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Fine-Tuning Filter Cake Sealing Performance: The Role of Particle Size in Hematite Weighted Water-Based Drilling
Jaber Al Jaberi1, Badr Bageri1,2, Waleed Otain2
1Center for Integrative Petroleum Research, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia.
Abstract:
Three hematite grades with different particle sizes (i.e., large, medium, and small) were evaluated, and the selection criterion was median particle size. The investigation involves the following stages: rheology, filtration, and filter cake formation. Different rheological models including Bingham, Power law, Herschel-Bulkley, and Robertson-Stiff were implemented to find the optimum model for characterizing fluid behavior. The results showed that medium-sized hematite particles produced the highest filtration volume, filter cake thickness, and filter cake permeability. These results were confirmed when a varied pore distribution filtration medium was used. The NMR results showed the same trend where the highest reduction in core porosity was found when a medium-size particle distribution was used. There is a minimum alteration in the rheological behavior of the drilling fluid as the particle size was varied, and the drilling fluids showed a shear-thinning behavior and were best described by the Herschel-Bulkley model. Particle size ratio emerges as a key factor for controlling and enhancing the filtration properties and filter cake characteristics.
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