model to mimic the forced imbibition behavior during the well shut-in period after fracturing.The optimization of the stimulated reservoir volume(SRV)fracturing fluid volume strength should meet the requirements of estimated ultimate recovery(EUR),increased oil recovery by forced imbibition and enhancement of formation pressure and the fluid volume strength of fracturing fluid should be controlled around a critical value to avoid either insufficiency of imbibition displacement caused by insufficient fluid amount or increase of costs and potential formation damage caused by excessive fluid amount.Reservoir simulation results showed that SRV fracturing fluid volume strength positively correlated with single-well EUR and an optimal fluid volume strength existed,above which the single-well EUR increase rate kept decreasing.An optimized increase of SRV fracturing fluid volume and shut-in time would effectively increase the formation pressure and enhance well production.Field test results of well X-1 proved the practicality of established optimization method of SRV fracturing fluid volume strength on significant enhancement of shale oil well production.

Large-scale physical simulation of injection and production of hot dry rock in Gonghe Basin,Qinghai Province,China

Based on the independently developed true triaxial multi-physical field large-scale physical simulation system of in-situ injection and production,we conducted physical simulation of long-term multi-well injection and production in the hot dry rocks of the Gonghe Basin,Qinghai Province,NW China.Through multi-well connectivity experiments,the spatial distribution characteristics of the natural fracture system in the rock samples and the connectivity between fracture and wellbore were clarified.The injection and production wells were selected to conduct the experiments,namely one injection well and two production wells,one injection well and one production well.The variation of several physical parameters in the production well was analyzed,such as flow rate,temperature,heat recovery rate and fluid recovery.The results show that under the combination of thermal shock and injection pressure,the fracture conductivity was enhanced,and the production temperature showed a downward trend.The larger the flow rate,the faster the decrease.When the local closed area of the fracture was gradually activated,new heat transfer areas were generated,resulting in a lower rate of increase or decrease in the mining temperature.The heat recovery rate was mainly controlled by the extraction flow rate and the temperature difference between injection and production fluid.As the conductivity of the leak-off channel increased,the fluid recovery of the production well rapidly decreased.The influence mechanisms of dominant channels and fluid leak-off on thermal recovery performance are different.The former limits the heat exchange area,while the latter affects the flow rate of the produced fluid.Both of them are important factors affecting the long-term and efficient development of hot dry rock.

Preparation and catalytic behavior of reduced graphene oxide supported cobalt oxide hybrid nanocatalysts for CO oxidation

The reduced graphene oxide （rGO） supported cobalt oxide nanocatalysts were prepared by the conventional precipitationand hydrothermal method. The as-prepared rGO-Co3O4 was characterized by the XRD, Raman spectrum, SEM, TEM, N2-sorption,UV-Vis, XPS and H2-TPR measurements. The results show that the spinel cobalt oxide nanoparticles are highly fragmented on therGO support and possess uniform particle size, and the as-prepared catalysts possess high specific surface area and narrow pore sizedistribution. The catalytic properties of the as-prepared rGO-Co3O4 catalysts for CO oxidation were evaluated through acontinuous-flow fixed-bed microreactor-gas chromatograph system. The catalyst with 30% （mass fraction） reduced graphene oxideexhibits the highest activity for CO complete oxidation at 100 ℃.

Numerical analysis of the effects of downhole dynamic conditions on formation testing while drilling

Formation testing while drilling is an innovative technique that is replacing conventional pressure testing in which the fluid sampling is conducted in a relatively short time following the drilling. At this time, mud invasion has just started, mudcake has not formed entirely and the formation pressure is not stable. Therefore, it is important to study the influence of the downhole dynamic environment on pressure testing and fluid sampling. This paper applies an oil-water two phase finite element model to study the influence of mudcake quality and mud filtrate invasion on supercharge pressure, pretest and sampling in the reservoirs of different permeability. However, the study is only for the cases with water based mud in the wellbore. The results illustrate that the mudcake quality has a significant influence on the supercharge pressure and fluid sampling, while the level of mud filtrate invasion has a strong impact on pressure testing and sampling. In addition, in-situ formation pressure testing is more difficult in low permeability reservoirs as the mud filtrate invasion is deeper and therefore degrades the quality of fluid sampling. Finally, a field example from an oil field on the Alaskan North Slope is presented to validate the numerical studies of the effects of downhole dynamic conditions on formation testing while drilling.

Development of unconventional gas and technologies adopted in China

This study analyses the geological characteristics and development progress of unconventional gas in China,summarizes the development theories and technologies,discusses the prospects and challenges of unconventional gas development,and puts forward the future trends of development technologies.Various technologies of unconventional gas development are available in China.Shale gas development technologies include comprehensive geological evaluation,volume fracturing of cluster horizontal wells under complex stress conditions,and factory-like operation of horizontal wells in complex mountainous area et al.Tight gas development technologies include fluid identification and quantitative prediction,optimization of well patterns,multi-layer fracturing in vertical well,staged fracturing in horizontal well,and drainage gas recovery.Coalbed methane(CBM)development technologies include the prediction of medium-high-and medium-low-rank CBM enrichment areas,rate-variable hydraulic fracturing,and quantitative drainage recovery with five stages,three pressures,and four controls.For economic and effective development of unconventional gas,further efforts should be made.First,intensified studies should be conducted on high-precision prediction and fine characterization technologies of high-quality shale reservoirs in deep marine,continental,and transitional facies.Second,key theories and technologies such as fast drilling and completion of wells with long laterals as well as large-scale volume fracturing should be developed to improve well productivity.Third,new technologies such as multiple well-type development,fluid injection,and nano-flooding should be developed to enhance the recovery.Fourth,effort should be made to identify the accumulation mechanism and large-scale effective development technologies for CBM.Fifth,the application of large amounts of data and artificial intelligence in the entire process of unconventional gas development should be considered to reduce the development cost.

Analysis on the synergistic effect of sustainable development of coal industry under 1.5 ℃ scenario

Based on the coal demand under the 1.5 ℃ scenario, the amount of coal production in China was estimated in this study. According to the mutual relationship between the factors influencing coal production, an econometric model was constructed based on simultaneous equations, and the synergistic effect of each factor on the coal industry was estimated under the 1.5 ℃ scenario. Then, predictions were respectively made in the five aspects： coal production, coal science and technology progress, employment number, safe production level, and occupational health level, in different scenarios from 2016 to 2050. The results showed that before 2040, the comprehensive negative effect of the 1.5 ℃ situation is more than or equals to the positive effect. The 1.5 ℃ scenario has the biggest negative impact on employment, whose solution should be the focus. By 2050, the positive effects of the 1.5℃ scenario exceed the negative effect because of the enhancement in technical level and in the attention given to the whole production. Safety is improved, and health defects decline and the most obvious positive effect is on the ecological environment. The decrease of coal production will reduce the ecological environmental damage and significantly improve the ecological environment. In general, the prediction of 1.5 ℃ scenario promotes the increase of scientific production capacity and promotes the orderly development of coal. It has strengthened the safety and health protection degree, made the coal industry more efficient and competitive, and avoided or reduced the impact of coal development on the ecological environment and achieved environmental friendliness. However, the 1.5 ℃ situation also increases the employment pressure of the society, which affects the economic development of the major coal producing areas, but the situation can be overcome through the transformation and upgrading of the region. Finally, the impacts of various factors under the 1.5 ℃ scenario were evaluated through a unified comparison of the synergistic effect monetization using the cost and payment willingness methods. Based on the research results, suggestions on the regulation of coal production were proposed relating to resettlement of workers, protection of the ecological environment, and improvement of workers＇ health.

The effect of inorganic salt precipitation on oil recovery during CO2 flooding:A case study of Chang 8 block in Changqing oilfield,NW China

Static experiments and dynamic displacement experiments were conducted to quantitatively determine the amount of precipitate generated by the CO_(2)-formation water reaction at different temperatures,pressures,and scaling ion concentrations during CO_(2) flooding in the Chang 8 block of Changqing Oilfield,the influence of precipitate on the physical properties of reservoirs was investigated,and the corresponding mathematical characterization model was established.The mathematical characterization equation was used to correct the numerical simulation model of E300 module in Eclipse software.The distribution pattern of inorganic salt precipitates during continuous CO_(2) flooding in Chang 8 block was simulated,and the influence of inorganic salt precipitates on oil recovery was predicted.The inorganic salt precipitate generated during CO_(2)-formation water reaction was mainly CaCO_(3),and the pressure difference and scaling ion concentration were proportional to the amount of precipitate generated,while the temperature was inversely proportional to the amount of precipitate.The rate of core porosity change before and after CO_(2) flooding was positively correlated with temperature and flooding pressure difference.The core porosity increase in the CO_(2)-formation water-core reaction experiment was always lower than that of CO_(2)-distilled water-core reaction experiment because of precipitation.The area around the production wells had the most precipitates generated with the injection of CO_(2).The oil field became poor in development because of the widely distributed precipitate and the recovery decreased to 33.45% from 37.64% after 20-year-CO_(2) flooding when considering of precipitation.

Numerical analysis of the hydraulic fracture communication modes in fracture-cavity reservoirs

The fracture-cavity carbonate reservoirs in the Tahe Oilfield in China are mainly exploited by fracturing.We need the hydraulic fractures to communicate with caves to create a flow channel.However,due to the existence of the fracture-cavity systems,the hydraulic fracture propagation morphology is complicated,while the propagation characteristics are not clear.To analyze the hydraulic fracture propagation in fracture-cavity carbonate formations,based on the discontinuous discrete fracture model,we developed a solid-seepage-freeflow coupled fracturing model for fracture-cavity formations,which can simulate the complex interaction behavior of fractures and caves.Based on the simulation results,we found the interaction rule between hydraulic fractures and fracture-cavity systems:the stress concentration around caves is the main factor that determines the fracture propagation path.Deflection due to stress concentration is usually not conducive to communication,while natural fractures distributed around caves could break the rejection action.Increasing the hydraulic energy in the hydraulic fracture can make fracture propagate directly and reduce the influence of deflection.The steering fracture formed by temporary plugging is beneficial to the communication of fracture-cavity systems in the non-principal stress direction.According to the simulation results of different fracture-cavity characteristics,we raised four optimization communication modes for fracture-cavity carbonate formation to provide references for fracturing optimization design and parameter optimization.

Multi-objective optimization design of deviation-correction trajectory considering the production loss in shale gas cluster well

In shale gas mining,the inter-fracture interference effect will significantly occur if the actual well deviates from the planned trajectory.To reduce production loss,operators want to get back on the planned trajectory economically and safely.Based on this,a multi-objective optimization model of deviationcorrection trajectory is established considering the production loss evaluation.Firstly,the functional relationship between the production envelope and the fracturing depth is constructed,and the production loss is obtained by combining the calculation method of volume flow.Based on the proposed“double-arc”trajectory design method,the production loss of the fracture on the deviation-correction trajectory is obtained.Finally,combined with the well profile energy evaluation,a new optimization model of deviation-correction trajectory is established.The results demonstrate that after optimizing the fracturing depth,the production loss of the deviation-correction trajectory is reduced by 13.2%.The maximum curvature value results in a trajectory with a minimum production loss yet a maximum well profile energy.The proposed model reduces the well profile energy by 15.6%compared with the existing model.It is proved that the proposed model can reduce the probability of drilling accidents and achieve high gas production in the later mining stage.This study fully considers various factors affecting horizontal wells in the fracturing area,which can provide theoretical guidance for the design of deviationcorrection trajectory.

Experimental characterization and mechanism of hydraulic pulsation waves driving microscopic residual oil

To clarify microscopic mechanisms of residual oil displacement by hydraulic pulsation wave,microscopic visualization experiments of hydraulic pulsation wave driving residual oil were carried out by using the microscopic visualization device of pulsating water drive.For the four types of residual oil left in the reservoir after water flooding,i.e.membrane,column,cluster,and blind end residual oils,hydraulic pulsation waves broke the micro-equilibrium of the interface by disturbing the oil-water interface,so that the injected water invaded into and contacted with the remaining oil in small pores and blind holes,and the remaining oil was pushed or stripped to the mainstream channel by deformation superposition effect and then carried out by the injected water.In the displacement,the pulsation frequency mainly affected the cluster and blind end remaining oil,and the hydraulic pulsation wave with a frequency of about 1 Hz had the best effect in improving the recovery.The pulsation amplitude value mainly affected the membrane and column residual oil,and the larger the amplitude value,the more remaining oil the hydraulic pulsation wave would displace.The presence of low intensity continuous flow pressure and holding pressure end pressure promoted the concentration of pulsating energy and greatly improve the recovery of cluster residual oil.The rise in temperature made the hydraulic pulsation wave work better in displacing remaining oil,improving the efficiency of oil flooding.

Technical Challenges and Countermeasures for Deep Shale Gas Drilling by SINOPEC

Deep shale gas reservoirs being developed by SINOPEC are characterized by significant buried depths, high rock strengths, high temperatures and pressures, multiple layers, low ROPs, prolonged drilling time and prohibitoryhigh costs. All of these factors may negatively affect the economic and effective development of shale gas. Under such circumstances, existing drilling techniques for deep shale gas around the world have been reviewed to highlight technical challenges in deep shale gas drilling in China. With consideration to the previous drilling operations of SINOPEC for deep shale gas, technical solutions for deep shale gas drilling have been proposed with regard to the optimization of casing programs, enhanced drilling, trajectory control, high-density oil-based drilling fluid, cementation for deep shale gas development and other aspects. Some of these research findings have been deployed with great successes in Pingqiao, Jiangdong Block in the 2nd Phase of Fuling Project, Dingshan Block and other blocks with deep shale gas development. Among them, Well JY-74-2HF has had a drilling time of only 54.25d, whereas Well JY-187-2HF has a TVD up to 4024.14m. Relevant research results may provide valuable guidance and references for the optimization of drilling programs andthe enhancement ofdrilling ef^ciency for deep shale gas development.

Progress in the Ultradeep Well Drilling Technology of SINOPEC

Ultra-deep formations in China contain rich hydrocarbon resources.In recent years,the number of ultradeep wells has been continuously increasing.However,efforts to facilitate tlte drilling and exploration of these ultra-deep reservoirs are facing many challenges,such as complicated formation pressures,complicated formation lithologic features,complicated formation fluids,difficulties in the accurate calculation of formation parameters,difficulties in borehole structure design optimization,instabilities in the performances of drilling fluid and key cementing materials/systems,high temperature-resistance and pressure-resistance requirements for downhole tools and instruments,complicated engineering problems,and slow drilling speeds.Under such circumstances,it is very difficult to ensure the performance of such drilling operations.In order to address these challenges,SINOPEC has developed relevant drilling technologies for ultra-deep wells in complicated geological conditions through intensive research on accurate descriptions of complex geologic characteristics,borehole structure design optimization,fast drilling techniques for deep and hard formations,temperature-resistant highdensity drilling fluid,anti-channeling cementing in high-pressure gas wells,borehole trajectory control in ultra-deep horizontal wells and other key technologies.These technologies can provide sound engineering and technical support for tlte exploration and development of hydrocarbon resources in ultra-deep formations in China.

Mechanical strength and the degradation mechanism of metakaolin based geopolymer mixed with ordinary Portland cement and cured at high temperature and high relative humidity

Geopolymer is a new type of eco-friendly cementitious material, and its superior drying and high temperature resistance has been widely recognized. The service performance of geopolymer under 150 ℃ high-temperature hydrothermal conditions is still less discussed. In this paper, the mechanical strength of pure metakaolin system with low calcium content and metakaolin-cement system with high calcium content under hydrothermal and non-hydrothermal conditions were studied. The results show that under 150 ℃ hydrothermal conditions, the strength of pure metakaolin geopolymer sharply decreases by reduction rate of 81.8% compared to the sample under 150 ℃ drying conditions, while the strength of metakaolin-cement geopolymers is well retained with only a slight decrease of 14.4%. This is mainly because the predominantly hydration product sodium aluminosilicate(N-A-S-H) gel of pure metakaolin system undergoes the process of “dissociation–repolymerization–crystallization” under 150 ℃ hydrothermal conditions, resulting in the loss of cementation ability and obvious deterioration of mechanical strength. In the metakaolin-cement system, the high-calcium calcium silicate gel(C-A-S-H)gel maintains a stable structure, thereby maintaining the macroscopic strength of the material under the hydrothermal conditions.

Cuttings transport: Back reaming analysis based on a coupled layering-sliding mesh method via CFD

Inadequate hole cleaning is one of the main reasons for inefficient operations in extended-reach drilling.The mechanism of cuttings transport under the back reaming operation,which is frequently adopted to remove the cuttings,has been investigated in this study.To this end,a coupled layering-sliding mesh method with the Eulerian-Granular approach has been established innovatively.The dynamic layering method has been employed to simulate the axial motion of the pipe,whereas the sliding mesh method has been used to simulate the pipe rotation.The back reaming operation of a connector-furnished pipe has been simulated,and the sensitive parameter analysis has been conducted.The results thus obtained demonstrate that the increase in the initial bed height,inclination,and the diameter and length of the connector causes a significant increase in the cuttings concentration.In addition,the cuttings concentration is observed to decrease significantly with the pipe rotation speed.Furthermore,two main factors contribute towards the cuttings accumulation around the connector,namely,the difference in the cross-sectional area and the pushing effect of the connector—like a“bulldozer”.The“bulldozer”effect of the connector dominates when the tripping velocity is significant compared to the velocity of the cuttings.Conversely,the effect of the difference in the cross-sectional area becomes the leading factor for cuttings accumulation.The“bulldozer”effect of the connector causes a more severe impact on hole cleaning.In both cases,increasing the tripping velocity only mildly affects the cuttings concentration.It is therefore suggested that the tripping velocity should be slower than that of the sand during the back reaming operation.Furthermore,increased fluid velocity might lead to a higher accumulated cuttings concentration around the connector when the cuttings bed has not entirely passed through the connector.A significant flow rate can be safely applied after the cuttings have passed through the connector furnished with a large diameter,such as the bottom hole assembly.This exploration serves as an essential guide to predicting and controlling tight spots while back reaming.