Settling Velocity of Particles in Viscoelastic Fluids: A Comparison of the Shear Viscosity vs Elasticity Effect

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sumanth Kumar Arnipally ◽  
Ergun Kuru
Keyword(s):  
Shear Viscosity ◽  
Settling Velocity ◽  
Viscoelastic Fluids

Development of Elastic Drag Coefficient Model and Explicit Terminal Settling Velocity Equation for Particles in Viscoelastic Fluids

SPE Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (06) ◽  
pp. 2962-2983 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhengming Xu ◽  
Xianzhi Song ◽  
Zhaopeng Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Drag Force ◽  
Shear Viscosity ◽  
Settling Velocity ◽  
Particle Diameter ◽  
Viscoelastic Fluids ◽  
Proppant Transport ◽  
Fluid Elasticity ◽  
Fracturing Fluids ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Velocity Equation

Summary Viscoelastic fluids are frequently used as drilling or fracturing fluids to enhance cuttings or proppant transport efficiency. The solid transport performance of these fluids largely depends on the settling behaviors of suspended particles. Different from viscoinelastic fluids, the elastic and viscous characteristics of viscoelastic fluids both affect particle settling behaviors. In this study, to separately quantify the contribution degrees of the shear viscosity and fluid elasticity on the terminal settling velocity, we decompose the total drag force into a viscous drag force and an elastic drag force. Based on the experimental data from the available literature, it is concluded that the elastic drag force is a function of the fluid elasticity, particle diameter, particle terminal settling velocity, and density difference between the fluid and particle. The formula for the elastic drag force is determined on the basis of the force analysis, and a relationship between the elastic drag coefficient and particle Reynolds number (Re) is developed. An explicit equation that directly predicts the terminal settling velocity in viscoelastic fluids is determined by correlating the dimensionless particle diameter and Re. To validate the proposed model, a total of 108 settling experiments in viscoelastic fluids are conducted. The absolute percentage error (APE) between the predicted and measured terminal settling velocities is 15.26%, which indicates that the proposed explicit terminal settling velocity equation can provide satisfactory prediction accuracy of the terminal settling velocity for particles in viscoelastic fluids. Furthermore, an illustrative example is provided to show that the proposed model can be used to calculate the required fluid elasticity to obtain the desired terminal settling velocity when the fluid shear viscosity is fixed. The proposed models are valid with a consistency index range of approximately 0.16 to 1.2 Pa⋅sn, flow behavior index range of approximately 0.282 to 0.579, an Re range of approximately 0.005 to 30, and a fluid relaxation time range of approximately 0.183 to 110 seconds. This study can help operators choose proper drilling/fracturing fluids to enhance the cuttings/proppant transport and maximize drilling/fracturing performance.

Experimental Investigation of Flow Field Past a Spherical Particle Settling in Viscoelastic Fluids Using Particle Image Velocimetry Technique

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sumanth Kumar Arnipally ◽  
Majid Bizhani ◽  
Ergun Kuru
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Shear Viscosity ◽  
Particle Image ◽  
Settling Velocity ◽  
Viscoelastic Fluids ◽  
Particle Settling ◽  
Settling Particle ◽  
Fluid Elasticity ◽  
Piv Technique ◽  
Direction Opposite

Experimental investigation of flow field past a spherical particle settling in viscoelastic fluids using particle image shadowgraphy techniques studies have shown that the settling velocity of particles in viscoelastic fluids decreased significantly with the increasing elasticity of the fluids. However, our understanding of how and why the change in fluid elasticity influences the particle settling velocity are not yet fully developed. An experimental study, therefore, has been conducted to understand the reasons behind why the settling velocity of the particles decrease with the increasing fluid elasticity. The main objectives were: (i) to investigate the fluid flow field behind the settling particle by using particle image velocity (PIV) technique; (ii) to understand the changes caused by the elasticity of the fluid on the flow field past the settling particle; (iii) more specifically, to determine how the fluid velocity profile and the resultant drag forces acting on the settling particle change with the increasing fluid elasticity. Two different viscoelastic fluids were formulated by mixing 3 grades of HPAM polymer (MWs: 500,000; 8,000,000; 20,000,000; concentrations: 0.09% and 0.1%wt). The fluids were designed to have almost identical shear viscosity but significantly different elastic properties. The shear viscosity and elasticity of the fluids were determined by performing shear viscosity and frequency sweep oscillatory measurements, respectively. The settling velocities of the spherical particles in viscoelastic polymer fluids were measured by using particle image shadowgraph technique. The fluid flow field behind the settling particle was determined by using the PIV technique. Results of the PIV measurements demonstrated that negative wakes were present in viscoelastic fluids. The stagnation point (i.e. the point where the velocity becomes zero and above that the fluid starts moving in the direction opposite to the particle movement) was closer to the particle settling in the higher elasticity fluid than that in the lower elasticity fluid. The velocity of the fluid in the recirculation region was higher for the flow of the fluid with higher elasticity. The presence of negative wakes having fast moving fluid in the reverse direction near the settling particle possibly creates an additional drag force (acting on the particle in the direction opposite the particle movement), which would eventually slow down the settling particle. Knowledge of the settling behavior of particles is indispensable to design and optimize numerous industrial operations such as cuttings transport in oil and gas well drilling and proppant transport in hydraulic fracturing. In this study, by conducting experiments under controlled conditions, we were able to show how the change in fluid elasticity influenced the particle settling velocity. The results from this fundamental study can be used for development of optimum drilling and fracturing fluid formulations for effective transport of cuttings and proppants.

Settling Velocity of Particles in Viscoelastic Fluids: A Comparison of the Shear-Viscosity and Elasticity Effects

SPE Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (05) ◽  
pp. 1689-1705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sumanth Kumar Arnipally ◽  
Ergun Kuru
Keyword(s):  
Elastic Properties ◽  
Shear Viscosity ◽  
Settling Velocity ◽  
Particle Diameter ◽  
Viscoelastic Fluids ◽  
Spherical Particles ◽  
High Shear ◽  
Fluid Shear ◽  
Particle Settling ◽  
Fluid Elasticity

Summary The objective of this paper is to determine how fluid shear viscosity and elasticity might influence the particle-settling velocity, and even more so to answer the question of which one of these two rheological properties is more dominant in controlling the particle-settling velocity when viscoelastic drilling fluids are used. The settling velocities of spherical particles (diameters: 1.18, 1.5, 2, and 3 mm) in partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) polymer fluids were measured using the particle-image-shadow graph (PIS) technique. Two sets of test fluids were formulated by mixing three different grades of HPAM (molecular weights of 500,000, 8 million, and 20 million g/g mol) at polymer concentrations of 0.09, 0.05, and 0.03 wt%. The shear-viscosity and elasticity characteristics of test fluids were determined by performing shear-viscosity and frequency-sweep oscillatory measurements, respectively. The first set of fluids had almost identical shear-viscosity characteristics while showing significantly different elastic properties (quantified in terms of relaxation time). The second set of fluids had similar elastic properties but different shear-viscosity characteristics. In addition, the effect of the particle size on the settling velocities in these test fluids was also investigated. The experimentally measured settling velocities were compared with the values calculated from the Shah et al. (2007) model developed for predicting the settling velocity of spherical particles in power-law (viscoinelastic) fluids as well as the values calculated from the Malhotra and Sharma (2012) correlation developed for settling velocity in shear-thinning viscoelastic fluids in unconfined media. Experimental results showed the following: When the fluids with similar shear-viscosity profiles were used, the settling velocity of spherical particles decreased significantly with the increasing fluid elasticity. The settling-velocity values can be 14 to 50 times overestimated if the effect of the elasticity is not considered. At constant elasticity, the settling velocity of spherical particles also decreased significantly when the fluid shear viscosity was increased. The spherical particle-settling velocity increased pronouncedly as particle diameter increased from 1.18 to 3 mm. However, the magnitude of the increase in settling velocity with the increasing particle diameter is less for the samples with higher elasticity and similar shear-viscosity characteristics. The fluid shear viscosity and the elasticity both seem to have significant effect on the particle-settling velocity. However, from the field operational point of view, fluids with high shear-viscosity values are not always practical to use because the high shear viscosity increases parasitic pressure losses and potentially has a negative effect on the drilling rate. Hence, in such cases increasing the fluid elasticity can help to reduce the particle-settling velocity even at lower shear-viscosity values. By conducting experiments under controlled conditions, we were able to quantify the individual effects of fluid shear viscosity and elasticity on the particle-settling velocity for the first time in drilling literature.

Effect of Elastic Properties of the Fluids on the Particle Settling Velocity

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sumanth Kumar Arnipally ◽  
Ergun Kuru
Keyword(s):  
Elastic Properties ◽  
Shear Viscosity ◽  
Settling Velocity ◽  
Relaxation Times ◽  
Average Diameter ◽  
Spherical Particles ◽  
Molecular Weights ◽  
Elastic Fluids ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Elastic Characteristics

An experimental study was performed to investigate the influence of fluid elastic properties on the settling velocity of spherical particles in viscoelastic polymer fluids. The Particle Image Shadowgraph (PIS) technique was used to measure the settling velocity of the spherical particles (with average diameter of 2mm) in the hydrolyzed poly acrylamide (HPAM) polymer test fluids. Test fluids were prepared by mixing 3 different grades of HPAM (with molecular weights of; 500,000; 8,000,000; and 20,000,000) at polymer concentrations of 0.09 and 0.1% by weight. Shear viscosity and oscillatory measurements were carried out to characterize the test fluids. The test fluids were formulated in such a way that they had almost identical shear viscosity characteristics while showing significantly different elastic properties. The relaxation time was used to quantify the elastic characteristics of the fluids. To quantify the impact of elasticity, the experimentally measured settling velocities were compared to the values calculated by using the model developed for predicting settling velocity of spherical particles in power law (visco-inelastic) fluids [1]. Experimental results indicated that the settling velocity of spherical particles in visco-elastic fluids decreased significantly with the increasing elasticity (measured in terms of relaxation times) of the fluids.

scholarly journals Long Bubble Penetration through Viscoelastic Fluids in a Suddenly Contracting and Expanding Tube

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ching-Chuan Chang ◽  
Huang-Chih Lin ◽  
Ming-Yuan Lin ◽  
Te-Hui Tsai
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Shear Viscosity ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Bubble Diameter ◽  
Viscoelastic Fluids ◽  
Weissenberg Number ◽  
Bubble Velocity ◽  
Sudden Expansion ◽  
Expansion Tube ◽  
Front Shape

This study investigated the properties of long bubbles penetrating viscoelastic fluids in a suddenly contracting and expanding tube. Injection gas flow is controlled by a mass flow controller (MFC). Some of dimensionless parameters, such as the capillary number (Ca), the Reynolds number (Re), the fractional ratio (m), and the Weissenberg number (Wi), are discussed herein. The experimental results showed that bubble velocity, Ca, and Wi increase as shear viscosity increases under a constant gas flow by MFC. However, as shear viscosity increases, bubble diameter decreases, andmincreases. When gas flow is 200 mL/min and shear viscosity increases, the bubble front is sharper in the contraction tube, and the bubble front shape is blunter in the sudden expansion tube. When gas flow is 600 mL/min and shear viscosity increases, the bubble front is blunter in the contraction tube and exhibits a torch shape in the sudden expansion tube.

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