SMP Preparation, Programming, and Characterization
The problem of loss circulation in geothermal wells is inherently challenging due to high temperatures, brittle rocks, and presence of abundant fractures. Because of the inherent challenges in geothermal environments, there are limitations in selecting proper lost circulation materials (LCMs). Traditional LCMs such as calcium carbonates that are commonly used in the oil and gas drilling may be softened and prone to failure during geothermal drilling. Moreover, evaluating the performance of different LCMs for geothermal drilling requires unique testing setups, which is expensive, and complicated to run due to harsh environmental conditions of geothermal systems. Herein, we present a numerical approach to simulate LCM transport and bridging through fractures in downhole conditions. By discrete element methods, each individual particle trajectory, and their interactions with the fluid and surrounding particles are incorporated into the analysis. To validate the model, we used experimental results acquired from a high-temperature flow loop system built specifically for this purpose. We took a further step in this work and considered LCM particles that are made from a shape memory polymer (SMP). These particles start expanding and adhering to each other in downhole conditions. The use of SMP is shown to be advantageous in sealing large fractures (3 mm aperture). We demonstrated how numerical modelling may supplement laboratory tests to show initiation of the bridging process, fracture plugging or even its failure. Using the proposed methodology may significantly reduce the number of experiments needed to find an effective LCM recipe, hence drillers can save time and costs by assessing different LCM systems numerically.
Citation Formats
TY - DATA
AB - The problem of loss circulation in geothermal wells is inherently challenging due to high temperatures, brittle rocks, and presence of abundant fractures. Because of the inherent challenges in geothermal environments, there are limitations in selecting proper lost circulation materials (LCMs). Traditional LCMs such as calcium carbonates that are commonly used in the oil and gas drilling may be softened and prone to failure during geothermal drilling. Moreover, evaluating the performance of different LCMs for geothermal drilling requires unique testing setups, which is expensive, and complicated to run due to harsh environmental conditions of geothermal systems. Herein, we present a numerical approach to simulate LCM transport and bridging through fractures in downhole conditions. By discrete element methods, each individual particle trajectory, and their interactions with the fluid and surrounding particles are incorporated into the analysis. To validate the model, we used experimental results acquired from a high-temperature flow loop system built specifically for this purpose. We took a further step in this work and considered LCM particles that are made from a shape memory polymer (SMP). These particles start expanding and adhering to each other in downhole conditions. The use of SMP is shown to be advantageous in sealing large fractures (3 mm aperture). We demonstrated how numerical modelling may supplement laboratory tests to show initiation of the bridging process, fracture plugging or even its failure. Using the proposed methodology may significantly reduce the number of experiments needed to find an effective LCM recipe, hence drillers can save time and costs by assessing different LCM systems numerically.
AU - Salehi, Saeed
A2 - Lee, Lu
A3 - Magzoub, Musaab
A4 - Taleghani, Arash D.
A5 - Li, Guoqiang
DB - Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI)
DP - Open EI | National Renewable Energy Laboratory
DO -
KW - geothermal
KW - energy
KW - lost circulation
KW - fracture sealing
KW - shape memory polymer
KW - discrete element methods
KW - modeling
KW - economic
KW - drilling
KW - technology
KW - lost circulation material
KW - LCM
KW - SMP
KW - processed data
KW - CFD
KW - computational fluid dynamics
KW - DEM
LA - English
DA - 2021/10/01
PY - 2021
PB - University of Oklahoma
T1 - SMP Preparation, Programming, and Characterization
UR - https://data.openei.org/submissions/7557
ER -
Salehi, Saeed, et al. SMP Preparation, Programming, and Characterization. University of Oklahoma, 1 October, 2021, GDR. https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/1461.
Salehi, S., Lee, L., Magzoub, M., Taleghani, A., & Li, G. (2021). SMP Preparation, Programming, and Characterization. [Data set]. GDR. University of Oklahoma. https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/1461
Salehi, Saeed, Lu Lee, Musaab Magzoub, Arash D. Taleghani, and Guoqiang Li. SMP Preparation, Programming, and Characterization. University of Oklahoma, October, 1, 2021. Distributed by GDR. https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/1461
@misc{OEDI_Dataset_7557,
title = {SMP Preparation, Programming, and Characterization},
author = {Salehi, Saeed and Lee, Lu and Magzoub, Musaab and Taleghani, Arash D. and Li, Guoqiang},
abstractNote = {The problem of loss circulation in geothermal wells is inherently challenging due to high temperatures, brittle rocks, and presence of abundant fractures. Because of the inherent challenges in geothermal environments, there are limitations in selecting proper lost circulation materials (LCMs). Traditional LCMs such as calcium carbonates that are commonly used in the oil and gas drilling may be softened and prone to failure during geothermal drilling. Moreover, evaluating the performance of different LCMs for geothermal drilling requires unique testing setups, which is expensive, and complicated to run due to harsh environmental conditions of geothermal systems. Herein, we present a numerical approach to simulate LCM transport and bridging through fractures in downhole conditions. By discrete element methods, each individual particle trajectory, and their interactions with the fluid and surrounding particles are incorporated into the analysis. To validate the model, we used experimental results acquired from a high-temperature flow loop system built specifically for this purpose. We took a further step in this work and considered LCM particles that are made from a shape memory polymer (SMP). These particles start expanding and adhering to each other in downhole conditions. The use of SMP is shown to be advantageous in sealing large fractures (3 mm aperture). We demonstrated how numerical modelling may supplement laboratory tests to show initiation of the bridging process, fracture plugging or even its failure. Using the proposed methodology may significantly reduce the number of experiments needed to find an effective LCM recipe, hence drillers can save time and costs by assessing different LCM systems numerically.},
url = {https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/1461},
year = {2021},
howpublished = {GDR, University of Oklahoma, https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/1461},
note = {Accessed: 2025-05-02}
}
Details
Data from Oct 1, 2021
Last updated Jun 24, 2024
Submitted Feb 16, 2023
Organization
University of Oklahoma
Contact
Saeed Salehi
405.325.6822
Authors
Original Source
https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/1461Research Areas
Keywords
geothermal, energy, lost circulation, fracture sealing, shape memory polymer, discrete element methods, modeling, economic, drilling, technology, lost circulation material, LCM, SMP, processed data, CFD, computational fluid dynamics, DEMDOE Project Details
Project Name Developing Advanced Lost Prevention Methods and Smart Wellbore Strengthening Materials for Geothermal Wells
Project Lead Angel Nieto
Project Number EE0008602