Probing the effect of Young's modulus on the plugging performance of micro-nano-scale dispersed particle gels

The effect of mechanical strength of the dispersed particle gel (DPG) on its macro plugging performance is significant, however, little study has been reported. In this paper, DPG particles with different mechanical strengths were obtained by mechanical shearing of bulk gels prepared with different formula. Young's moduli of DPG particles on the micro and nano scales were measured by atomic force microscope for the first time. The mapping relationship among the formula of bulk gel, the Young's moduli of the DPG particles and the final plugging performance were established. The results showed that when the Young's moduli of the DPG particles increased from 82 to 328 Pa, the plugging rate increased significantly from 91.46% to 97.10% due to the distinctly enhanced stacking density and strength at this range. While when the Young's moduli of the DPG particles surpassed 328 Pa, the further increase of plugging rate with the Young's moduli of the DPG particles became insignificant. These results indicated that the improvement of plugging rate was more efficient by adjusting the Young's moduli of the DPG particles within certain ranges, providing guidance for improving the macroscopic application properties of DPG systems in reservoir heterogeneity regulation. (c) 2022 The Authors. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/ 4.0/).

Automated summary

"The mechanical strength of dispersed particle gel (DPG) has a significant impact on its macro plugging performance, but there is limited research on this aspect. In this study, DPG particles with different mechanical strengths were obtained by shearing bulk gels with different formulations. The Young's moduli of the DPG particles on micro and nano scales were measured using an atomic force microscope for the first time. The relationship between the formulation of the bulk gel, the Young's moduli of the DPG particles, and the final plugging performance was established. The results showed that within a certain range, increasing the Young's moduli of the DPG particles from 82 Pa to 328 Pa led to a significant increase in the plugging rate due to enhanced stacking density and strength. However, when the Young's moduli of the DPG particles exceeded 328 Pa, the further increase in plugging rate became insignificant. These findings suggest that adjusting the Young's moduli of the DPG particles within certain ranges is more efficient for improving the plugging rate, providing guidance for the macroscopic application of DPG systems in regulating reservoir heterogeneity."