Fracturing Fluid Characterization Facility (FFCF): Recent advances

The objectives of this project are: (1)Investigate fluid rheological behavior, dynamic fluid leak-off behavior, and proppant transport characteristics of various fracturing fluids used for stimulating oil and gas bearing formations. (2) Develop new information for characterizing the behavior of fracturing fluids under conditions more representative of the behavior in actual fractures. (3) Continue utilizing the advanced capabilities of the high pressure simulator (HPS) to perform near-term research and development activities and not to construct a large-scale simulator that was proposed originally. This paper describes equipment enhancements, data acquisition and instrumentation upgrades, R&D test results, and future research planned for the Fracturing Fluid Characterization Facility.