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Carrying Capacity of Drilling Muds
Carrying Capacity of Drilling Muds
3026
C. E. WILLIAMS, JR., ASSOCIATE MEMBER AIME, AND G. H. BRUCE, HUMBLE OIL AND REFINING CO.,
Power Savings by Reduction of Annular Velocities System Dimensions and Their Effect
A large portion of the power expended in drilling opera- The dimensions of the fluid circulating system of importance
tions is consumed in circulating the drilling fluid. An impor- to carrying capacity are the bore hole size, drill pipe size,
tant factor in establishing the rate of mud circulation is the pump capacity, and pump speed. These dimensions determine
minimum velocity in the annulus necessary to remove bit cut- the annular velocity of the drilling fluid.
tings. Empirically, it has been found that average annular
mud velocities of about 200 ft per minute will remove cuttings.
It was not definitely known, however, whether annular veloci- Physical Properties and Their Effects
ties of about 200 ft per minute were just above the minimum The physical properties involved in the interaction between
necessary to remove cuttings, or whether such velocities could mud and cuttings are the density and shape of the cuttings
be materially reduced without sacrifice of the ability of the and the density, viscosity and gel strength of the drilling fluid.
The effect of the density factor on carrying capacity is fairly
lReferences given at end of paper.
obvious; high density difference between cuttings and fluid
Manuscript received in the office of the Petroleum Branch, Aug. 27, results in a low buoyant force and therefore decreases carrying
1950. Paper presented at the Fall Meeting of the Branch in New Orleans,
La., Oct. 4-6, 1950. capacity. The effect of cutting shape is less obvious. Although
Vol. 192, 1951 PETROLEUM TRANSACTIONS, AIME 111
T.P. 3026 CARRYING CAPACITY OF DRILLING MUDS
I-
the velocity of fall through quiescent Newtonian fluids for Z 100
~
~.
particles of regular shapes may be calculated from well-known w
<.)
1ft
, ~ Ft r,;1jif
!f"
equations: little information is available in regard to irregu- 'J'''I
lar shapes falling in moving fluids of non-Newtonian character a:
w 80
~ 'r!-1-h
a..
such as drilling fluids.
till
h,f~l
The non-Newtonian characteristics"" of most drilling fluids
>-
severely restrict the prediction of the effect of viscosity, as it a: 60
is ordinarily measured, upon the carrying capacity of the w
> il
t
fluid. If the reasoning of hydrodynamics were applicable, it
would be expected that higher viscosities would result in lower
0
<.)
w 40 mt
fall velocities and therefore in higheF carrying capacity. a: MUD II
The effect of gel strength on carrying capacity has received w VE LOCITY: 60 FT! MIN.
...J 20
little attention in the literature. <.)
I-
FIELD PHASE OF EXPERIMENTS were unsatisfactory because of their frangibility, so that most
of the work was done using three sizes of aluminum discs
Equipment and Materials which were hammered slightly to give them a shape similar
to that of actual cuttings. These three sizes of discs will be
The field phase of the experiments was carried out in a referred to as small, medium, and large particles. The type
500-ft experimental well at Pierce Junction, Tex. The well of particles used and their characteristics are given in Table I.
was cased to bottom with 7-in. casing and was plugged at the Twenty-three fluids were tested as transport media. The
bottom. The initial layout did not include provisions for rotat- fluid densities ranged from 8.33 lbs per gal (water) to 14.8
ing the drill pipe, nor was an effort made to center the pipe lbs per gal; viscosities ranged from 1 to 200 centipoise; and
in the casing. Initially 21;2-in. line pipe was used to simulate initial gels ranged from 0 to 90 grams Stormer. The properties
the drill pipe. Centering guides were later installed on the of a number of the fluids are listed in Table II.
line pipe to prevent channeling of the mud. Subsequently, the
line pipe was removed and a 2%-in. drill pipe was suspended
from a rotary table, thus permitting pipe rotation. Procedure
Provisions were made for inserting simulated cuttings into The general procedure followed at Pierce J unction was to
the drill pipe and for recovering the cuttings at the surface. insert a given number of simulated cuttings into the drill pipe
Particles used to simulate cuttings were glass spheres, ceramic and to pump them slowly to the bottom. When the cuttings
chips and aluminum discs. Glass spheres and ceramic chips reached bottom, the desired circulation rate was established,
and the number of cuttings recovered and their time of return The curve of percentage recovery versus circulation time given
were recorded. Each different fluid was subjected to the same in Fig. 1 is an excellent illustration of the effect of drill pipe
procedure. When runs were made with the drill pipe rotating, rotation. During periods of no rotation, almost no particles
a fixed rotary speed of 110 rpm was established along with appeared at the surface. During rotation, the particles were
a fixed circulation velocity. The circulation. velocity reported rapidly removed from the hole .. This effect was most pro-
is the average across the annular cross section, obtained' by nounced in muds of high viscosity and high gel strength.
dividing the volumetric displacement of the pump by the Variation of the rotating speed from about 35 to 150 rpm pro-
cross sectional area of the annulus. duced no appreciable change in particle recovery. Curves
shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 were obtained with the drill pipe
rotating at 110 rpm. Apparently the normal rotating speeds
RESULTS of drilling wells are sufficient to take advantage of this effect.
Treatment of Data
Effect of Density
The data obtained at Pierce Junction were plotted as par-
ticle recovery versus circulation time. The particle recovery Increasing the density of a fluid while maintaining its other
was expressed as the percentage of particles recovered at the properties as constant as possible resulted in an increase in
surface, based on the number added. The slopes of the recov- its carrying capacity. This is illustrated in Fig. 2.
ery-time curves are an indication of the fluid's ability to lift
cuttings; steep slopes, i.e., high percentage/time ratios, indi- Effects of Viscosity and Gel
cate high lifting ability, whereas gradual slopes indicate low
lifting ability. In carrying out the experiments at Pierce J unction, numer-
ous attempts were made to correlate gel strength and viscosity
with the carrying capacity of the mud. These endeavors failed
Effects of Drill Pipe Rotation to reveal any definite correlation between viscosities and gel
In the initial tests at Pierce Junction, before provisions were strengths as measured by the Stormer or Marsh funnel vis-
made for centering or rotating the pipe, very low percentages cosimeters and the ability of the fluid to lift cuttings from the
of small spheres and flat particles were returned to the sur- hole. However, some general relations were observed.
face. Because particles which were lost in the hole could be Before the effects of viscol:;ity and gel are discussed, it should
removed by circulating water or by thinning the circulating be emphasized that viscosity and gel strength as determined
fluid, this effect was attributed to channeling of the fluid and by the instruments used to test drilling fluids are not easily
subsequent trapping of the particles in the stagnant, gelled separated. A high gel-strength mud will, in general, be quite
sections. When the drill pipe was centered by use of centering viscous, but the reverse is not necessarily true. A high vis-
guides and the tests were repeated, the recovery of particles cosity mud will have high gel strength if its viscosity is due
was increased. When the drill pipe was rotated, a further to highly dispersed clays, but it will have little or no gel
increase was obtained. strength if the viscosity is caused by a high content of rela-
Although drill pipe rotation is normal in a drilling well, tively inert solids. For these reasons, the muds here discussed
its importance to the removal of cuttings must be emphasized. will generally be referred to as high-viscosity, high-gel muds
Vol. 192, 1951 PETROLEUM TRANSACTIONS, AIME 113
T.P. 3026 CARRYING CAPACITY OF DRILLING MUDS
w 100 -A
I
't"; ~
, ./
..J
~ I Possibility of Reducing Annular Velocity
I- ~
0::: 80
P' Figs. 2, 3 and 4 show that mud velocities much lower than
'"
0.. 200 ft per minute were sufficient to remove cuttings from the
60 l
~
I
bore hole at Pierce Junction. When water was circulated at
124 ft per minute, the slowest particles came up with a net
velocity of about 10 ft per minute.
MUD 23 These data indicate that it may be possible to effect an
40 ~
I
HIGH
DENSITY appreciable reduction in the annular velocities now used in
I VELOCITY: 125 FT.I MIN. ! the field and still maintain efficient cutting removal.
I
20
! I
I
I
o I LABORATORY PHASE OF EXPERIMENTS
o 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Since certain effects obtained at Pierce Junction could not
CIRCULATION TIME: MINUTES
be explained on the basis of theoretical considerations, an
investigation of some of the fundamental forces acting on
FIG. 2 - EFFECT OF MUD DENSITY ON PARTICLE RETURN. the particles in transport was initiated. Such information as
the effects of velocity distribution on particle transport,
whether particles were transported in a preferred portion of
and low-viscosity, low-gel muds. For the purposes of this dis- the annulus, the particle attitude during transport, the effect
cussion, high gel is considered to· be anything over six grams of drill pipe rotation on particle ,transport, the velocity dis-
initial gel strength on the Stormer viscosimeter, and high vis- tribution in non-Newtonian fluids, and numerous other facts
cosity as anything over 15 centipoise at 600 rpm Stormer. were needed to complete the project.
These values, however, cannot be considered as representing
any exact physical properties of the fluids.
Generally, it was found that low-viscosity, low-gel fluids were Equipment and Materials
superior to high-viscosity, high-gel fluids in removing cuttings.
This point is well illustrated by the data presented in Figs. To obtain the information outlined above, a laboratory
3 and 4. The curves show that not only did the low-viscosity, model of a well annulus was constructed. A photograph of
low-gel fluids bring the cuttings to the surface more rapidly this equipment is shown in Fig. 5. As indicated in the photo-
than did the high-viscosity, high-gel fluids, but they also graph, the annulus consisted of a transparent outer column
brought up larger percentages of the particles at lower rates and center pipe. The transparent column was 5 ft long and
of circulation. An exception to this may be noted in Fig. 3, had an inside diameter of 4 in. The center pipe ran com-
where the high-viscosity, high-gel mud returned a larger per- pletely through the column and had an outside diameter of
centage of the large particles. However, this mud did not 1 in.
effectively remove the smaller particles. The higher carrying The equipment was designed so that drill pipe rotation
capacity of the low-viscosity, low-gel muds is particularly could be simulated, so that viscosity velocity distributions and
noticeable for the medium particles, which closely resemble type of flow could be observed, and so that visual observation
bit cuttings in their behavior. of particles in transport could be made.
Fluids used in this apparatus included water, glycerine and yield satisfactory results for flat particles, primarily because
an ultrabentonite suspension. The ultrabentonite suspension the viscous velocity distribution exerted a turning torque on
was a translucent fluid possessing thixotropy and gel strength such particles. The torque effect exerted by the fluid caused
similar to those characteristics shown by most drilling fluids. them to be turned on edge as they approached the walls, so
Particles used to simulate cuttings in the laboratory appara- that their slip velocities continuously changed until they
tus included glass spheres, aluminum spheres, aluminum discs, reached the walls.
and some actual rock bit cuttings. The properties of the par-
ticles are given in Table III. The aluminum discs included the
same three sizes as those used in the Pierce Junction phase 100
of the experiments. These discs were not hammered, since
tests showed no essential difference between the performance
of these discs and the particles used at Pierce Junction. 80
Procedure 60
80
Validity of Slip Velocity Equations as Applied
to Particle Transport in an Annulus >-
a:: 60
Initial investigation of slip velocity data on glass spheres, 1.1.1
MUD 17
aluminum spheres, and aluminum discs indicated that consid- >
0 LOW VISCOSITY
erable deviation existed between slip velocities as measured 40 LOW GEL
(,)
in quiescent fluids and those measured by suspending a given VELOCITY:
1.1.1
particle in the annulus and adjusting flow velocities. It was a:: 112 FT.I MIN.
found that when the fluid in the column was flowing in turbu- 20
lent flow an empirical equation could be used to predict the
1.1.1
slip velocity of a particle being transported. This equation ...J
(applicable only to turbulent flow) makes corrections for the (,) 0
finite dimensions of the annulus and thus actually corrects
for velocity distributions in turbulent flow. It is as follows: ~
v.
V,=---
a:: 100
«
where:
I + diD Q.
}/
V, lip velocity 80
d
D
diameter of particle
equivalent diameter of annulus (four times hy-
draulic radius) 60
f -
..c,
V,
T~
1.35 .; ~d
--~~~~-.. -
gd (Po - prJ
Pr
for flatwise fall of a disc
40
/ MUD 18
18iC~
gd(p" - Pr)
V, for edgewise fall of a disc VELOCITY: 145 FT/ MIN.
20
rI Pr
I .,....D
V" l.74~
gd(pp - prJ
for spheres 0
i ~
CI""-'
p.
o 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
g 'ravitational constant
CIRCULATION TIME: MINUTES
Pr tensity of fluid
P"
'ensity of particle LEGEND:
t:; SMALL PARTICLE
A comparison of the velocities calculated from this equation o MEDIUM PARTICLE
with those observed in the column is shown in Table III.
An attempt to obtain the same type of correction for par-
• LARGE PARTICLE
ticles transported in a fluid in viscous flow (glycerine) did not FIG. 3 - EFFECT OF FLUID PROPERTIES ON PARTICLE RETURN.
100 flow, when water was used as the transporting fluid, the disc~
were transported in the order small, medium, large, without
any tendency to be turned on edge or forced against the walls.
80 While rising, all of the discs exhibited a rocking or oscillatory
motion characteristic of a leaf falling in air. Fig. 7 represents
the discs rising in a turbulent distribution with the center pipe
60 stationary.
Under conditions of viscous flow, when glycerine was used
as the transporting fluid, the behavior of the discs depended
40 on their dimensions. The large disc moved up the annulus
with no apparent tendency to be either turned on edge or
MUD 22
moved to either wall. The medium disc was turned on edge
.... 20 HIGH VISCOSITY- LOW GE L against either the center pipe or the outer wall, where it fell
Z VELOCITY: 125 FT./ M IN
IIJ for a considerable distance on edge before rising again. The
I
IjI'
(,) times faster on edge than it does in the normal position; in
....0: , /~ turbulent slip the factor is 13. It is to be noted that it is
80 possible for a particle to fall in turbulent slip while the fluid
~
~!f i
is in viscous flow. For these reasons it is advantageous to keep
60
40
MUD 23
20 LOW VISCOSITY- LOW GEL
f---
VELOCITY : 12 5 F T.I MIN.
o I
o 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
CIRCULATION TIME' MINUTE S
It has long been known that two distinct types of flow are
encountered in the movement of fluids. Because of the nature
of the flows, they have been classified as viscous" and turbu-
lent" respectively. In turbulent flow the fluid elements move
in countless eddies, swirls and so-called "turbs." In viscous
flow the fluid elements follow the streamlines.
The distribution of point velocities across the annulus in the
two types of flow is distinctly different. This difference is
illustrated in Fig. 6. The point velocities in turbulent flow
represent a statistical vector average of all the velocities of
the fluid elements. The fluid element velocity vectors are in
one direction only when the fluid is in viscous flow; therefore
the point velocities are the unidirectional velocities of the
elements making up the streamline at that point.
The behavior of particles (aluminum discs) in the two
types of flow is not the same. Under conditions of turbulent FIG. 5 - ANNULAR MUD FLOW EQUIPMENT.
116 PETROLEUM TRANSACTIONS, AIME Vol. 192, 1951
C. E. WILLIAMS, JR. AND G. H. BRUCE T.P. 3026
the particles away from the walls and flat in the stream. This Center pipe
can be done by maintaining turbulent flow conditions in the
annulus.
Table III - Properties and Slip Velocities of Particles Used in Laboratory Experiments
Particle Density Diameter Thickness Vo Vo V,
Type Material Ib/cu ft in. in. diD ft/min ft/min ft/min
Sphere Glass 162.6 0.940 0.313 210 148.5 160
Sphere Aluminum 173.7 0.753 0.251 198.5 160.5 158.7
Sphere Glass 150.4 0.687 0.229 168.5 139.0 137.0
Sphere Ni-Steel 553.0 0.187 0.0624 208.0 179.0 195.7
Sphere Brass 532.0 0.312 0.104 262.0 225.0 237.0
Sphere Steel 473.0 0.281 0.0937 233.0 201.0 213.0
Sphere Aluminum 170.5 0.187 0.0624 97.7 90.3 91.8
Disc Aluminum 167.8 0.625 0.126 0.209 61.2 47.6 50.7
Sphere Aluminum 176.0 0.875 0.292 216.3 170.0 167.3
Sphere Steel 485.0 0.156 0.052 176.0 164.0 167.0
Sphere Glass 154.0 0.173 0.0577 86.4 78.0 81.5
Disc Aluminum 167.0 0.630 0.067 0.210 44.9 40.5 37.1
Disc* Aluminum 168.0 0.750 0.250 0.250 86.5 71.0 69.2
Disc* Aluminum 168.0 0.750 0.125 0.250 61.5 45.0 49.1
Disci<- Aluminum 168.0 0.500 0.125 0.167 61.0 4.3.0 52.3
*These three discs used to obtain most of the results reported herein.
d == particle diameter.
D == equivalent diameter of annulus.
V c == calculated slip velocity from conventional equation for turbulent slip.
V 0 == observed slip velocity in laboratory model under turbulent flow and turbulent slip conditions.
Vo
V<; == - - - == slip velocity calculated by equation correcting for veloci'y distribution and "wall effects."
1 + diD
Vol. 192, 1951 PETROlEUM TRANSACTIONS, AIME 117
.
~
(X)
S
0.
"'tJ
m
-I
;0
;*~
:1-
J~ zG'-<>
0
,.... :~:i n
m
C
l· »
"'tJ
»
»
z
~
-I
;0
(J)
»
I n
::j
-<
0"TI
c
n
-I ;0
0 i=
,....
Z Z
!" G'>
» ~
f
m
c
C
(J)
<
~
'<>
,!') FIG. 10 - LARGE DISCS TRANSPORTED
FIG. 8 - SMALL DISCS TRANSPORTED IN FIG. 9 - MEDIUM DISCS TRANSPORTED
FIG. 7 - DISCS TRANSPORTED IN TUR· IN VISCOUS FLOW (CENTER PIPE STA·
~ BULENT FLOW (CENTER PIPE STATION· VISCOUS FLOW (CENTER PIPE STATION· IN VISCOUS FLOW (CENTER PIPE STA·
TlONARY). TIONARY).
..... ARY). ARY).
C. E. WIlliAMS, JR. AND G. H. BRUCE T.P. 3026
annulus, the differences in velocity in turbulent flow are rela- CORRELATION BETWEEN FIELD AND
tively small. This causes a corresponding decrease in the LABORATORY RESULTS
inequality of the forces causing the torque. Furthermore, the
eddies and swirls existing in the stream tend to keep the In the light of the information obtained in the laboratory,
particles from sticking to the walls. the results obtained at Pierce Junction can be more easily
Since the torque effect decreases carrying capacity, its mini- understood.
mization is desirable. This can be effected by maintaining
turbulent flow in the annulus.
Transport of Medium Discs and Reverse
Particle Thickness to Diameter Ratio and Order Effects
Its Effect on Carrying Capacity
The difficulty encountered at Pierce J unction in removing
The fact that the behavior of discs transported by a fluid the medium particles from the hole was caused by their low
in viscous flow depended on the dimensions of the discs thickness to diameter ratio (0.167), which allowed them to
CONCLUSIONS
The conclusions reached from consideration of the informa-
REFERENCES
1. Beck, R. W., Nuss, W. F., and Dunn, T. H.: "The Flow
Properties of Drilling Muds," Paper No. 901-23-H pre-
sented at Spring Meeting of Southwestern District, API
Division of Production, Fort Worth, Tex., March 27-29,
1947.
2. Hall, H. N., Thompson, Howard, and Nuss, Frank: Trans.
AIME, (1950) 189, 35-46.
3. MacDonald, G. C.: "Transporting Rotary Bit Cuttings,"
World Oil, (April, 1949) 128, No. 13, 114-118.
4. Piggott, R. J. S.: "Mud Flow in Drilling," Drilling and
Production Practice 1941, API, .(1942) New York.
5. Walker, W. H., Lewis, W. K., McAdams, W. H., and Gil-
liland, E. R.: Principles of Chemical Engineering, 3rd Edi-
tion, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New York and London,
(1937) .
6. Lewis, W. K., Squires, L., and Broughton, G.: Industrial
Chemistry of Colloidal and Amorphous Materials, The
MacMillan Co., New York, (1944).
7. Lawrence, A. S. C.: "Anomalous Flow of Colloidal Solu-
tions," Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, (Jan.,
1935) 148A, 59-87.
8. Hatschek, Emil: The Viscosity of Fluids, D. Van Nos-
trand Co., New York, (1928).
9. Ambrose, H. A., and Loomis, A. G.: "Fluidities of Thixo-
tropic Gels: Bentonite Suspensions," Physics (Journal of
Applied Physics), (1933) 4, 265-273.
10. Hershey, M. D.: "The Theory of Lubrication, " Journal of
the Franklin Institute, (June, 1935) 677-702.
11. Hershey, M. D.: "The Theory of Lubrication," Journal of
the Franklin Institute, (Aug., 1935) 187-214.
12. Reiner, Marcus: Ten Lectures on Theoretical Rheology,
Rubin Mass, Jerusalem, (1943).
13. Lamb, Horace: Hydrodynamics, Dover Publications, New
York, (1945).
14. Bakhemeteff, Boris A.: The Mechanics of Turbulent Flow,
Princeton University Press, Princeton. New Jersey, (1936).
FIG. 12 - MEDIUM DISCS TRANSPORTED IN VISCOUS FLOW (CENTER
120
* * * PIPE ROTATED).
PETROLEUM TRANSACTIONS, AIME Vol. 192~ 1951