Abstract
Well cementing involves pumping a sequence of fluids into the well. Often these fluids, such as spacers and cement slurries, have non-Newtonian yield-stress rheology. After the cement slurry has been placed in the annulus, it hardens into a low-permeability annular seal. The complexity of these processes and the multitude of materials involved (drilling fluid, spacer, chemical wash, cement, casing, rocks) call for a sufficiently detailed material characterization in order to design and optimize cement jobs. A review of properties describing cements and other materials used in primary cementing is presented in this chapter. Rheological properties of washes, spacers, and cement slurries that control their flow down the well and up the annulus are discussed. Basics of non-Newtonian fluid rheology required to understand the subsequent chapters are laid out. Transition properties of cement slurry related to its solidification are reviewed. Mechanical, interfacial, hydraulic, and thermal properties of hardened cement that control e.g. response of cement to thermal stresses, vibrations, etc. are introduced, along with laboratory techniques used for their measurement (Brazilian test, uniaxial test, triaxial test, push-out test).
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- 1.
A rheometer is a more versatile instrument than a viscometer and enables application of oscillatory movement and measurement of viscoelastic properties, in addition to the shear stress versus shear rate curve. The typical shear rate range of a rheometer (10−6–105 s−1) is larger than of a typical viscometer (10−1–103 s−1). See e.g. [1].
- 2.
Most fluids used in drilling and cementing have yield-stress rheology. Exceptions are water and air, sometimes used as drilling fluids, and Newtonian washes sometimes used to clean the annulus before pumping spacer and cement in a cementing job.
- 3.
Laboratory data about fluid-loss properties of a slurry are obtained in filter-press experiments.
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Lavrov, A., Torsæter, M. (2016). Properties of Well Cement. In: Physics and Mechanics of Primary Well Cementing. SpringerBriefs in Petroleum Geoscience & Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43165-9_2
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