Efficient Modeling of Proppant Transport in Multi-Cluster Stages

Abstract

Abstract In this study, an Eulerian-Lagrangian (E-L) proppant model was coupled with the simplified three-dimensional displacement discontinuity method (S3D DDM) hydraulic fracture model to simulate proppant transport in multiple simultaneously propagating hydraulic fractures in a stage. The E-L proppant model computes slurry flow in the Eulerian regime and proppant particles in the Lagrangian regime, while the S3D DDM hydraulic fracture model efficiently simulates 3D non-planar hydraulic fracture geometries. Synthetic case studies were conducted to examine the effect of cluster spacing and the number of clusters on proppant placement in multi-cluster stages. Numerical results showed that the tip process zone of the nearby hydraulic fractures significantly reduces the hydraulic fracture width at the affected area, which obstructs the proppant transport in the affected hydraulic fractures. In addition, the non-planar hydraulic fracture plane slows down proppant movement and can potentially cause proppant bridging. The effect of multi-cluster design on proppant transport is mitigated with larger cluster spacings or fewer numbers of clusters in a stage.