Fines Migration in Porous Media

A model developed by Sharma and Yortsos (1987a) is applied to the processes of fines migration and fines injection in a porous medium. The first is a problem frequently encountered in oil reservoirs when release of fines is triggered by physicochemical interactions of the porous formation witht he injected fluids. The second may be a problem in the filtration of relatively large particulates. Simple solutions are provided for both processes by considering size exclusion as the dominant particle retention mechanism. The solutions developed provide expressions for the particle concentration profiles, the open pore density and pore size distribution profiles, as well as the permeability reduction. These expressions are of importance in the evaluation of the extent and depth of formation damage and can be used as designing tools for remedial treatment, such as acidizing or fracturing.