Rheological properties of a cross-linked gel based on guar gum for hydraulic fracture of oil wells
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(2020) 42:498
TECHNICAL PAPER
Rheological properties of a cross‑linked gel based on guar gum for hydraulic fracture of oil wells Gabriel G. Vargas1 · Rafhael M. Andrade2 · Bruno V. Loureiro1 · Edson J. Soares2 Received: 1 October 2019 / Accepted: 18 August 2020 © The Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering 2020
Abstract The hydraulic fracturing of oil wells is, supposedly, the first technique used to upgrade the oil and gas production. The main idea of this technique is to inject a fluid containing any kind of proppant into the well at a high flow rate and high pressure. One kind of fluid quite used as fracturing material is a cross-linked water-based guar gum gel. It seems that the rheological character of this kind of gel has not yet received the attention it deserves. This material is highly non-Newtonian and must be carefully analysed for further improvement in the fracturing process. We carried out different rheometric tests, which are presented in terms of the shear stress versus shear rate. The material seems to behave like a visco-elastic fluid, reasonably well described by the Jeffrey model. In addition, it is worth noting that the gel is very slippery, even on a rough surface. For this reason, we paid great attention to the maximum stress (a critical stress), above which the gel slips. We strongly believe that this stress has great practical importance for flow assurance and could be used to estimate the total pressure drop in the fracturing process. Keywords Hydraulic fracturing · Guar gum gel · Wall · Cross-linked gel
1 Introduction The petroleum industry is responsible for the supply of a high percentage of the total amount of energy consumed in the world. For that reason, this industry has developed and improved a number of technologies to increase oil and gas production. Among these techniques, we can cite acidizing, water flooding, chemical flooding, carbon dioxide Technical Editor: Jader Barbosa Jr., PhD. * Rafhael M. Andrade [email protected] * Edson J. Soares [email protected] Bruno V. Loureiro [email protected] 1
Laboratory of Experimental Methods in Transport Phenomena (LaMEFT) Mechanical Engineering Department, Technological Center, Federal University of Espírito Santo, 29075‑910 Vitoria, ES, Brazil
Laboratory of Rheology (LABREO), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, Avenida Fernando Ferrari, 514, 29075‑910 Vitoria, ES, Brazil
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flooding and hydraulic fracturing of wells [13]. In fact, our main motivation here is in the induced hydraulic fracturing, mainly concerned with the necessary pressure gradient to accomplish the task. It seems that hydraulic fracturing was the first technique used to upgrade oil and gas production, as reported by [20]. The main idea of this technique is to inject a suspension containing any kind of proppant (a solid material, typically treated sands or man-made ceramics) into the well at high flow rate and high pressure. Such a process is able to create permanent fissures over t
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