Work

A Transient Thermo-Hydraulic Study of Mass and Heat Transfer and Phase Behavior of CO2 in Fractured Wellbores

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This research presents a two-dimensional transient thermo-hydraulic model designed to study how temperature and pressure change within a wellbore during CO2 tubing fracturing. The model integrates one-dimensional axial compressible flow with radial heat transfer across the tubing, annulus, casing, cement sheath, and surrounding geological formation. Using the predicted temperature and pressure distributions, the phase behavior of the fracturing fluid along the wellbore is assessed. To enhance the accuracy of phase predictions, a visualization experiment is performed on a CO2-based fracturing fluid containing 5 wt% of the thickener HPG. The critical transition conditions obtained experimentally are used to adjust the model accordingly. The study systematically examines the influence of key operational parameters such as injection rate, wellhead pressure, injection temperature, and the geothermal gradient of the formation. Findings reveal that injection conditions mainly govern the temperature and velocity fields, while heat transfer from the formation has a lesser impact during short-term injections. Pressure steadily decreases along the wellbore due to friction and fluid compressibility. A method based on density gradients is introduced to determine the depth at which phase transitions occur. Overall, this work offers a practical approach for predicting thermo-hydraulic behavior and phase changes during CO2 fracturing processes.

Source: Processes

DOI: 10.3390/pr14091330