Design and analysis of low-density, high-pressure-resistant epoxy resins for advanced leakage control: Insights from experiments and simulations

Abstract

Leakage control in deep oil and gas wells is challenging, often leading to increased costs. In this study, a low-density, high-pressure resistant and thermally stable epoxy resin (BEPD) was synthesized by ring opening of 2,2-bis(4-epoxypropoxyphenyl) propane cured with 1,8-diaminonaphthalene. The material was thoroughly characterized using fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, a universal testing machine, thermogravimetric analysis, and density testing. Comprehensive experimental and simulation analyses were conducted to evaluate BEPD's dispersion stability, its impact on the rheological properties of drilling fluid, and its effectiveness as a leakage control agent. It exhibits a high compressive strength (250.12 MPa) and a thermal decomposition temperature of 337.75 °C, making it suitable for high-temperature environments. Its irregular particle shape ensures a strong bond with surrounding strata, forming a stable plugging layer. With a density of 1.09 g/cm³, BEPD disperses well in plugging slurry, reducing sedimentation. At dosages between 1% and 4%, it doesn't significantly affect the rheology of the slurry and effectively prevents sedimentation. BEPD particles effectively plugged fractures ranging from 1 to 4 mm, withstanding pressures up to 11.5 MPa. This performance is due to its unique particle size distribution, where larger particles act as bridges and smaller particles fill gaps, forming a dense plugging layer. BEPD shows potential as a highly effective material for improving leakage control in deep well applications.

Keywords

Leakage control materials / Low density and high pressure resistant / Epoxy resin / Leakage control mechanism

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Gang Xie: Visualization, Validation, Supervision. Keming Fu: Writing-review & editing, Writing-original draft, Investigation. Yujuan Jing: Resources, Methodology. Bo Peng: Software, Resources. Yujie Luo: Writing-original draft, Data curation. Li Fu: Methodology, Investigation. Lan Ma: Software, Methodology. Danchao Huang: Methodology, Data curation. Jinjun Huang: Validation, Supervision.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Gang Xie reports financial support was provided by the National Key Laboratory Open Foundation of Southwest Petroleum University. Gang Xie reports was provided by Science and Technology Cooperation Project of the CNPC-SWPU Innovation Alliance. Gang Xie reports was provided by Special Projects of Central Government Guiding Development of Local Science and Technology, China. Reports a relationship with that includes:. Has patent pending to. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Open Fund of State Key Laboratory Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation (Southwest Petroleum University)(No. PLN2022-22,PLN2022-32), Science and Technology Cooperation Project of the CNPC-SWPU Innovation Alliance (No.2020CX040102, 2020CX040201), Special Projects of Central Government Guiding Development of Local Science and Technology, China (No. 2023ZYD0033). Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province (No.2025ZNSFSC0377).

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