Experimental study of sand production from perforation cavities

Abstract

Sand production from perforation cavities has been studied by means of physical model experiments of an in situ perforation cavity on a 1:1 scale. The study focused on the mechanisms of cavity instability, sand production and, in particular, the effect of fluid flow. The test samples were cylindrically shaped with a coaxial cylindrical cavity. The samples were loaded isotropically at the outer surface with fluid inflow only through the non-perforated end surface. The evolution of a failure zone around the cavity was significantly affected by the fluid flow. The stress at initial failure of the cavity wall appears not to be significantly affected by the fluid flow.