Flow characteristic of polymer solutions in porous media: Influence of the molecular weight and concentration
Yingjie Dai,
Jia Li,
Li Li,
Yifei Liu,
Yuan Li,
Xiangyu Wang,
Xuguang Song,
Caili Dai,
Bin Yuan
Affiliations
Yingjie Dai
Key Laboratory of Unconventional Oil & Gas Development (China University of Petroleum, East China), Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266580, China; Shandong Key Laboratory of Oilfield Chemistry (China University of Petroleum, East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Jia Li
Nanchong Vocational and Technical College, Nanchong 637131, China
Li Li
Oil & Gas Technology Research Institute of Changqing Oilfield Company, Xi'an 710000, China
Yifei Liu
Key Laboratory of Unconventional Oil & Gas Development (China University of Petroleum, East China), Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266580, China; Shandong Key Laboratory of Oilfield Chemistry (China University of Petroleum, East China), Qingdao 266580, China; Corresponding author.
Yuan Li
Sinopec Research Institute of Petroleum Engineering, Fracturing & Acidizing and Natural Gas Production Research Institute, Dongying 257000, China
Xiangyu Wang
Key Laboratory of Unconventional Oil & Gas Development (China University of Petroleum, East China), Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266580, China; Shandong Key Laboratory of Oilfield Chemistry (China University of Petroleum, East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Xuguang Song
Key Laboratory of Unconventional Oil & Gas Development (China University of Petroleum, East China), Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266580, China; Shandong Key Laboratory of Oilfield Chemistry (China University of Petroleum, East China), Qingdao 266580, China; Nanchong Vocational and Technical College, Nanchong 637131, China; Oil & Gas Technology Research Institute of Changqing Oilfield Company, Xi'an 710000, China; Sinopec Research Institute of Petroleum Engineering, Fracturing & Acidizing and Natural Gas Production Research Institute, Dongying 257000, China; Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1H9, Canada
Caili Dai
Key Laboratory of Unconventional Oil & Gas Development (China University of Petroleum, East China), Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266580, China; Shandong Key Laboratory of Oilfield Chemistry (China University of Petroleum, East China), Qingdao 266580, China; Corresponding author.
Bin Yuan
Key Laboratory of Unconventional Oil & Gas Development (China University of Petroleum, East China), Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266580, China; Corresponding author.
The polymer solution flow in porous media is a central research topic related to hydraulic fracturing measures, formation damage and fracture propagation. Influenced by molecular weights and concentrations, various flow patterns of polymer in pores are presented, resulting in different filtration loss. In this work, the effectiveness of various polymer solutions for filtration loss was assessed by utilizing the core flooding experiment firstly. The result shows that lesser filtration loss normally is inextricably linked to solutions with high molecular weight and concentration. Subsequently, the flow behaviors of polymer solutions investigated by designed micro pore-throat structure and micro-particle image velocimetry (μ-PIV) further confirmed the above result. It was found that the central convergent flow pattern benefiting from higher viscous force loss and less filtration loss was observed at high flow rates (0.5 mL/h), and higher molecular weight and concentration were more prone to convergent flow patterns. The viscosity force loss increases by about 4 times varying the molecular weight of polymer from 5 × 106 to 18 × 106 g/mol or the concentration from 0.05 to 0.3%. It interprets higher molecular weight and concentration in core studies and field observations with decreased filtration loss of HPAM. This work provides a theoretical foundation for the application of fracturing fluids as well as fresh perspectives on how to access the filtration loss of fracturing fluids.
