US 11,899,005 B2
Divisible experimental device and method for sand production and sand control during natural gas hydrate exploitation
Xiaosen Li, Guangzhou (CN); Yi Wang, Guangzhou (CN); Zhaoyang Chen, Guangzhou (CN); Zhiming Xia, Guangzhou (CN); Gang Li, Guangzhou (CN); and Yu Zhang, Guangzhou (CN)
Assigned to GUANGZHOU INSTITUTE OF ENERGY CONVERSION, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, Guangzhou (CN)
Appl. No. 17/257,311
Filed by GUANGZHOU INSTITUTE OF ENERGY CONVERSION, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, Guangzhou (CN)
PCT Filed Sep. 8, 2020, PCT No. PCT/CN2020/114106
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Dec. 29, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/159701, PCT Pub. Date Aug. 19, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 202010789778.0 (CN), filed on Aug. 7, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0299495 A1, Sep. 22, 2022
Int. Cl. G01N 33/24 (2006.01); B01J 19/18 (2006.01); E21B 43/08 (2006.01); E21B 41/00 (2006.01)
CPC G01N 33/24 (2013.01) [B01J 19/1818 (2013.01); B01J 2219/00094 (2013.01); B01J 2219/00283 (2013.01); B01J 2219/00286 (2013.01); B01J 2219/00337 (2013.01); B01J 2219/00423 (2013.01); E21B 41/0099 (2020.05); E21B 43/084 (2013.01); E21B 2200/20 (2020.05)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A divisible device for a simulation experiment of sand production and sand control in natural gas hydrate exploitation, comprising a reactor system, a feeding system, a separation and measurement system, a water-bath jacket system, a support and safety system, and a software recording and analyzing system; wherein
the feeding system is configured to introduce gas, liquid, and sands into the reactor system to allow formation of natural gas hydrates in the reactor system;
the reactor system is disposed in the water-bath jacket system, and the water-bath jacket system is configured to regulate a temperature inside the reactor system for simulating an ambient temperature of a natural gas hydrate reservoir;
the support and safety system comprises a base, wherein the water-bath jacket system is vertically or horizontally fixable on the base for simulating the sand production and sand control by sand control screens at various positions in the natural gas hydrate reservoir;
the base is provided with a data collecting module, wherein the data collecting module collects data from the reactor system during a simulated exploitation by a plurality of sensors;
the separation and measurement system is connected to a production outlet of the reactor system for simulating a inflow of a gas-liquid-sand mixture during the simulated exploitation; the separation and measurement system is configured to separate and measure the gas-liquid-sand mixture, and send measurement data to the data collecting module;
the software recording and analyzing system is communicatingly connected with the data collecting module;
the reactor system comprises first reactor units, second reactor units, third reactor units, ball valves, meshes, and caps; each of the first reactor units comprises a cylindrical casing with a first end being open and a second end being closed; each of the second reactor units and the third reactor units comprises a cylindrical casing with both ends being open; the cylindrical casing of each of the first reactor units, the second reactor units, and the third reactor units is provided with holes for disposing sensors; the first reactor units, the second reactor units, and the third reactor units are each provided with a pressure relief opening and a liquid discharging opening; the first reactor units and the third reactor units are each further provided with a sand inlet, a water inlet, a methane inlet, a production outlet, and a sight opening; the caps are each provided with a production outlet; and
the first reactor units, the second reactor units, the third reactor units, the ball valves, the meshes, and the caps are configured to be combined in a plurality of ways to allow the reactor system to carry out the simulation experiment with either zero, one, or two view zones, with either one or two wells, and with the sand control screens being disposed at various positions in the natural gas hydrate reservoir.