CFD-DEM evaluation of screen types for sand control applications

Selecting a suitable sand screen type and size has been a challenge. This paper presents a comprehensive evaluation of premium square mesh screens (SMS), wire-wrapped screens (WWS), and modified wire-wrapped screens with converging slots (CSS). This is done by the combined approach of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and discrete element method (DEM). The evaluation considers the sand production, retention mode, and bridging mechanism at different slot/pore-particle size ratios and solid concentrations. The results show that the SMS and CSS outperform the WWS, and the SMS is the best. The SMS is preferred in developing uniform sand retention modes and achieving stable bridging. The predicted flow and force structures are also analyzed. It is shown that a higher flow area in the SMS provides a better dispersed fluid flow path, resulting in relatively low and uniform fluid flow through pore openings and thus the formation of stable bridging.