Cuttings Carrying Pattern of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide in Horizontal Wells

In order to get a better understanding on the mechanism of cuttings carrying of supercritical carbon dioxide(SC-CO2)in horizontal wells,a numerical simulation method based on the DPM model was used to analyze the cuttings carrying law of SC-CO2 in horizontal wells.The simulation results indicate that the cuttings transport in a stratified flow in horizontal section,and the cuttings will gradually settle to the lower part of the section with the cuttings moving to the outlet;the cuttings carrying capacity of SC-CO2 will gradually increase with the increase of flow rate and pressure as well as the decrease of annular space;but the cuttings carrying capacity will decrease gradually with the increase of temperature and cuttings size.The analysis results can provide references for the design of horizontal wells drilled with SC-CO2.