Dynamic influence of coal fine intrusion on propped fracture permeability

Coal fine intrusion into hydraulic propped fractures of coal seam easily leads to the blockage of the fracture, resulting in the decrease of the conductivity and the reduction of coal reservoir permeability, which seriously affects the stable discharge and production of coalbed methane well. In this paper, the permeability dynamic evolution models of coal fine intrusion into propped fractures were established before the shutdown and after the restart of coalbed methane well, and the experiments of coal fine intrusion into propped fracture under continuous and intermittent flow conditions were carried out by using the coal-rock conductivity test system, which verified the correctness of the models and studied the influence of coalbed methane well stoppage and drainage velocity on the permeability spatial and temporal evolution laws. The results indicate that with the increase of coal fine migration time, the permeability of propped fracture decreases slowly after a sudden drop, and along the direction of coal fine migration, the spatial pore loss rate of propped fracture decreases gradually, resulting in the permeability of fracture decreases along the direction of coal fine migration. With the continuous coal fine intrusion into propped fracture, the propped fracture pore loss rate after the shut-in and restart of coalbed methane wells is larger than that before the shutdown, and the permeability cannot be restored to the level before the shutdown. The slower the flow rate of drainage, the slower the permeability attenuation rate of coal fine intrusion into propped fracture, and the higher the permeability. During the coal fine invasion into proppant fracture at the low drainage flow rate, the fracture permeability is more sensitive to the flow rate change, and the less damage to the propped fracture permeability caused by the well shutdown. In the process of coal fine intrusion, the larger the deposition coefficient of coal fine is, the smaller the proximal fracture permeability and the larger the distal fracture permeability. The larger the diffusion coefficient is, the smaller the distal fracture permeability of the propped fracture is. The permeability of the proximal fracture is very little affected by the diffusion coefficient, and the damage to the proximal fracture permeability is more serious. In the process of coal fine intrusion, the proximal fracture permeability declines faster, while the distal fracture permeability declines slowly. The deposition coefficient changes have a significant influence on the proximal fracture permeability, while the diffusion coefficient changes have a more significant influence on the distal fracture permeability. © 2024 China Coal Society. All rights reserved.