Correlating Flowing Time and Condition For Perforation Plugging By Suspended Particles

Conditions leading to the plugging of perforations in wells and pore throats in porous formations are investigated experimentally. Accurate correlations are developed for the effect of pore throat to particle size ratio on flowing fluid conditions and plugging time leading to particle bridging. It is demonstrated that the critical pore throat to particle size ratio vs. particle-volume fraction Reynold's number can be correlated satisfactorily using an exponential function, and the dimensionless plugging time vs. reciprocal particle-volume fraction yields an exponential-type correlation. Such empirical correlations can be used to determine and alleviate the conditions that induce perforation and pore plugging by migrating particles in petroleum reservoirs. These correlations reveal that the critical pore-to-particle diameter ratio below which plugging occurs may be greater than the unit physical limit.