Multiphase Flow Behavior in Complex and Critical Environments

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Background

Multiphase flow is a basic science in the field of energy development. In recent years, the exploration and development of hydrocarbon energy, such as oil, natural gas and natural gas hydrate, comes to the deep water and deep stratum regions. The practicing engineers have to face challenges resulted from the multiphase flow of complex fluids under elevated temperature/pressure conditions. For example, the temperature and pressure of a 24000 ft long wellbore can reach over 200 ℃ and 100 MPa in the Tarim oilfield. In deep-water wells, the wellbore temperature in the deep-water wells can vary from 4 to 120 ℃, while the wellbore pressure can vary from 10 to 30 MPa. Since the phase state of wellbore fluids (e.g., acid gas, hydrocarbon gas and crude oil) highly depends on the temperature and pressure conditions, the phase transition happens throughout all the steps in the exploitation of hydrocarbon resources in deep-water wells and ultra-deep onshore wells. In addition, sand production from the reservoir can significantly complicate the multiphase flow behavior of the hydrocarbon fluids in wellbore and reservoir.

The complex multiphase flow behavior brings about unique challenges in extracting hydrocarbon resources from deep-water wells and ultra-deep onshore wells. Although new measures and new models have been presented to predict and simulate the multiphase flow behavior in wellbore and reservoir under complex environments, most of them do not perform well when being applied to field conditions. The most interesting and urgent multiphase flow problems can be grouped into two categories. Firstly, the multiphase flow problems induced by the phase transition in wellbore and reservoir include hydrate plugging, wax deposition, sand production, failure of wellbore pressure management, etc. Secondly, the multiphase flow problems during/after wellbore stimulations (such as hydraulic fracturing) include proppant transport, backflow of fracturing fluid, multiphase flow in fractures, etc. As such, we would like to invite researchers and engineers working in relevant fields to contribute papers that aim to address the above-mentioned problems. This Research Topic aims to fill the gaps among fundamental theories, applied technologies and field practices, reporting recent innovations and advances related to the multiphase flow behavior in critical and complex environments.

This Research Topic will be dedicated to publishing experimental and theoretical studies related to the multiphase flow behavior in critical and complex environments. The Research Topic intends to cover but is not limited to the following topics:

· New multiphase flow concepts, theories, methods, experiments, and techniques.
· Microscopic/pore-scale studies of multiphase flow behavior in deep or unconventional reservoirs.
· THMC (thermal-hydrological-mechanical–chemical) coupling and multi-physical process in drilling and production.
· New stimulation approaches (horizontal wells, branch wells, hydraulic fracturing, etc.) for unconventional reservoirs.
· New experiments and modeling of multiphase flow behavior in wellbore and pipeline during drilling and production of deep-water wells and ultra-deep onshore wells.
· Advanced flow assurance theories, concepts and techniques.
· Phase transitions in multiphase flow.
· New equipment, tools and facilities for conducting multiphase flow experiments.

Keywords: Flow in wellbore, Flow assurance, Drilling and completion, Well stimulations, Multiphase flow in reservoir

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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