Yang Zhang¹, Xiaoping Yang¹, Yalan Zhang¹, Mingzhe Han¹, Jiayi Sun², Zhengsheng Xia^3,*

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.22, No.1, 2026, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2026.075388 - 06 February 2026

Abstract Self-suspended proppants, which enable clear-water fracturing, represent a promising new class of materials for reservoir stimulation. Given the economic limitations associated with their exclusive use, this study investigates proppant transport behavior in hybrid systems combining self-suspended proppants with conventional 40/70 mesh quartz sand at various mixing ratios. A dedicated experimental apparatus was developed to replicate field-relevant complex fracture networks, consisting of a main fracture and two branching fractures with different deflection angles. Using this system, sand bank formation and proppant distribution were examined for both conventional quartz sand fracturing and fracturing augmented with self-suspended proppants.… More >

Junchen Liu¹, Feng Zhou¹, Xiaofeng Lu¹, Xiaojin Zhou², Xianjun He¹, Yurou Du³, Fuguo Xia¹, Junfu Zhang⁴, Weiyi Luo^4,*

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.21, No.10, pp. 2613-2628, 2025, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2025.069772 - 30 October 2025

Abstract In shale gas reservoir stimulation, proppants are essential for sustaining fracture conductivity. However, increasing closing stress causes proppants to embed into the rock matrix, leading to a progressive decline in fracture permeability and conductivity. Furthermore, rock creep contributes to long-term reductions in fracture performance. To elucidate the combined effects of proppant embedding and rock creep on sustained conductivity, this study conducted controlled experiments examining conductivity decay in propped fractures under varying closing stresses, explicitly accounting for both mechanisms. An embedded discrete fracture model was developed to simulate reservoir production under different conductivity decay scenarios, while… More >

Mao Jiang¹, Jianshu Wu¹, Chengyong Peng¹, Xuesong Xing¹, Yishan Lou^2,3, Yi Liu^2,3,*, Shanyong Liu^2,3

Energy Engineering, Vol.122, No.10, pp. 4019-4034, 2025, DOI:10.32604/ee.2025.067236 - 30 September 2025

Abstract Fracture conductivity is a key factor to determine the fracturing effect. Optimizing proppant particle size distribution is critical for ensuring efficient proppant placement within fractures. To address challenges associated with the low-permeability reservoirs in the Lufeng Oilfield of the South China Sea—including high heterogeneity, complex lithology, and suboptimal fracturing outcomes—JRC (Joint Roughness Coefficient) was employed to quantitatively characterize the lithological properties of the target formation. A CFD-DEM (Computational Fluid Dynamics-Discrete Element Method) two-way coupling approach was then utilized to construct a fracture channel model that simulates proppant transport dynamics. The proppant particle size under different… More >

Jian Yang¹, Xinghao Gou¹, Jiayi Sun², Fei Liu¹, Xiaojin Zhou¹, Xu Liu¹, Tao Zhang^2,*

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.21, No.8, pp. 1935-1954, 2025, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2025.066730 - 12 September 2025

Abstract Shale gas production involves complex gas-water two-phase flow, with flow patterns in proppant-filled fractures playing a critical role in determining production efficiency. In this study, 3D geometric models of 40/70 mesh ceramic particles and quartz sand proppant clusters were elaborated using computed tomography (CT) scanning. These models were used to develop a numerical simulation framework based on the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), enabling the investigation of gas-water flow behavior within proppant-filled fractures under varying driving forces and surface tensions. Simulation results at a closure pressure of 15 MPa have revealed that ceramic particles exhibit a More >

Chengyong Peng¹, Jianshu Wu¹, Mao Jiang¹, Biao Yin^2,3,*, Yishan Lou^2,3

Energy Engineering, Vol.122, No.1, pp. 185-201, 2025, DOI:10.32604/ee.2024.056062 - 27 December 2024

Abstract To analyze the differences in the transport and distribution of different types of proppants and to address issues such as the short effective support of proppant and poor placement in hydraulically intersecting fractures, this study considered the combined impact of geological-engineering factors on conductivity. Using reservoir production parameters and the discrete element method, multispherical proppants were constructed. Additionally, a 3D fracture model, based on the specified conditions of the L block, employed coupled (Computational Fluid Dynamics) CFD-DEM (Discrete Element Method) for joint simulations to quantitatively analyze the transport and placement patterns of multispherical proppants in… More > Graphic Abstract

Fan Yang^1,2,*, Honggang Mi^1,2, Jian Wu^1,2, Qi Yang^1,2

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.20, No.11, pp. 2637-2656, 2024, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2024.048574 - 28 October 2024

Abstract The gas production of deep coalbed methane wells in Linxing-Shenfu block decreases rapidly, the water output is high, the supporting effect is poor, the effective supporting fracture size is limited, and the migration mechanism of proppant in deep coal reservoir is not clear at present. To investigate the migration behavior of proppants in complex fractures during the volume reconstruction of deep coal and rock reservoirs, an optimization test on the conductivity of low-density proppants and simulations of proppant migration in complex fractures of deep coal reservoirs were conducted. The study systematically analyzed the impact of… More >

Boyu Liu¹, Jun Yao^1,*, Hai Sun¹

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.29, No.1, pp. 1-1, 2024, DOI:10.32604/icces.2024.011600

Abstract The temperature gradient between the geological formation and the injected supercritical CO₂ (Sc-CO₂) initiates heat transfer processes, leading to a non-uniform temperature field within the fracture. This spatial thermal variation induces fluctuations in the density and viscosity of Sc-CO₂. Moreover, the non-uniform density distribution of Sc-CO₂ leads to varying degrees of volume expansion or shrinkage, influencing fluid flow velocities within the fractures. This study integrates heat transfer and fluid leak-off models into the Eulerian-Eulerian two-fluid framework to systematically investigate the collective impacts of Sc-CO₂'s density, viscosity, and density-induced volumetric alterations on the proppant transport process under varied pumping… More >

Sergey Galkin^1,*, Ian Savitckii¹, Denis Shustov¹, Artyom Kukhtinskii¹, Boris Osovetsky², Alexander Votinov³

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.19, No.2, pp. 273-284, 2023, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2022.021697 - 29 August 2022

Abstract Survey and novel research data are used in the present study to classify/identify the lithological type of Verey age reservoirs’ rocks. It is shown how the use of X-ray tomography can clarify the degree of heterogeneity, porosity and permeability of these rocks. These data are then used to elaborate a model of hydraulic fracturing. The resulting software can take into account the properties of proppant and breakdown fluid, thermal reservoir conditions, oil properties, well design data and even the filtration and elastic-mechanical properties of the rocks. Calculations of hydraulic fracturing crack formation are carried out… More > Graphic Abstract

Tiankui Guo^1,*, Zhilin Luo¹, Shanbo Mou², Ming Chen¹, Yuanzhi Gong³, Jianhua Qin⁴

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.18, No.2, pp. 431-447, 2022, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2022.017861 - 16 December 2021

Abstract Although the dynamics of proppant (small ceramic balls used to prevent opened fractures from closing on the release of pressure) have been the subject of several numerical studies over recent years, large-scale inclined fractures exist in unconventional reservoirs for which relevant information is still missing. In the present study, this problem is investigated numerically considering the influence of several relevant factors such as the fracture roughness, inclination, the proppant particle size, the injection rate and the fluid viscosity. The results show that a rough wall enables the proppant to travel farther and cover larger areas. More >

Yatin Suri¹, Sheikh Zahidul Islam^{1, *}, Mamdud Hossain¹

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.16, No.2, pp. 297-337, 2020, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2020.08421 - 21 April 2020

Abstract The distribution of proppant injected in hydraulic fractures significantly affects the fracture conductivity and well performance. The proppant transport in thin fracturing fluid used during hydraulic fracturing in the unconventional reservoirs is considerably different from fracturing fluids in the conventional reservoir due to the very low viscosity and quick deposition of the proppants. This paper presents the development of a threedimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling technique for the prediction of proppant-fluid multiphase flow in hydraulic fractures. The proposed model also simulates the fluid leak-off behaviour from the fracture wall. The Euler-Granular and CFD-Discrete Element… More >