Settling behavior of the proppants in viscoelastic foams on the bubble scale

Abstract

Liquid foam is an alternative to water-based fracturing fluid due to its great proppant suspension ability. In this work, theoretical and experimental investigations on the settling behavior of the proppants in viscoelastic foams were analyzed on bubble scale. Settling trajectory was captured over time by optical microscope to calculate proppant settling velocity. At room temperature, proppants kept suspended well, but noticeable changes in proppant position could be observed at 70 °C. We concluded that the sedimentation of the proppants at high temperature was divided into three stages, that were drainage-dominated, structure-dominated and fluid-dominated regimes. For the large proppants, quick settling velocity was seen at first due to fast drainage rate. Then bubble pressure force and network force served as drag force exerting on the proppants when the proppants stretched or squeezed the liquid films. During this regime, bubble distribution, the existence of nodes, the length and the orientation of Plateau border leaded to the fluctuation in settling velocity. Lastly, the proppants would also flow freely along Plateau border over time, and the properties of the foam fluid such as viscosity and elasticity provided the drag force to prevent the proppants from settling. It's more likely for small proppants to change to this stage called fluid-dominated regime, but elasticity also guaranteed their low settling velocity. Moreover, in the existence of proppants, the analysis into drainage rate and bubble structure demonstrated the high stability of viscoelastic foams. These results helped understand the sedimentation of proppants in wet foams and broadened the application of viscoelastic foams in hydraulic fracturing.