WWeesstteerrnn UUnniivveerrssiittyy SScchhoollaarrsshhiipp@@WWeesstteerrnn Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 4-21-2011 12:00 AM IInnvveessttiiggaattiioonn oonn RRhheeoollooggyy ooff OOiill WWeellll CCeemmeenntt SSlluurrrriieess Anjuman Shahriar, University of Western Ontario Supervisor: Dr. Moncef Nehdi, The University of Western Ontario A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering © Anjuman Shahriar 2011 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Civil Engineering Commons, and the Other Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons RReeccoommmmeennddeedd CCiittaattiioonn Shahriar, Anjuman, "Investigation on Rheology of Oil Well Cement Slurries" (2011). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 113. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/113 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INVESTIGATION ON RHEOLOGY OF OIL WELL CEMENT SLURRIES (Spine title: Rheology of oil well cement slurries) (Thesis format: Integrated Article) by Anjuman Shahriar Graduate Program in Engineering Science Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Anjuman Shahriar 2011 THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION Supervisor Examiners ______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Moncef Nehdi Dr. Maged A. Youssef Supervisory Committee ______________________________ Dr. Craig Miller ______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Liying Jiang ______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Ammar Yahia The thesis by Anjuman Shahriar entitled: Investigation on Rheology of Oil Well Cement Slurries is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ______________________ _______________________________ Date Chair of the Thesis Examination Board ii ABSTRACT The rheology of oil well cement (OWC) slurries is generally more complicated than that of conventional cement paste. In order to contend with bottom hole conditions (wide range of pressure and temperature), a number of additives are usually used in the OWC slurries, which exhibit different characteristics depending on the combination of admixture used. The objective of this research is to develop a fundamental understanding of the important mechanisms that affect the rheology of OWC slurry incorporating various chemical and mineral admixtures. The partial replacement of OWC using different mineral admixtures, offers both environmental and economic benefits. The mechanisms underlying the effects of chemical admixtures on the rheology of OWC slurry were investigated at different temperatures using an advanced shear-stress/shear-strain controlled rheometer. The compatibility and interactions between the binder and chemical admixtures were explored. It was found that the rheological properties of OWC slurries are highly dependent on the temperature, water/cement ratio, and the admixture used. Coupled effects of temperature and chemical admixtures had a substantial effect on the flow properties of the slurries. The results indicated that current technical data for chemical admixtures need to be validated for oil well cementing; admixtures proven effective in normal cementing work at moderate temperature may become ineffective for oil well cementing at high temperature. The coupled effects of temperature and supplementary cementing materials (SCMs) on the rheology of OWC slurry were also investigated. Because of differences in their chemical compositions and the mechanisms by which they act, OWC slurries incorporating SCMs exhibit different rheological behaviour than those prepared with pure OWC. It was found that not all SCMs act in similar manner when used as partial replacement for cement. For example, fly ash, owing to its spherical particle shape, reduces the water demand when used. On the other hand, silica fume increased the water demand because of its higher surface area. Results suggested that new generation polycarboxylate-based high-range water reducing admixtures (PCH) improved the rheological properties of all slurries at all temperature tested. However, lower PCH dosage was found to be less efficient in reducing the yield stress or plastic viscosity of OWC slurries when metakaolin (MK) or rice husk ash (RHA) were used iii as partial replacement for OWC. PCH was found to enhance the shear thickening behaviour of OWC slurries and the intensity of this behaviour varied with the type and amount of SCM. Such a phenomenon was amplified with metakaolin, reduced by SF, unchanged with FA and showed irregular behaviour with RHA. Furthermore, new equations were proposed using multiple regression analysis (MRA) and design of experiments (DOE) to predict the Bingham parameters (yield stress and plastic viscosity) of cement slurries prepared in combination with or without SCMs considering various parameters including the ambient temperature, chemical admixture type and dosage, and superplasticizer type and dosage. An artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed to predict the rheological properties of OWC slurries. The results indicated that the predicted rheological parameters for OWC slurries were in good agreement with corresponding experimental results. However, the ANN-based model performed better than the MRA-based model or DOE-based model in predicting the rheological properties of OWC slurries. Keywords: oil well cement, rheology, cement slurry, high temperature, superplasticizer, yield stress, viscosity, thixotropy, fly ash, metakaolin, silica fume, rice husk ask, multiple regression analysis, artificial neural network, design of experiment, modeling. iv COPYRIGHT AND CO-AUTHORSHIP This thesis has been prepared in accordance with the specifications of Integrated Article (Formerly Manuscript) format stipulated by the Faculty of Graduate Studies at The University of Western Ontario. All the experimental works were conducted in the Advanced Concrete Technology Laboratory at the University of Western Ontario by the author under the supervision of Prof. Moncef Nehdi. Major portions of the work outlined in this thesis have been published or are under review (see list below) for possible publication in peer- reviewed technical journals and conferences. The author carried out all experimental work, data analysis, modeling process, and writing of the initial draft of all papers listed below. The contribution of her research advisor consisted of providing guidance and supervision, and helping in the development of the final versions of the publications. Refereed Journal Publications 1. Shahriar, A., and Nehdi, M. (2010) Effect of chemical admixture on rheology of oil well cement slurries. Accepted in Construction Materials, ICE, Jul 2010, 40 p, (ID: COMA-D- 10-00023R1). 2. Shahriar, A., and Nehdi, M. (2010) Artificial intelligence model for rheological properties of oil well cement slurries. Submitted to ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering. 3. Shahriar, A., and Nehdi, M. (2011) Modeling rheological properties of oil well cement slurries using artificial neural networks and multiple regression analysis. Submitted to Construction & Building Materials. v 4. Shahriar, A., and Nehdi, M. (2011) Artificial intelligence model for rheological properties of oil well cement slurries incorporating supplementary cementitious materials. Submitted to Advances in Cement Research. 5. Shahriar, A., and Nehdi, M. (2011) Optimization of Rheological Properties of Oil Well Cement Slurries Using Experimental Design. Submitted to Cement and Concrete research. 6. Shahriar, A., and Nehdi, M. (2008) Effect of supplementary cementitious materials on rheology of oil well cement slurries. Proc. of Annual Conference - Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, Vol. 3, 10-13 Jun, 1494-1502 (Ph.D. Work) vi DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to my parents, Salma Begum and Md. Amjad Hossain who have always been a great encouragement for this great achievement, and to my twin baby girls, Saniya and Sabrina and to my husband, Shahria Alam who make my life meaningful and enjoyable. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my appreciation and sincere gratitude to my research supervisor Prof. Moncef L. Nehdi for his consistent support all through my study period at the University of Western Ontario. His invaluable guidance and inspiration helped me grow confidence and develop both academically and personally. Being his supervisee, it had been a wonderful experience for me. I would like to thank my family for their constant support and encouragement throughout my study period. In particular, I would like to thank my mother, father and my husband. Without their encouragement and support, this achievement could not have been possible. I would like to acknowledge the input of Mr. Wilbert Logan and Mr. Aiham Adawi for their assistance in conducting the experimental work. Special thanks are due to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Western Ontario, including Faculty, Staff, Fellow Graduate Students and Summer Work Study Students. Special thanks are also due to all Technicians, Secretaries, and Personnel in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The University of Western Ontario, who contributed directly or indirectly to the accomplishments of this work. I also gratefully acknowledge the donation of materials by Lafarge cement, the Association of Canadian Industries Recycling Coal Ash, Advanced Cement Technologies, LLC, USA, and BASF Construction Chemicals, and the funding provided by Imperial Oil, Canada viii TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION ………………………………………………. ii ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………………... iii COPYRIGHT AND CO-AUTHORSHIP ……………………………………….......... v DEDICATION ………………………………………................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………………………………... viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ……………………………………………………………... ix LIST OF FIGURES …………………………………………………………………… xv LIST OF TABLES…... ……………………………………………………………….. xx LIST OF NOTATIONS ……………………………………………………………...... xxii 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………... 1 1.2 Objectives and Scope of the Study…..………………………............................... 3 1.3 Organization of Dissertation …………………..………........................................ 5 1.4 Original Contributions of Thesis………………………………………………… 8 1.5 References ...………………………………………………………….................. 9 2. STATE OF THE ART ON OIL WELL CEMENT 10 2.1 introduction ………………………………………………..………...................... 10 2.2 Basic Cementing Process………………………………....................................... 11 2.3 Oil Well Cements ……………………...……….................................................. 13 2.3.1 Classification Of Oil Well Cements ……………………...……….............. 13 2.3.2 Other Types Of Oil Well Cements ………………………..….……........ 16 2.4 Admixtures for Well Cementing …………………...………............................. 17 2.4.1 Types of Admixtures Used in OWC Slurries…………………………… 17 2.5 Density Of OWC Slurries …………………………. ……..……………………. 18 2.6 Setting Time and Thickening Time of OWC Slurries ………………..……... 20 2.7 Hydration of Oil Well Cement …………………………..…………………… 23 2.8 Mechanical Properties of Hydrated OWC Slurry ..……..……………………. 24 ix