Testing device and method for simulating the flowback in the shut-in period of fractured wells

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11054405-B2
Application number	US-202016923078-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 7, 2020
Priority date	Jul 8, 2019
Publication date	Jul 6, 2021
Grant date	Jul 6, 2021

Abstract

The invention discloses a testing device and method for simulating the flowback in the shut-in period of fractured wells, comprising a fracturing fluid tank, a flowback fracturing fluid tank, a hydraulic fracturing pump, a flowback fluid collection beaker, and a shut-in flowback testing system; the shut-in flowback testing system is composed of a box body and an acoustic wave testing device, a temperature control device, a fracturing string and a square rock block arranged in the box body; a stress loading plate and a hydraulic block are successively arranged between the four surfaces of the square rock block and the inner walls of the box body; the acoustic wave testing device consists of an acoustic wave transmitting probe and an acoustic wave receiving probe; the four outer surfaces of the box body are provided with hydraulic tanks.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A testing system for simulating flowback in a shut-in period of fractured wells, the testing system comprising:
a fracturing fluid tank, a flowback fracturing fluid tank, a hydraulic fracturing pump, a flowback fluid collection beaker, and a shut-in flowback testing system;
wherein the shut-in flowback testing system comprises a box body, an acoustic wave testing device, a temperature control device, a fracturing string and a cube rock block arranged in the box body;
wherein four stress loading plates and four hydraulic blocks are successively and respectively arranged between four surfaces of the cube rock block and four inner walls of the box body; the acoustic wave testing device comprises an acoustic wave transmitting probe and two acoustic wave receiving probes, the acoustic wave transmitting probe being embedded in a first stress loading plate among the four stress loading plates, and the two acoustic wave receiving probes being respectively embedded in a second stress loading plate and a third stress loading plate among the four stress loading plates that are adjacent to the first stress loading plate; four outer surfaces of the box body are provided with four hydraulic tanks, and each of the hydraulic tanks contains hydraulic fluid which is injected into the corresponding hydraulic block;
wherein a hole is made on the fracturing string, a first end of the fracturing string is located in the cube rock block and a second end of the fracturing string is connected to an outlet of the hydraulic fracturing-pump with a fracturing pipe; the fracturing pipe is provided with a flowback fracturing fluid pipe connected to the flowback fracturing fluid tank and a flowback pipe connected to the flowback fluid collection beaker; the fracturing fluid tank is connected to an inlet of the hydraulic fracturing pump with a pipe;
wherein a first valve is provided between the hydraulic fracturing pump and fracturing fluid tank; the hydraulic fracturing pump is provided with a parallel pipe, and the parallel pipe is provided with a second valve; the flowback pipe is provided with a flowback electromagnetic flowmeter and a third valve, the flowback fracturing fluid pipe is provided with a sixth valve, and the fracturing pipe is provided with a fracturing electromagnetic flowmeter, a fourth valve and a fifth valve; and a first electronic balance, a second electronic balance and a third electronic balance are disposed below the fracturing fluid tank, the flowback fluid collection beaker, and the flowback fracturing fluid tank respectively.

2. A test method for simulating flowback in a shut-in period of fractured wells, applied in the testing system according to claim 1 , the method comprising the following steps:
(1) preparing a fracturing fluid; polishing a rock sample to be the cube rock block with a size of 70 cm×70 cm×70 cm; drilling a channel with an identical outer diameter and an identical length as the fracturing string along a direction of a maximum horizontal principal stress; and putting the cube rock block into the shut-in flowback testing system;
(2) disconnecting the shut-in flowback testing system from the pipe; turning on an experimental condition control computer; injecting the fracturing fluid into the four hydraulic blocks through the four hydraulic tanks; turning on the temperature control device to reach a simulated formation temperature; and turning on the acoustic wave testing device to measure an initial acoustic wave data of the cube rock block;
(3) testing an amount of residual fracturing fluid in the fracturing pipe and an amount of residual fracturing fluid in the flowback pipe, comprising the following sub-steps:
(3-A) recording a data M 1 after the first electronic balance is stable; opening the first valve, the fourth valve and the fifth valve on the fracturing pipe, and closing the second valve, the third valve and the sixth valve on the flowback pipe; turning on the hydraulic fracturing pump, and recording a data M 2 of the first electronic balance when a pipe nozzle connecting the fracturing string begins to flow water; wherein a difference between the data M 1 and the data M 2 is the amount of residual fracturing fluid in the fracturing pipe; and
(3-B) draining the fracturing fluid in the pipe; closing the first valve, the fourth valve and the sixth valve on the fracturing pipe; reading a data M 3 of the third electronic balance of the fracturing fluid tank; opening the second valve, the fourth valve and the sixth valve on the flowback pipe; turning on the hydraulic fracturing pump and setting the displacement, and recording a data M 4 of the third electronic balance when a pipe nozzle at the flowback fluid collection beaker begins to flow water; wherein a difference between the data M 3 and the data M 4 is the amount of residual fracturing fluid in the flowback pipe;

(4) draining the residual fluid in the pipe; connecting the shut-in flowback testing system to the pipe, and loading the fracturing fluid into the fracturing fluid tank; reading a mass data M 5 of the fracturing fluid tank; opening the first valve, the fourth valve and the fifth valve on the fracturing pipe, and closing the second valve, the third valve and the sixth valve on the flowback pipe; and turning on the acoustic wave testing device and connecting the computer to the acoustic wave testing device;
(5) turning on the hydraulic fracturing pump; performing a fracturing operation, and using the computer to process a data transmitted by the acoustic wave probe to obtain a morphology of a fracturing network;
(6) recording a pressure P 1 and a mass data M 6 of the first electronic balance of the fracturing fluid tank, closing the fracturing valve to simulate the fracturing fluid in the shut-in well under the pressure P 1 , and recording the morphology of the fracturing network;
(7) opening the second valve, the third valve and the sixth valve on the flowback pipe, and closing the first valve, the fourth valve and fifth valve on the fracturing pipe, turning on the hydraulic fracturing pump to perform a flowback operation under an experimentally designed pressure difference ΔP 2 ; the second electronic balance recording a mass of flowback fluid in real time until a data M 7 is stable;
(8) calculating a flowback rate of the cube rock block;
(9) comparing the flowback rate of the cube rock block under different degrees of fracture network complexity, portraying the fracture network formed in the cube rock block according to the data from the acoustic wave receiving probe, and quantifying a complexity of the fracture network according to a fracture network volume; and
(10) obtaining a relationship between the fracture network volume and the flowback rate.

Assignees

• Univ Southwest Petroleum

Inventors

• Hu Yongquan
• Zhao Chaoneng
• Zhao Jinzhou
• Song Pengju
• Wang Qiang

Classifications

• G01N33/24 Primary

  Earth materials (G01N33/42 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01N2291/0289

  Internal structure, e.g. defects, grain size, texture · CPC title

• E21B47/00

  Survey of boreholes or wells (monitoring pressure or flow of drilling fluid E21B21/08) · CPC title

• G01N29/06

  Visualisation of the interior, e.g. acoustic microscopy {(medical or veterinary diagnosis using sonic waves A61B8/00; representation of acoustic wave distribution G01H3/125, G01H9/002; short-range imaging systems using reflection of acoustic waves G01S15/8906)} · CPC title

• G01N2291/0232

  Glass, ceramics, concrete or stone · CPC title