Proppant is one of the key materials used for hydraulic fracturing, directly determining the production of oil and gas wells, which greatly affects the economic benefits. The main function of the proppant is to prop fracture, and create channels with high fracture conductivity for oil
and gas to flow through. First, the microscopic arrangement structure of proppant was studied, and the proppant porosity was calculated in different arrangement structures. Second, a proppant embedment model was established based on the elastic-plastic deformation between the proppant partcles
and the fracture surface. Third, a fracture conductivity model was established based on various parameters, such as, diameter, concentration, strength, crushing rate, embedment, etc. Finally, the proppant embedment depth was calculated on the basis of the new model, from which predicted values
match with the experimental values within an average error of less than 7%. The fracture conductivity was calculated. From a comparison with the experimental values, the average error was less than 6.8%. The calculated proppant embedment depth and fracture conductivity were consistent with
the experimental results, which verified the accuracy of the new model. This study is of significance for guiding hydraulic fracturing design.
Experimental study on proppant embedment depth and fracture conductivity in coal seam
