Drilling Fluids

Prepared By
Archana
Assistant Professor/PE
Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad
Drilling Fluids:
Types
Function
Properties
Equipment & Design
• Drilling mud is one of the most important elements of any drilling operation.
• The mud has a number of functions which must all be optimised to ensure
safety and minimum hole problems.
• Failure of the mud to meet its design functions can prove extremely costly in
terms of materials and time, and can also jeopardise the successful
completion of the well and may even result in major problems such as stuck
pipe, kicks or blowouts.
• There are basically two types of drilling mud:
• water-based and oil-based, depending on whether the continuous phase is
water or oil.
• Then there are a multitude of additives which are added to either change
the mud density or change its chemical properties.
Drilling Fluid Selection: Data Requirements
• The following information should be collected and used when selecting drilling
fluid or fluids for a particular well.
Pore pressure /fracture gradient plots to establish the minimum / maximum mud
weights to be used on the whole well.
Offset well data (drilling completion reports, mud recaps, mud logs etc.) from
similar wells in the area to help establish successful mud systems, problematic
formations, potential hazards, estimated drilling time etc.
Geological plot of the prognosed lithology.
Casing design programme and casing seat depths. The casing scheme effectively
divides the well into separate sections; each hole section may have similar
formation types, similar pore pressure regimes or similar reactivity to mud.
Basic mud properties required for each open hole section before it is cased off.
Restrictions that might be enforced in the area i.e. government legislation in the
area, environmental concerns etc.
Drilling Fluid Functions
The drilling mud must perform the following basic functions:
1. To control sub-surface pressures by providing hydrostatic pressure greater
than the formation pressure. This property depends on the mud weight
which, in turn, depends on the type of solids added to the fluid making up the
mud and the density of the continuous phase.
2. To remove the drilled cuttings from the hole. The removal of cuttings
depends on the viscous properties called "Yield Point" which influences the
carrying capacity of the flowing mud and "gels" which help to keep the
cuttings in suspension when the mud is static. The flow rate of mud is also
critical in cleaning the hole.
3. To cool and lubricate the drill bit and drillpipe.
4. To prevent the walls of the hole from caving. This function is provided by
the formation of a stable mud cake on the walls of the wellbore, somewhat
like plastering the walls of a room to keep them from flaking.
5. To release the drilled cuttings at the surface.
6. To prevent or minimise damage to the formations penetrated by having
minimum fluid loss into the formation.
7. To assist in the gathering of the maximum information from the formations
being drilled.
8. To suspend the cuttings and weighing material when circulation is stopped
(gelation). This property is provided by gels and low shear viscosity properties.
9. To minimise the swelling stresses caused by the reaction of the mud with
the shale formations. This reaction can cause hole erosion or cavings resulting
in an unstable wellbore. Minimisation of wellbore instability is provided by the
"inhibition" character of the drilling mud.
However, when selecting the fluid, consideration must also be given to:
The environmental impact of using the fluid
The cost of the fluid
The impact of the fluid on production from the pay zone
Remove cuttings from the Wellbore:
The primary function of drilling fluid is to ensure that the rock cuttings
generated by the drilllbit are continuously removed from the wellbore.
If these cuttings are not removed from the bit face the drilling efficiency will
decrease. If these cuttings are not transported up the annulus between the
drillstring and wellbore efficiently the drillstring will become stuck in the
wellbore.
The mud must be designed such that it can:
Carry the cuttings to surface while circulating
Suspend the cuttings while not circulating
Drop the cuttings out of suspension at surface.
The carrying capacity of the mud depends on the annular velocity, density
and viscosity of the mud.
The ability to suspend the cuttings depends on the gelling (thixotropic)
properties of the mud.
This gel forms when circulation is stopped and the mud is static.
The drilled solids are removed from the mud at surface by mechanical
devices such as shale shakers, desanders and desilters
It is not economically feasible to remove all the drilled solids before re-
circulating the mud.
However, if the drilled solids are not removed the mud may require a lot of
chemical treatment and dilution to control the rheological properties of the
mud.
Prevent Formation Fluids Flowing into the Wellbore:
The hydrostatic pressure exerted by the mud column must be high enough to
prevent an influx of formation fluids into the wellbore.
However, the pressure in the wellbore must not be too high or it may cause the
formation to fracture and this will result in the loss of expensive mud into the
formation.
The flow of mud into the formation whilst drilling is known as lost circulation. This
is because a certain proportion of the mud is not returning to surface but flowing
into the formation.
• The pressure in the wellbore will be equal to:
P = 0.052 x MW x TVD
• where,
P = hydrostatic pressure (psi)
MW = mud density of the mud or mud weight (ppg)
TVD = true vertical depth of point of interest = vertical height of mud column (ft)
Maintain Wellbore Stability:
Data from adjacent wells will be useful in predicting borehole stability problems
that can occur in troublesome formations (eg unstable shales, highly permeable
zones, lost circulation, overpressured zones)
Shale instability is one of the most common problems in drilling operations.
This instability may be caused by either one or both of the following two
mechanisms:
the pressure differential between the bottom hole pressure in the borehole and
the pore pressures in the shales and/or,
 hydration of the clay within the shale by mud filtrate containing water.
The instability caused by the pressure differential between the borehole and the
pore pressure can be overcome by increasing the mudweight.
The hydration of the clays can only be overcome by using non water-based muds,
or partially addressed by treating the mud with chemicals which will reduce the
ability of the water in the mud to hydrate the clays in the formation. These muds
are known as inhibited muds.
Cool and Lubricate the Bit:

The rock cutting process will, in particular with PDC bits, generate a great
deal of heat at the bit. Unless the bit is cooled, it will overheat and quickly
wear out.
The circulation of the drilling fluid will cool the bit down and help lubricate
the cutting process.
Transmit Hydraulic Horsepower to Bit:

As fluid is circulated through the drillstring, across the bit and up the
annulus of the wellbore the power of the mud pumps will be expended in
frictional pressure losses.
The efficiency of the drilling process can be significantly enhanced if
approximately 65% of this power is expended at the bit.
The pressure losses in the system are a function of the geometry of the
system and the mud properties such as viscosity, yield point and mud
weight.
The distribution of these pressure losses can be controlled by altering the
size of the nozzles in the bit and the flowrate through the system.
Drilling Fluid Additives
• There are many drilling fluid additives which are used to develop the key
properties of the mud.
• The variety of fluid additives reflect the complexity of mud systems currently in
use. The complexity is also increasing daily as more difficult and challenging
drilling conditions are encountered.
The most common types of additives used in water-based and oil-based muds are:
Weighting Materials
 Viscosifiers
 Filtration Control Materials
 Rheology Control Materials
 Alkalinity and pH Control Materials
 Lost Circulation Control Materials
 Lubricating Materials
 Shale Stabilizing Materials
WEIGHTING MATERIALS:
• Weighting materials or densifiers are solids material which when suspended
or dissolved in water will increase the mud weight.
• Most weighting materials are insoluble and require viscosifers to enable
them to be suspended in a fluid.
• Clay is the most common viscosifier.
• Mud weights higher than water (8.3 ppg) are required to control formation
pressures and to help combat the effects of sloughing or heaving shales that
may be encountered in stressed areas.
• The specific gravity of the material controls how much solids material
(fractional volume) is required to produce a certain mud weight.
MOST COMMONLY USED WEIGHTING MATERIALS
• Barite
• Iron Minerals: Iron Oxides, Iron Carbonate, Illmenite
• Calcium Carbonates:Dolomite
• Lead Sulphides
• Soluble Salts: Potassium Chloride (KCl), Sodium Chloride (NaCl), Sodium
Formate (NaHCO2), Calcium Chloride (CaCl2), Potassium Formate (KHCO2),
Calcium Bromide (CaBr2), Caesium Formate, Zinc Bromide (ZnBr2)
VISCOSIFIERS:
• The ability of drilling mud to suspend drill cuttings and weighting materials
depends entirely on its viscosity.
• Without viscosity, all the weighting material and drill cuttings would settle
to the bottom of the hole as soon as circulation is stopped.
• One can think of viscosity as a structure built within the water or oil phase
which suspends solid material.
• In practice, there are many solids which can be used to increase the
viscosity of water or oil.
• The effects of increased viscosity can be felt by the increased resistance to
fluid flow; in drilling this would manifest itself by increased pressure losses in
the circulating system.
Viscosifers

CLAYS:
Bentonite, Attapulgite, Organophillic Clays

POLYMERS:
Starches, Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC),
Polyanionic Cellulose, Hydroxyethyl Cellulose
FILTRATION CONTROL MATERIALS:
Filtration control materials are compounds which reduce the amount of fluid
that will be lost from the drilling fluid into a subsurface formation caused by
the differential pressure between the hydrostatic pressure of the fluid and the
formation pressure.
• Bentonite, polymers, starches and thinners or deflocculants all function as
filtration control agents.
• Bentonite imparts viscosity and suspension as well as filtration control. The
flat, "plate like“ structure of bentonite packs tightly together under pressure
and forms a firm compressible filter cake, preventing fluid from entering the
formation
• Polymers such as Polyanionic cellulose (PAC) and Sodium
Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) reduce filtrate mainly when the hydrated
polymer chains absorb onto the clay solids and plug the pore spaces of the
filter cake preventing fluid seeping through the filter cake and formation.
• Filtration is also reduced as the polymer viscosifies the mud thereby creating
a viscosified structure to the filtrate making it difficult for the filtrate to seep
through.
• Starches function in a similar way to polymers. The free water is absorbed by
the sponge like material which aids in the reduction of fluid loss.
• Starches form very compressible particles that plug the small openings in the
filter cake.
• Thinners and deflocculants function as filtrate reducers by separating the
clay flock’s or groups enabling them to pack tightly to form a thin, flat filter
cake
RHEOLOGY CONTROL MATERIALS:
• When efficient control of viscosity and gel development cannot be achieved by
control of viscosifier concentration, materials called "thinners", "dispersants",
and/or "deflocculants“ are added.
• These materials cause a change in the physical and chemical interactions between
solids and/or dissolved salts such that the viscous and structure forming properties
of the drilling fluid are reduced.
• Thinners are also used
 to reduce filtration and cake thickness,
 to counteract the effects of salts,
to minimize the effect of water on the formations drilled,
to emulsify oil in water,
and to stabilize mud properties at elevated temperatures.
Materials commonly used as thinners in clay- based drilling fluids are classified as:
(1) plant tannins, (2) lignitic materials, (3) lignosulfonates, and (4) low molecular
weight, synthetic, water soluble polymers.
ALKALINITY AND PH CONTROL MATERIALS:

The pH affects several mud properties including:

• detection and treatment of contaminants such as cement and soluble
carbonates
• solubility of many thinners and divalent metal ions such as calcium and
magnesium

Alkalinity and pH control additives include: NaOH, KOH, Ca(OH)2, NaHCO3 and
Mg(OH)2.
These are compounds used to attain a specific pH and to maintain optimum
pH and alkalinity in water base fluids.
LOST CIRCULATION CONTROL MATERIALS:
CAUSES OF LOST CIRCULATION:
• Lost circulation is the loss of mud or cement to the formation during drilling
operations. Lost circulation causes:
increased well costs, due to lost rig time and loss of expensive drilling fluid
loss of accurate hole monitoring
 well control problems.
LOST CIRCULATION MATERIAL:
• There are numerous types of lost circulation material (LCM) available which
can be used according to the type of losses experienced. Typical LCM
materials used are:
a. Conventional LCM
These include:
1. Flakes: includes mica and cellophane
2. Granular: includes nutshells, calcium carbonate and salt
3. Fibrous: includes glass fibre, wood fibre and animal fibre
b. Reinforcing Plugs and Cement
• These are specialised plugs and are only used as a last resort if every thing
else fails.
Two types of reinforcing plugs are in common use:
• Oil bentonite plug (water based muds)
• Water organophilic clay plug (oil based muds)
Oil/Bentonite Plug
• The use of this plug is based on the fact that bentonite does not hydrate in
oil but when spotted downhole it will contact water, hydrate and with oil
forms a strong plug.
• The pill is pumped to the loss zone with spacers ahead and behind to
prevent it from contacting the water based mud en route to the loss zone.
• When the pill is finally spotted, it will contact water and will hydrate and seal
the loss zone.
Water/Organophilic Clay Plug
• For oil based mud, the reverse of the above is used. An organophilic clay,
which yields (disperse) in oil based mud but not in water, is mixed with water
and is pumped as a pill to the loss zone.
• On contact with the oil mud downhole it will form a strong solid material.
The pill
must be pumped with a spacer ahead and behind to prevent it from
contacting the oil based mud en route to the loss zone
LUBRICATING MATERIALS:

• Lubricating materials are used mainly to reduce friction between the

wellbore and the drillstring.
• This will in turn reduce torque and drag which is essential in highly deviated
and horizontal wells.
• Lubricating materials include: oil (diesel, mineral, animal, or vegetable
• oils), surfactants, graphite, asphalt, gilsonite, polymer and glass beads
SHALE STABILIZING MATERIALS:
• There are many shale problems which may be encountered while drilling
sensitive highly hydratable shale sections.
• Essentially, shale stabilization is achieved by the prevention of water
contacting the open shale section.
• This can occur when the additive encapsulates the shale or when a specific
ion such as potassium actually enters the exposed shale section and
neutralises the charge on it.
• Shale stablisers include: high molecular weight polymers, hydrocarbons,
potassium and calcium salts (e.g. KCl) and glycols.
• Field experience indicates that complete shale stabilisation can not be
obtained from polymers only and that soluble salts must also be present in
the aqueous phase to stabilize hydratable shales.
Drilling Fluid Types
• A drilling fluid can be classified by the nature of its continuous fluid phase.
There are three types of drilling fluids:

1. Water Based Muds

2. Oil Based Muds
3. Gas Based Muds
WATER BASED MUD:
• These are fluids where water is the continuous phase. The water may be
fresh, brackish or seawater, whichever is most convenient and suitable to the
system or is available.
• Water-based muds consist of a mixture of solids, liquids and chemicals.
• Some solids (clays) react with the water and chemicals in the mud and are
called active solids.
• The activity of these solids must be controlled in order to allow the mud to
function properly.
• The solids which do not react within the mud are called inactive or inert
solids (e.g. Barite).
• The other inactive solids are generated by the drilling process.
• Fresh water is used as the base for most of these muds, but in offshore
drilling operations salt water is more readily available.
The following designations are normally used to define the classifications of
water based drilling fluids:

1. Non-dispersed-Non - inhibited
2. Non-dispersed - Inhibited
3. Dispersed - Non-inhibited
4. Dispersed - Inhibited
• The main disadvantage of using water based muds is that the water in these
muds causes instability in shales.
• Shale is composed primarily of clays and instability is largely caused by
hydration of the clays by mud containing water.
• Shales are the most common rock types encountered while drilling for oil
and gas and give rise to more problems per meter drilled than any other
type of formation.
• In addition, the inferior wellbore quality often encountered in shales may
make logging and completion operations difficult or impossible.
• In the 1970s, the industry turned increasingly towards oil-based mud, OBM
as a means of controlling reactive shales. Oil-based muds are similar in
composition to water-based except that the continuous phase is oil.
• In an invert oil emulsion mud (IOEM) water may make up a large percentage
of the volume, but oil is still the continuous phase. (The water is dispersed
throughout the system as droplets).
• Non-Inhibited means that the fluid contains no additives to inhibit hole
problems.
• Inhibited means that the fluid contains inhibiting ions such as chloride,
potassium or calcium or a polymer which suppresses the breakdown of the
clays by charge association and or encapsulation.
• Dispersed means that thinners have been added to scatter chemically the
bentonite (clay) and reactive drilled solids to prevent them from building
viscosity.
• Non-Dispersed means that the clay particles are free to find their own
dispersed equilibrium in the water phase.
• Non-dispersed-non-inhibited fluids do not contain inhibiting ions such as
chloride (Cl-), calcium (Ca2+) or potassium (K+) in the continuous phase and
do not utilize chemical thinners or dispersants to affect control of rheological
properties.
• Non-dispersed- inhibited fluids contain inhibiting ions in the continuous
phase, however they do not utilize chemical thinners or dispersants.
• Dispersed-non-inhibited fluids do not contain inhibiting ions in the
continuous phase, but they do rely on thinners or dispersants such as
phosphates, lignosulfonate or lignite to achieve control of the fluids'
rheological properties.
• Inhibited dispersed contain inhibiting ions such as calcium (Ca2+) or
potassium (K+) in the continuous phase and rely on chemical thinners or
dispersants to control the fluids rheological properties
COMPLETION AND WORKOVER FLUIDS
• These are fluids are designed to be non-damaging to the reservoir during the
completion of and workover a well.
• They are usually brines (salty water) which can be made up with up to three
different salts depending on the required density. Commonly seawater or
sodium chloride is used. Below is a list of salt types and their density ranges
OIL BASED MUDS:
• An oil based mud system is one in which the continuous phase of a drilling
fluid is oil. When water is added as the discontinuous phase then it is called
an invert emulsion.
• These fluids are particularly useful in drilling production zones, shales and
other water sensitive formations, as clays do not hydrate or swell in oil.
• They are also useful in drilling high angle/horizontal wells because of their
superior lubricating properties and low friction values between the steel and
formation which result in reduced torque and drag.
• Invert emulsion fluids (IEFs) are more cost-effective than water muds in the
following situations:
• Shale stability • Temperature stability • Lubricity • Corrosion resistance
• Stuck pipe prevention • Contamination • Production protection
Oil based muds are subject to strict Government Legislations and so serious
thought should be given to alternative systems.
There are two types of oil based muds:
• Invert Emulsion Oil Muds
• Pseudo Oil Based Mud
INVERT EMULSION OIL MUD
• The basic components of a typical low toxicity invert emulsion fluid are:
• Base Oil: Only low toxic base oil should be used as approved by the
authorities (such as the DTI in the UK). This is the external emulsion phase.
• Water: Internal emulsion phase. This gives the Oil/Water Ratio (OWR), the%
of each part as a total of the liquid phase. Generally, a higher OWR is used
for drilling troublesome formations. The salinity of the water phase can be
controlled by the use of dissolved salts, usually calcium chloride. Control of
salinity in invert oil muds is necessary to "tie-up" free water molecules and
prevent any water migration between the mud and the open formation such
as shales.
• Emulsifier: Often divided into primary and secondary emulsifiers. These act
at the interface between the oil and the water droplets. Emulsifier levels are
held in excess to act against possible water and solid contamination
• Wetting Agent: This is a high concentration emulsifier used especially in high
density fluids to oil wet all the solids. If solids become water wet they will
not be suspended in the fluid, and would settle out of the system.
• Organophillic Clay: These are clays treated to react and hydrate in the
presence of oil. They react with oil to give both suspension and viscosity
characteristics
• Lime: Lime is the primary ingredient necessary for reaction with the
emulsifiers to develop the oil water interface. It is also useful in combating
acidic gases such as CO2 and H2S. The concentration of lime is usually held
in excess of 2 to 6 ppb, depending on conditions.
PSEUDO OIL BASED MUD:

• To help in the battle against the environmental problem of low toxicity oil
based muds and their low biodegradability, developments have been made
in producing a biodegradable synthetic base oil.
• A system which uses synthetic base oil is called a Pseudo Oil Based Mud
(SOB) and is designed to behave as close as possible to low toxic oil based
mud (LTOBM).
• It is built in a fashion akin to normal oil based fluids, utilising modified
emulsifiers.
GAS BASED FLUIDS:
There are four main types of gas based fluids:
1. Air 2. Mist 3. Foam 4. Aerated Drilling Fluid
These are not common systems as they have limited applications such as
the drilling of depleted reservoirs or aquifers where normal mud weights
would cause severe loss circulation.
In the case of air the maximum depth drillable is currently about 6-8,000 ft
because of the capabilities of the available compressors.
Water if present in the formation is very detrimental to the use of gas-based
muds as their properties tends to break down in the presence of water.
The advantages of drilling with air in the circulating system are: higher
penetration rates; better hole cleaning; and less formation damage.
However, there are also two important disadvantages: air cannot support
the sides of the borehole and air cannot exert enough pressure to prevent
formation fluids entering the borehole.
Drilling Fluid Properties
• The properties of a drilling fluid can be analysed by its physical and chemical
attributes.
• The major properties of the fluid should be measured and reported daily in
the drilling morning report.
• Each mud property contributes to the character of the fluid and must be
monitored regularly to show trends, which can be used to ascertain what is
happening to the mud whilst drilling.
• There are many tests a fluid can have; the major ones are explained below.
MUD WEIGHT OR MUD DENSITY:
• Unit: pounds per gallon (ppg or lb/gal).
• Alternatives:Specific Gravity SG (g/cm3),Kpa/m, psi/ft
• ppg = sg x8.33
= KPa/m x 1.176
= psi/ft x 0.052
Apparatus: Mud balance,
or where gases may be entrapped in the mud due to high weights or thick
mud, then a Pressure Balance should be used.
Each should be calibrated at the start of the job to weigh 8.33 ppg with fresh
water.
A cup is filled with a sample of mud and is then balanced on the mud balance
which is calibrated to read mud weight directly.
• Mud Balance

• Additives: Increasing mud density should only be done with additions of a

weight material, e.g. barytes, haematite or acid soluble, calcium carbonate,
and not through build up of drilled solids.
• Decreasing mud density should only be done by dilution and acceptable
solids control practices.
• Weight increase using barytes
MUD BALANCE
Volume increase using Barytes

• where
• X = No of 100 lbs sacks per 100 bbls of mud
• V = No of bbls increase per 100 bbls of mud
• W1 = Initial mud weight (ppg)
• W2 = Desired mud weight (ppg)
 VISCOSITY
Viscosity is a measure of the internal
resistance of a fluid to flow)).
Two common methods are used on the rig to
measure viscosity:
1. Marsh funnel
2. Rotational viscometer
1- Funnel Viscosity
Apparent Viscosity (vis) is the measured times it
takes for one quart of mud to gravity feed through
a hole of a specific diameter.
FUNNEL VISCOSITY:
Unit: Seconds per quart (sec/qt).
Alternatives: Seconds per litre (sec/lt).

Apparatus: Marsh Funnel. This is usually calibrated to read 26 ± 0.5 seconds

when testing with fresh water.
• The March Funnel is a simple device used for the routine monitoring of the
viscosity, and should be performed alongside the mud weight check.
• Marsh funnel readings are affected by mud weight, solids content and
temperature.
• The value from the Marsh funnel should only be used for comparison
purposes and for monitoring trends.
MARSH FUNNEL VISOMETER
viscosity
2- Multi Speed rheometr
Relates viscosity to shear rate and
shear stress.
i. Newtonian fluids
ii. Non Newtonian fluids
PLASTIC VISCOSITY (PV):
• Apparatus: Viscometer or rheometer is a device used to measure the
viscosity and yield point of mud . A sample of mud is placed in a slurry cup
and rotation of a sleeve in the mud gives readings which can be
mathematically converted into plastic viscosity (PV) and yield point (YP).

• Multi-speed rheometer are recommended whenever possible since readings

can be obtained at 600,300,200,100,6 and 3 rpm. PV (in cP) is measured by
taking the difference between the dial readings taken at the two highest
speeds of 600 rpm and 300 rpm
• PV = θ600 - θ300
Plastic viscosity (PV)

is that part of flow resistance in a mud caused primarily by the friction

between the suspended particles and by the viscosity of the continuous
liquid phase. i.e. it is a representation of the concentration, size and
shape of the solid particles.

Yield point (YP)

is a measurement under flowing conditions of the forces in the
mud which cause gel structure to develop when the mud is at rest.
Bingham Plastic Fluids
((Reology in Bingham model concerned with PV & YP))
• PV = 600 - 300
• YP = 300 – PV
• It is more accurate in Oil Base Mud than in Water base mud.
• True Yield Point
• y t = ¾ yB
• Apparent Viscosity
• AF = ½ 600
Power Law Fluids
• It allows for more plastic or pseudo – fluid behavior.
• Power law slip velocity is generally less than Bingham one.
• Calculating slip velocity by Bingham provide adequate hole cleaning
• More accurate in water base mud.
Power Law Model Fluids

n = 3.32 log (600 / 300)

k = 300 / 511n
YIELD POINT:
• Unit: lbf/100sq ft
• Alternatives:Pascals (Pa) = lbs/100sq.ft x 0.48
Apparatus: Same equipment as used for measurement of plastic viscosity.
Yield Point (YP) is calculated from the following:
• YP = θ300 – PV (7.4)
• Both PV and YP are mathematical values which can be used for calculating
the pressure loss in the circulating system
• When plastic viscosity rises, this is usually an indication that the solids
control equipment are running inefficiently.
• Ideally, the yield point should be just high enough to suspend the cuttings as
they are circulated up the annulus.
Gel strength

Gel strength (Gel): is a measurement under static conditions of the forces in the mud
which cause gel structure to develop when the mud is at rest.
The gel strength of the mud will provide an indication of the pressure required to
initiate flow after the mud has been static for some time.
The gel strength of the mud also provides an indication of the suspension properties
of the mud and hence its ability to suspend cuttings when the mud is stationary.
GEL STRENGTHS:
• Unit:Same as Yield Point.
• Alternatives: Same as Yield Point.
Apparatus: Six speed viscometer. There are two readings for gel strengths, 10
second and 10 minute with the speed of the viscometer set at 3 rpm.
The fluid must have remained static prior to each test, and the highest peak
reading will be reported.

• Applications: The gel strength quantifies the thixotropic behaviour of a fluid;

its ability to have strength when static, in order to suspend cuttings, and
flow when put under enough force. Ideally the two values of gel strength
should be close rather than progressively far apart.
The gel strength can be measured using the multi-rate viscometer.
After the mud has remained static for some time (10 secs) the rotor is set at
a low speed (3 rpm) and the deflection noted. This is reported as the initial
or 10 second gel.
The same procedure is repeated after the mud remains static for 10
minutes, to determine the 10 minute gel.
Both gels are measured in the same units as Yield Point (lbs/ 100ft2).
Gel strength usually appears on the mud report as two figures (e.g. 17/25).
The first being the initial gel and the second the 10 minute gel.
FLUID LOSS AND FILTER CAKE:
The filter cake building properties of mud can be measured by means of a filter press.
• Fluid loss: Unit: ml / 30 minutes at 100 psi (for API test) or 500 psi and BHT ( F) for high
temperature/high pressure (HTHP).
• Filter cake thickness is measured in 1 /32".
Apparatus: Both tests work on filling a cell with drilling fluid, and sealing it shut.
Inside the cell is a filter paper that has been placed between the mud and the aperture in
the cell.
Pressure is applied to the cell which forces the mud and solids through the filter paper.
The solids accumulating on he filter paper form a filter cake and the the filtrate passing
through the paper is collected in a graduated cylinder.
The mud in the cell is pressurised for 30 min and the fluid or filtrate is collected and
measured.
The filter paper is also collected, washed, then examined and the deposited filter cake is
measured.
HPHT tests with the cell put under heat are usually carried out on wells where the
temperature is greater than 200o F.
FILTER PRESS
FILTER PRESS
HTHP FILTER PRESS
Applications:
The fluid loss gives a representation of the fluids interaction with the well
bore under simulated pressure and temperature conditions.
Ideally the fluid should form a thin, flexible, impermeable layer (filter cake)
against the wall and prevent fluid (filtrate) from entering the rock and
reacting with the formations.
A mud system with a low value of filtrate loss cause minimum swelling of
clays and minimum formation damage.
The filter cake should be in the region of 1 to 2 /32" and should never be
greater than 3/32", even in an HPHT test with WBM.
Filtration control additives include:
Starch
Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)
Polyanionic Cellulose (PAC)
Sand Content:
• A high proportion of sand in the mud can damage the mud pumps and is
therefore undesirable.
• The percentage of sand in the mud is therefore measured regularly using a
200 mesh sieve and a graduated tube .
• The glass measuring tube is filled with mud up to the scribe line. Water is
then added up to the next scribe line. The fluids are mixed by shaking and
then poured through the sieve.
• The sand retained on the sieve should be washed thoroughly to remove and
remaining mud.
• A funnel is fitted to the top of the sieve and the sand is washed into the glass
tube by a fine spray of water.
• After allowing the sand to settle the sand content can be read off directly as
a percentage.
SAND CONTENT APPARATUS:
Thank You