Pilot-scale study on the suspension of drill cuttings: Effect of fiber and fluid characteristics

Mahmoud, Husameldin; Alhajabdalla, Mohammed; Mohammed, Arafat A. A.; Nasser, Mustafa S.; Hussein, Ibnelwaleed A.; Ahmed, Ramadan; Karami, Hamidreza

doi:10.1016/j.jngse.2022.104531

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Recently, many studies showed the use of drilling fluids that include fibrous materials to enhance wellbore cleaning and cutting suspension during the drilling operation. − Field experiments show that fiber-containing sweep fluids may efficiently remove drill cuttings from wells that are horizontal and strongly inclined . According to studies, cutting transport is influenced by cutting parameters, fluid parameters, operational factors, and formation parameters, with the fluid flow rate and rheology being the most tightly regulated characteristics .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Settling of Drilling Cuttings in Polymeric Solutions: A Parametric Investigation

et al. 2023

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Drilling fluids, commonly referred to as drilling mud, are pumped into the wellbore to expedite the drilling process by moving drilling cuttings to the surface, suspending cuttings, controlling pressure, stabilizing exposed rock, and providing buoyancy, cooling, and lubrication. Understanding the settling of drilling cuttings in base fluids is crucial for successfully mixing drilling fluid additives. In this study, the response surface method Box−Benhken design (BBD) is used to analyze the terminal velocity of the drilling cuttings in a polymeric base fluid of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). The impact of polymer concentration, fiber concentration, and cutting size on the terminal velocity of the cuttings is investigated. The BBD of the three factors (low, medium, and high) is used for two fiber aspect ratios (3 and 12 mm length). The size of the cuttings varied between 1 and 6 mm, while the concentration of CMC was between 0.49 and 1 wt %. The concentration of the fiber was in the range of 0.02−0.1 wt %. Minitab was utilized to determine the optimum conditions for reducing the terminal velocity of the suspended cuttings and then evaluate the effects and interactions of the components. The results show good agreement between model predictions and the experimental results (R 2 = 0.97). According to the sensitivity analysis, cutting size and polymer concentration are the most crucial factors affecting the terminal cutting velocity. Large cutting sizes have the most significant impact on polymer and fiber concentrations. The optimization results revealed that a CMC fluid with a viscosity of 630.4 cP is sufficient to maintain a minimum cutting terminal velocity of 0.234 cm/s with a cutting size of 1 mm and a 0.02 wt % of the 3 mm length fiber.

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