Slurry-transport and -settling experiments were conducted to improve current descriptions of proppant transport, and the results were used to formulate a new slurry-transport model incorporated into a fully 3D fracture simulator. The model was tested and verified vs. experimental observations of slurry transport in a 4 X 16-ft slot model. Results of the study indicate that proppant-slurry transport can be modeled accurately by accounting for the effects of single-particle settling, density-driven flow, particle-velocity profiles, and slurry rheology.
