A theoretical model on the critical pressure of one colloidal particle entering the constricted throat

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

The migration, deformation, and plugging of colloidal particles in porous media are crucial in oil field operations such as profile control, water shutoff, and enhanced oil recovery. Traditional research constantly oversimplifies colloidal particles as rigid or linear bodies, hindering the accurate description of their nonlinear mechanical responses to significant deformations in a constricted throat. To address this issue, this paper observes the plugging behavior of colloidal particles within a constricted throat in the experiments, and subsequently employs the two-parameter Mooney–Rivlin hyperelastic constitutive model to establish a theoretical analysis framework and a finite element numerical simulation method for the passage of a colloidal particle through a constricted throat. The validity of the theoretical model is confirmed via the temporal variation of elastic strain energy in the simulation. The findings reveal that higher particle hardness, larger particle size, smaller pore throat diameter, and greater friction coefficient enhance the elastic recovery force, average normal contact pressure, and energy dissipation, thereby reinforcing the plugging tendency of colloidal particles. Additionally, higher external pressure improves the ability of colloidal particles to overcome energy barriers, enabling deeper migration. Importantly, dimensionless driving ratio and migration coefficient are introduced to establish criteria for distinguishing colloidal particle passage, critical migration, and plugging states. Moreover, an empirical correlation between critical pressure, matching ratio, and friction coefficient is proposed. This paper addresses the size design, optimization of the material parameter, and regulation of injection pressure for profile control and water plugging agents.