Abstract
Experimental results from sand production hollow cylinders tests are presented for cavity failure and sand production quantification. The effects of important parameters such as the sandstone class, stress rate, fluid flow rate, and time are presented and show how they influence sand production. A model for hydro-mechanical erosion of porous rocks is presented as it is applied to the sand production problem in hydrocarbon production. The model is based on a continuum theory for erosion, which regards the continuum as a three-phase medium and establishes a set of mass balance equations for the various phases. The solution requires an additional equation in the form of a constitutive or evolution law for the sand rate. Erosion is coupled with the mechanical behavior of a sand-producing cavity, and leads to enlargement of the erosion zone. Finally, multiphase flow and its effect on sand production is presented experimentally and theoretically by analyzing water invasion in the sand production test.