Premium
Non‐Newtonian Flows in Annuli with Variable Eccentric Motion of the Inner Tube
Author(s) -
Vieira Neto J. L.,
Martins A. L.,
Ataíde C. H.,
Barrozo M. A. S.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
chemical engineering and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1521-4125
pISSN - 0930-7516
DOI - 10.1002/ceat.201200239
Subject(s) - eccentricity (behavior) , drill string , drilling fluid , mechanics , eccentric , tube (container) , non newtonian fluid , newtonian fluid , xanthan gum , drilling , annulus (botany) , underbalanced drilling , geology , materials science , rheology , physics , engineering , thermodynamics , mechanical engineering , composite material , political science , law
In the horizontal drilling process, due to the weight of the drill string, the column may be located at a lower portion of the wellbore, thereby exhibiting an eccentric configuration. It is important to predict the eccentricity effect on the drilling fluids flowing through the annular, a subject not often discussed in the literature. The fluid dynamics of non‐Newtonian fluids (xanthan gum solutions) flowing through annuli with the variable eccentricity motion of the inner tube was investigated. The effects of four important operating variables were quantified. The comparison between computational fluid dynamics simulations and the experimental data indicated a very good agreement.