Rheology of a colloidal suspension of carbon nanotube particles in a water-based drilling fluid
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2018 High-pressure and high-temperature rheology of a nanomud suspension is studied. The nanomud is prepared by dispersing a water-based drilling mud suspension with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). Effect of nanoparticle concentration, shear rate, pressure, and temperature are investigated. The pressure and temperature are independently varied from ambient conditions to 170 MPa and 180 C respectively. The results presented show that the addition of CNT increases the viscosity of the drilling mud. A shear thinning non-Newtonian behavior is observed for the basemud and the nanomud samples at all pressures and temperatures. The basemud showed an increase in viscosity with an increase in pressure. However, with CNT particle addition this trend is observed to have reversed. For the basemud and the nanomud at lower concentrations, the viscosity values are observed to have initially increased with the increase in temperature and to have reduced beyond 100 C. For a higher particle loading, a consistent decrease in viscosity with temperature is observed. The behavior of higher concentration nanomud samples with respect to pressure and temperature are seen to follow a similar trend to that of water. It is reasoned that an adequate addition of CNT nanoparticles helps retain the mud particles in a more homogenous and stable state, where they are held within the CNT chains. However, with further addition of CNT nanoparticles, the mud particles become agglomerated with the long chains of CNT, eventually separating water from the drilling fluid mixture.
