Particle deposition in channels with permeablewalls

Abstract

The filling of a channel with solid particles is considered in connection with the problem of preserving the geometry of a slot produced by hydraulic fracturing in a petroleum reservoir. The channel walls are permeable for the fluid. In the study, an experimental model of the channel (slot) in a permeable porous medium is used, on the periphery of which a constant pressure is sustained. The conditions of particle deposition on the permeable channel walls are determined. It is shown that in the case considered the initial stage of the particle deposition is independent of the viscosity and velocity of the fluid and is determined by the particle size and the specific permeability of the channel walls. It is found that the particles moving in the fluid stop at a certain distance and fill the fracture closely, forming a slug which loses stability as the pressure difference on its edges increases. The loss of the stability of the slug is accompanied by the appearance of a wavy channel, devoid of the particles and propagating in the flow direction.