An experimental study on plugging and erosion failures of sand screen in grave-packing conditions

Key words:  sand control  screen completion  gravel packing  erosion failure  water-resource well

Abstract:

An experimental set-up was developed for simulating the failure of sand control devices via gravel-packing techniques in water resource wells for oilfield application. The influence of screen types, sand and gravel sizes and production pressure on plugging and erosion of the sand screen and the damage of the production tube were investigated. The results show that, under the same downhole conditions, there is a big difference of the anti-erosion capability of the sand screens due to their structure and materials. The pressure distribution is uneven at the outlet of the perforation for the gravel pack in the annulus between the sand control pipe and the casing wall. The blockage of the sand control device is random process, which can be one of main reasons resulting in the failure of the sand screens since fluid carrying sand particles flow through the filter gaps with abrasion materials. In addition, high velocity fluid with sands and gravels from the perforation can form an abrasive jet impinging on the surface of the production tube resulting in erosion failure of the tube body. The experimental results have similar features with the erosion screens taken out from the wellbores. The study will provide guidelines for the selection of the screen materials, design of the screen structures.