| dc.description.abstract | The present experiment attempts to study the behavior of proppant mixed with fibers in slickwater fracturing using a large-scale flow equipment. Previous experiments have shown that, at small scale, PGA fibers in slickwater proved very effective in suspending proppant. The mixture was successful in creating highly conductive channels in a slot flow experimental setup. However, at such scale, the conditions for creating channels were close to ideal. The study aims at replicating the same results at a larger scale with more practical conditions.
A transparent acrylic panel, 4’ x 16’ x 4.5", with several inlets was fabricated to simulate an open fracture plane.
The results of the study are as follows:
• o Large-scale slot-flow experimental setup was designed and constructed.
• o The setup could successfully perform experiments to observe proppant distribution.
• o Two experiments showed a proppant bank, a phenomenon often observed in previous studies. Experiment 3 showed channels as a result of mixing fibers and proppant.
• o The large-scale setup could perform experiments at more rigorous conditions than the small scale and offer more objective results.
• o It has 4 times more viewing area.
• o The fracture width can be varied from 0.1” – 0.5”.
• o The number of inlets is 5.
• o It could handle up to 2 psig pressure buildup.
• o It could perform experiments with flow rate of up to 24 gpm for 4 vertical foot.
• o Mixing mechanism still requires improvement. | en |
