Experimental study on replacing ceramsite with quartz sand in hydraulic fracturing.

Hydraulic fracturing effectively enhances production in the unconventional oil and gas industry. As we all know, proppant plays a vital role in the hydraulic fracturing. In this paper, the effects of proppant type, particle size, concentration, closure pressure, and other factors are studied by laboratory experiments. Based on the actual triaxial simulation device (TSD), quartz sand, ceramic, and coated sand are used as proppant, while sandstone, coal rock, shale, and granite are selected as the stone slate to experiment. The surface of the proppant was imaged by a surface profiler (SP) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) to compare the microscopic surface characteristics before and after the experiment. The particle size macroscopic distribution was measured by Mastersizer 2000. The results and innovation are as follows: This paper investigates the proppant crushing for hydraulic fracturing and provides an alternative evaluation method for proppant selection. The crushing laws of proppant under different pressures and stone slate are compared by using the experimental device. It is reliable for quartz sand to replace ceramic in deep layer of the field application. It also overturns the previous thinking. We believe this found holds the key toward systematically optimizing the development of unconventional reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]