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Vol 279
Pages:
70-81
In press
Article
Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology

Analysis of the influence of viscoelastic properties of a synthetic hydraulic fracturing fluid on proppant transport capacity

Authors:
Dinis V. Imangulov1
Aleksandr I. Ponomarev2
Denis V. Kashapov3
About authors
  • 1 — Postgraduate Student Ufa State Petroleum Technological University ▪ Orcid
  • 2 — Ph.D., Dr.Sci. Professor Ufa State Petroleum Technological University ▪ Orcid
  • 3 — Ph.D. Associate Professor Ufa State Petroleum Technological University ▪ Orcid
Date submitted:
2025-05-06
Date accepted:
2026-03-04
Online publication date:
2026-05-18

Abstract

One of the pressing scientific challenges in the field of hydrocarbon production enhancement from hard-to-recover reserves using hydraulic fracturing is the insufficient understanding of how the elastic properties of hydraulic fracturing fluids affect proppant retention efficiency during fracture initiation in the near-wellbore zone. Earlier domestic and foreign studies on proppant transport capacity assert that fluid viscosity plays a key role in proppant retention; however, recent data indicate a significant influence of the elastic properties of polymer systems, particularly when using low-viscosity synthetic hydraulic fracturing fluids based on polyacrylamide (PAM). This study aims to provide a fundamental substantiation of the effect of viscoelastic properties of hydraulic fracturing fluids on proppant transport efficiency. The article presents the methodology and results of laboratory tests evaluating the viscoelastic and proppant transport properties of PAM-based and guar polymer-based hydraulic fracturing fluids. The findings demonstrate that PAM-based hydraulic fracturing fluids, despite their low effective system viscosity, exhibit more pronounced elastic properties compared to linear guar gels: the relaxation time and the first normal stress difference for the synthetic hydraulic fracturing fluid are 1.99 and 4 times greater than the corresponding values for the linear guar gel. The test results confirmed that the proppant settling rate in the PAM-based hydraulic fracturing fluid under static conditions was 28 times lower than that in the linear guar gel at equivalent active substance concentrations. The elastic properties of hydraulic fracturing fluids have a substantial effect on proppant transport capacity, supporting the potential of using low-viscosity synthetic PAM-based hydraulic fracturing fluids to enhance hydrocarbon production from reservoirs with permeability less than 1 mD.

Область исследования:
Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology
Keywords:
rheology viscoelastic properties hydraulic fracturing fluid polyacrylamide proppant transport capacity relaxation time first normal stress difference
Funding:

None

Go to volume 279

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