Flow field simulation of supercritical carbon dioxide jet: Comparison and sensitivity analysis

Abstract

As a new jet technology developed in recent years, the supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) jet technology enjoys many advantages when applied in oil and gas explorations. In order to study the properties and parametric influences of the SC-CO2 jet, the flow fields of the SC-CO2 jet are simulated using the computational fluid dynamics method. The flow field of the SC-CO2 is compared with that of the water jet. The influences of several parameters on the flow field of the SC-CO2 jet are studied. It is indicated that like the water jet, the velocity and the pressure of the SC-CO2 jet could be converted to each other, and the SC-CO2 jet can generate a significant impact pressure on the wall, the SC-CO2 jet has a stronger impact pressure and a higher velocity than those of the water jet under the same conditions, the maximum velocity and the impact pressure of the SC-CO2 jet increase with the increase of the nozzle pressure drop, under the stimulation condition of this study, the influence of the SC-CO2 temperature on the impact pressure can be neglected in engineering applications, while the maximum velocity of the SC-CO2 jet increases with the increase of the fluid temperature. This paper theoretically explores the properties of the SC-CO2 jet flow field, and the results might provide a theoretical basis for the application of the SC-CO2 jet in oil and gas well drillings and fracturing stimulations.