Describing flow behavior of polymer gel in fracture using rheology

Considering the shear-thinning properties of the gels, two models were developed combining power-law model and shell momentum balances. The first model explained the discrepancy of the relationships between pressure gradient versus fracture width. The second model correlated pressure gradient, shear stress, flow rate, and shear rate to bridge the gap between gel rheology in fractures versus in a rheometer and explained the similarity between the rheology measurement and extrusion experiment.