Abstract
Wellbore cement is the primary hydraulic barrier material used in wellbore construction, with properties similar to the formation rock. It serves multiple purposes such as providing mechanical support and zonal isolation, maintaining well performance, and restoring sealing barriers during the wellbore abandonment. However, Portland cement can have a brittle nature making it subject to mechanical failure at downhole conditions. To improve wellbore cement properties that impact it resistance to failure, three materials are explored as additives: (1) olivine to prevent chemical attack from CO2-rich geofluids, (2) zeolite for its water storage and slow moisture release that can potentially prevent drying shrinkage, thus allowing secondary cement hydration and potentially promoting self-healing capabilities, and (3) graphene to increase strength and/or decrease tendency of the material to brittle fracture. Investigation of the mechanism for how each of these micro-nano aggregates contributes to the enhanced performance of the cement matrix indicates that all can have positive impact on cement properties that enable effective and resilient zonal isolation.
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Acknowledgements
This research is supported by the National Academy of Science and Mathematics Gulf Research Program (NASEM-GRP) grant# 10002358 and the Project Research Team Members: Raissa Ferron group from University of Texas Austin, Ipsita Gupta group from Louisiana State University and Pierre Cerasi from SINTEF. A special thanks to Daniel Bour of Bour Consulting for bringing this study of graphene addition to cement to our attention as well as providing support and feedback. We thank Paul Beasant of Nova graphene for providing graphene. Gratitude goes to Halliburton for providing Class-H cement, D-air 5000, and CFR-3 dispersant. We appreciate the support from Lisa Whitworth and Brent Johnson at Oklahoma State University Microscopy Laboratory. Thank you, Tatiana Pyatina at Brookhaven National Laboratory, for your helpful observations. Special thanks to George King for valuable technical feedback of research and its relevance to field application. Gracious thanks to Mercy Achang for guidance and assistance. And last but not the least, we are grateful to our Hydraulic Barriers Team at OSU as well as the postdoc scholar and graduate students from NASEM GRP funded project: Mercy Achang (OSU), Vamsi Vissa (OSU), Tamitope Ajayi (LSU), Farzana Rahman (UTA), and especially Hope Asala, who is no longer with us due to a tragic accident.
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Massion, C., Vissa, V.S.K., Lu, Y., Crandall, D., Bunger, A., Radonjic, M. (2022). Geomimicry-Inspired Micro-Nano Concrete as Subsurface Hydraulic Barrier Materials: Learning from Shale Rocks as Best Geological Seals. In: Tesfaye, F., et al. REWAS 2022: Energy Technologies and CO2 Management (Volume II). The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92559-8_13
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