Experimental and numerical study of erosion in a non-Newtonian hydraulic fracturing fluid

Erosion in hydraulic fracturing fluid is investigated utilizing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and with comparison to new experimental data for sand in shear thinning non-Newtonian fluids. A grid optimized CFD-based erosion prediction procedure is applied utilizing Dense Discrete Phase Model (DDPM) and one-way coupling model. The effect of different turbulence models on flow modeling, sand particle transport and impact characteristics are also examined. Constant viscosity fluid and power law constitutive equations are implemented and their capability in predicting erosion is examined by comparison to experimental data gathered in this investigation. This investigation has shown that significant error can arise from utilizing constant viscosity model to predict erosion resulting from particles entrained in non-Newtonian fluids. Thus, this investigation has resulted in selecting the best CFD approach and model combination for predicting erosion in this hydraulic fracturing non-Newtonian fluid.