Research progress and prospects of in-fracture temporary plugging fracturing technology in shale gas reservoirs

In-fracture temporary plugging fracturing technology is one of the essential stimulation measures to realize the efficient development of shale gas reservoirs. The selection of temporary plugging construction parameters is very important to achieve efficient plugging. This paper conducted an in-depth analysis of the research status of in-fracture temporary plugging fracturing technology to clarify its future development requirements and provide new ideas and methods for the efficient development of shale gas. This paper reviewed the development history of in-fracture temporary plugging fracturing technology and summarized its technical mechanism and the monitoring technology of the temporary plugging effect through literature research and analysis. The paper compared the method characteristics and evaluation indexes of in-fracture migration-plugging experiments for temporary plugging agents， numerical simulation， and temporary plugging fracture propagation simulation in optimizing temporary plugging construction parameters. The results show that optimizing the temporary plugging construction parameters can achieve efficient plugging and promote fracture propagation， thereby reducing costs and increasing efficiency. However， current optimization technologies find it difficult to achieve high-precision simulations under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions. For laboratory experimental methods， test conditions are often oversimplified into idealized states， neglecting the complex and variable factors under actual formation conditions. Additionally， experimental setups commonly suffer from limitations such as low pressure-bearing capacity and restricted displacement ranges， which collectively constrain the accuracy of experiments. In terms of numerical simulation approaches， most models are predominantly based on simplified frameworks that lack adaptive algorithms for calculating plugging locations and evaluating sealing capacity. Furthermore， critical factors such as the roughness of fracture walls and fluid loss effects are often neglected， making the simulation results inadequate in accurately reflecting the actual plugging processes. To obtain the optimal temporary plugging construction parameters， it is recommended to improve the experimental device， deepen the understanding of microscopic mechanisms， and enhance the development of a precise multi-factor model to replicate the temporary plugging fracturing effect under the real fracture environment.