Wellbore strengthening materials (WSMs) have been widely used to strengthen the wellbore stability and integrity, especially those lost circulation materials (LCMs) used for mud loss impairment. To enhance the wellbore strengthening effect rather than a loss impairment, plastering effect can be used to increase the fracture gradient of the wall and minimize the probability of inducing new fractures. This is done by smearing the mudcake and pores and forming an internal cake inside the rock matrix using WSMs (or LCMs). Until now, the particle size distribution (PSD) of LCMs have been widely studied for the minimization on the mud loss (e.g., Abran’s rule, ideal packing theory, D90 rule, Halliburton D50 rule, etc.). However, there are few empirical rules focused on the maximum wellbore strengthening effect. This study attempts to find the desired PSD of plastering materials to enhance wellbore stability. In this research, the Brazilian test was used to quantify tensile strength. Meanwhile, the filtration characteristics of WSMs through the rock matrix were observed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an energy-dispersive system (EDS). Finally, this paper adopts D50 of WSMs to be the mean pore throat size for a maximum improvement on the rock tensile strength. We have observed that the closer the D50 of WSMs in the WSMs to the mean pore throat size, the stronger the saturated rock matrix.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
December 2019
Research-Article
Enhancement of Plastering Effect on Strengthening Wellbore by Optimizing Particle Size Distribution of Wellbore Strengthening Materials
Wenhao He,
Wenhao He
1
Department of Petroleum Engineering,
Lafayette, LA 70506
e-mail: wenhao.vincent.he@gmail.com
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
,Lafayette, LA 70506
e-mail: wenhao.vincent.he@gmail.com
1Corresponding author.
Search for other works by this author on:
Asadollah Hayatdavoudi,
Asadollah Hayatdavoudi
Department of Petroleum Engineering,
Lafayette, LA 70506
e-mail: asad.hayatdavoudi@gmail.com
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
,Lafayette, LA 70506
e-mail: asad.hayatdavoudi@gmail.com
Search for other works by this author on:
Keyong Chen,
Keyong Chen
College of Energy Resources,
Chengdu, Sichuan 610059,
e-mail: freeteal_cky@126.com
Chengdu University of Technology
,Chengdu, Sichuan 610059,
China
e-mail: freeteal_cky@126.com
Search for other works by this author on:
Kaustubh Sawant,
Kaustubh Sawant
Department of Petroleum Engineering,
Lafayette, LA 70506
e-mail: kaustubhsawant23@gmail.com
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
,Lafayette, LA 70506
e-mail: kaustubhsawant23@gmail.com
Search for other works by this author on:
Qin Zhang,
Qin Zhang
Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics,
Montreal, Quebec QCH3A0C3,
e-mail: qin.zhang2@mail.mcgill.ca
McGill University
,Montreal, Quebec QCH3A0C3,
Canada
e-mail: qin.zhang2@mail.mcgill.ca
Search for other works by this author on:
Chi Zhang
Chi Zhang
Department of Petroleum Engineering,
Lafayette, LA 70506
e-mail: kenan032005@gmail.com
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
,Lafayette, LA 70506
e-mail: kenan032005@gmail.com
Search for other works by this author on:
Wenhao He
Department of Petroleum Engineering,
Lafayette, LA 70506
e-mail: wenhao.vincent.he@gmail.com
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
,Lafayette, LA 70506
e-mail: wenhao.vincent.he@gmail.com
Asadollah Hayatdavoudi
Department of Petroleum Engineering,
Lafayette, LA 70506
e-mail: asad.hayatdavoudi@gmail.com
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
,Lafayette, LA 70506
e-mail: asad.hayatdavoudi@gmail.com
Keyong Chen
College of Energy Resources,
Chengdu, Sichuan 610059,
e-mail: freeteal_cky@126.com
Chengdu University of Technology
,Chengdu, Sichuan 610059,
China
e-mail: freeteal_cky@126.com
Kaustubh Sawant
Department of Petroleum Engineering,
Lafayette, LA 70506
e-mail: kaustubhsawant23@gmail.com
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
,Lafayette, LA 70506
e-mail: kaustubhsawant23@gmail.com
Qin Zhang
Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics,
Montreal, Quebec QCH3A0C3,
e-mail: qin.zhang2@mail.mcgill.ca
McGill University
,Montreal, Quebec QCH3A0C3,
Canada
e-mail: qin.zhang2@mail.mcgill.ca
Chi Zhang
Department of Petroleum Engineering,
Lafayette, LA 70506
e-mail: kenan032005@gmail.com
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
,Lafayette, LA 70506
e-mail: kenan032005@gmail.com
1Corresponding author.
2
Present address: State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing 102249, China.
Contributed by the Petroleum Division of ASME for publication in the Journal of Energy Resources Technology. Manuscript received October 5, 2018; final manuscript received May 6, 2019; published online June 20, 2019. Assoc. Editor: Daoyong (Tony) Yang.
J. Energy Resour. Technol. Dec 2019, 141(12): 122905 (10 pages)
Published Online: June 20, 2019
Article history
Received:
October 5, 2018
Revision Received:
May 6, 2019
Accepted:
May 7, 2019
Citation
He, W., Hayatdavoudi, A., Chen, K., Sawant, K., Zhang, Q., and Zhang, C. (June 20, 2019). "Enhancement of Plastering Effect on Strengthening Wellbore by Optimizing Particle Size Distribution of Wellbore Strengthening Materials." ASME. J. Energy Resour. Technol. December 2019; 141(12): 122905. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4043785
Download citation file:
Get Email Alerts
Cited By
Stage-wise kinetic analysis of ammonia addition effects on two-stage ignition in dimethyl ether
J. Energy Resour. Technol
Related Articles
Integrated Experimental and Analytical Wellbore Strengthening Solutions by Mud Plastering Effects
J. Energy Resour. Technol (May,2016)
Screening of Lost Circulation Materials for Geothermal Applications: Experimental Study at High Temperature
J. Energy Resour. Technol (March,2022)
Experimental Study of Drilling Fluid's Filtration and Mud Cake Evolution in Sandstone Formations
J. Energy Resour. Technol (March,2017)
Enhancement Techniques for Ultrasonic Nondestructive Evaluation of Composite Materials
J. Eng. Mater. Technol (April,1990)
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Chapters
Simulation of the Fracture Network in the Inter-Bed Layered Rock Masses
Geological Engineering: Proceedings of the 1 st International Conference (ICGE 2007)
Introduction and Definitions
Handbook on Stiffness & Damping in Mechanical Design
A New Model for Rockburst Prediction Based on Gaussian Process
Geological Engineering: Proceedings of the 1 st International Conference (ICGE 2007)