Proppants are small granular particles enlisted in hydraulic fracturing treatments during oil well drilling operations. High strength, low weight particles that can sustain high closure stresses at fracture sites of deep wells improve both flow and placement. Resin coated ground walnut shell particles are one of the most promising proppant candidates. Our experimental and computational studies are focused on identifying the key parameters that increase the strength of such coated particles. The microstructure of the walnut shell and its bio-material nature are investigated first. This is followed by series of single particle compression tests of coated and uncoated particles. The key experimental finding is that the shape of the particle profoundly impacts the stiffness response where as the presence of coating introduces less dramatic and consistent results. Finite element models are created in ABAQUS CAE 6.4.5 with varying profiles to further understand the shape and contact effects.
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