System design for the measurement of downhole dynamic rheology for foam fracturing fluids

To investigate the rheology of multi-phase fluids and especially foams under realistic field conditions a downhole flow loop has been constructed and tested. The interactions between gravitational, frictional and other (e.g. gas solubility) factors have been investigated and isolated in a series of experiments. Here the system design of the multi-phase fluid flow loop and the special considerations of the design and their justification are described. To evaluate the data a new two-phase flow equation and a methodology of interpretation are outlined. Applications of the methodology in the treatment of sample data are also presented. The choice of a vertical instead of a horizontal apparatus is justified from the fundamental treatment in this work. It shows that the presence of the gravitational effects magnifies the frictional effects, allowing their more accurate estimation.

System design for the measurement of downhole dynamic rheology for foam fracturing fluids Conference Paper