Rheological behavior of oil well drilling fluids

Abstract In this paper the rheological behavior of oil well drilling fluids is considered. Muds are regarded as non-linear liquids. The author introduces a new classification of non-linear fluids, because other concepts in this field are not suitable for the considerations connected with drilling mud rheology. The above classification is based on the constitutive equations of the considered materials. For the description of stress and deformation state in drilling muds the shear stress tensor and the first Rivlin-Ericksen tensor have been accepted respectively. The author discusses the Stokesian idea of fluidity. Linear, pseudoplastic and dilatant drilling fluids are then considered as satisfying the above idea. A number of empirical τ − e relations proposed by various scientists for the description of the rheological behavior of the above liquids is next presented. Some of them are graphically shown as flow curves. In Section 7 the author considers the rheological propeties of visco-plastic drilling fluids. The constitutive equation of the above materials and its particular cases (e.g. constitutive equation of Bingham plastic) are next discussed. Then the author deals with the rheological behavior of those drilling muds which are materials with memory. The state of stress in such media at a given time t is determined by all their kinematical history up to t. The author discusses the general constitutive equation of liquids with memory in their general tensor-functional form. Restrictions of the physical sense of the above eqution, connected with memory fading, are also presented. Then the author considers special classes of materials the constitutive equations of which are obtained by the approximations of the functionals included in constitutive equations of liquids with memory. In Section 10 thixotropic and rheopectic drilling muds are treated. Terms ‘thixotropy’ and ‘rheopexy’ are here understood according to the definition accepted by the Joint Committee of Rheology. In the next section the author gives a brief description of the rheological behavior of elastic drilling fluids. The constitutive equations of elastic liquids are also presented. The relation between liquids the rheological properties of which are time-in-dependent and liquids with memory is considered in Section 12.

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