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Numerical Simulation Study of Proppant Flow in Rough Fractures Based on CFD-DEM
ZHAO Wanchun, PU Pingfan , LV Yuanyuan , HE Wenlin , ZENG Xuyang , WANG Tingting
Xinjiang Oil & Gas    2026, 22 (2): 19-27.   DOI: 10.12388/j.issn.1673-2677.2026.02.003
Abstract (66)      PDF (3348KB)(12)       Save

To address the limitation of conventional smooth parallel-plate models,namely neglecting the influence of roughness on proppant transport,this study establishes a fracture geometry model based on fractal theory to embody actual reservoir roughness characteristics,where the Weierstrass-Mandelbrot function is modified using measured rock-wall profile data. The coupled computational fluid dynamics and discrete element method (CFD-DEM) is employed to simulate proppant migration and post-fracturing flowback,with a focus on the effects of the injection port number,proppant concentration,and particle size combination. The results indicate that in the case of single-port injection,fracturing fluid energy is concentrated to deliver a maximum equilibrium proppant bank height of 3.25 cm and the lowest flowback rate. When the proppant concentration increases from 8% to 11%,the proppant bank height rises from 2.60 cm to 3.28 cm,accompanied by a corresponding decrease in the flowback rate of proppants. For a particle size combination of 70/140 mesh,40/70 mesh,and 20/40 mesh at a mass ratio of 1:6:3,the equilibrium proppant bank height reaches 3.28 cm,and the proppant retention rate reaches 97.64%. It is revealed that rough-wall undulations induce localized vortex zones,increase the resistance to particle settling,and promote the formation of inter-particle force chains,thereby significantly enhancing proppant bank stability and near-wellbore placement efficiency. The proposed fractal-modified fracture model and the CFD-DEM coupling approach effectively capture the nonlinear effects of wall undulations on particle transport,providing theoretical support for optimizing proppant placement strategies in shale oil hydraulic fracturing.

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