An extensive scope of flow loops with a focus on particle transport

Abstract

All the oil and natural gas wells from underground reservoirs to the surface resemble flow loops. Over the past couple of decades, a variety of flow loops have been established in order to create real field environments in the laboratories. The flow loops help to further advance the efficiency of drilling, production, and hydraulic fracturing operations. This can be achieved by better understanding the mechanisms behind particle transport within the flow loops such as fluid velocity and rheology, particle size and concentration, acting forces on particles, and pressure drop. The objective of the current review is to critically investigate several flow loops with different applications addressing transportation of particles such as cuttings, sands, condensate droplets, hydrates, and proppants.