Tag: drilling fluid

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Shale shaker limits

A shale shaker’s capacity has been reached when excessive amounts of drilling fluid (or drilling-fluid liquid phase) first begins discharging over the end of the shaker. The capacity is determined by the combination of two factors:
1. The fluid limit is the maximum fluid flow rate that can be processed through the shaker screen.
2. The solids limit is the maximum amount of solids that can be conveyed off of the end of the shaker.
The two limits are interrelated in that the amount of fluid that can be processed will decrease as the amount of solids increases.
Any shale shaker/screen combination has a fluids-only capacity (i.e., no solids are present that can be separated by the screen) that is dependent on the characteristics of the shaker (g factor, vibration frequency, type of motion, and angle of the screen deck), of the screen (area and conductance), and of the fluid properties (viscosity characteristics, density, additives, and fluid type). The mechanical features of the shaker are discussed later in this chapter. The fluid-only capacity is the fluid limit with zero removable solids. For the sake of the current discussion, the drilling fluid is assumed to be a fluid with no solids larger than the openings in the shaker screen, although this is not true in many real instances.
The screen cloth can be considered to be a permeable medium with a permeability and thickness (conductance) and an effective filtration area. The fluid capacity will decrease as the fluid viscosity increases (plastic viscosity is important but yield and gel strengths can have a significant impact as well). Capacity will also increase as the fluid density increases due to increased pressure on the screen surface acting as a force to drive fluid through the screen.
The fluid-only capacity will generally be reduced when certain polymers are present in the fluid. Partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (PHPA) is most notable in this respect, as it can exhibit an effective solution viscosity in a permeable medium higher than that measured in a standard viscometer. At one time, the effective viscosity of PHPA solutions was determined by flowing the solution through a set of API 100 screens mounted in a standard capillary viscometer. PHPA drilling fluids typically have a lower fluid-only capacity for a given shaker/screen combination than do similar drilling fluids with PHPA because of this higher effective viscosity. This decrease in fluids-only capacity can be as much as 50% compared with a bentonite/water slurry. Adsorption of PHPA polymer may decrease effective opening sizes (as it does in porous media), thereby increasing the pressure drop required to maintain constant flow. This makes the PHPA appear to be much more viscous than it really is. This effect also happens with high concentrations of XC (xanthan gum, a polysaccharide secreted by bacteria of the genus Xanthomonas campestris) in water-based fluids, in drilling fluids with high concentrations of starch, in newly prepared NAFs, and in polymer-treated viscosifiers in NAFs.
The solids limit can be encountered at any time but occurs most often during the drilling of large-diameter holes and soft, sticky formations and during periods of high penetration rates. A relationship exists between the fluid limit and the solids limit. As the fluid flow rate increases, the solids limit decreases. As the solids loading increases, the fluid limit decreases. Internal factors that affect the fluid and solids limits are discussed in section 7.5, Shale Shaker Design.
The following are some of the major external factors that affect the solids and fluid limits.
1. Fluid Rheological Properties
Literature indicates that the liquid capacity of a shale shaker screen decreases as the plastic viscosity (PV) of a drilling fluid increases. PV is the viscosity that the fluid possesses at an infinite shear rate.(1) Drilling fluid viscosity is usually dependent on the shear rate applied to the fluid. The shear rate through a shale shaker screen depends on the opening size and how fast the fluid is moving relative to the shaker screen wires. For example, if 400 gpm is flowing through a 4*5-ft API 100 market grade (MG) screen (30% open area), the average fluid velocity is only 1.8 inches per second. Generally the shear rates through the shaker screen vary significantly. The exact capacity limit, therefore, will depend on the actual viscosity of the fluid. This will certainly change with PV and yield point (YP).
2.Fluid Surface Tension
Although drilling-fluid surface tensions are seldom measured, high surface tensions decrease the ability of the drilling fluid to pass through a shale shaker screen, particularly fine screens, with their small openings.
3.Wire Wettability
Shale shaker wire screens must be oil wet during drilling with oil-based drilling fluids. Water adhering to a screen wire decreases the effective opening size for oil to pass through. Frequently, this results in the shaker screens not being capable of handling the flow of an oil-based drilling fluid. This is called ‘‘sheeting’’ across the shaker screen, which frequently results in discharge of large quantities of drilling fluid.
4.fluid density
Drilling-fluid density is usually increased by adding a weighting agent to the drilling fluid. This increases the number of solids in the fluid and makes it more difficult to screen the drilling fluid.
5.Solids: Type, Size, and Shape
The shape of solids frequently makes screening difficult. In single-layer screens, particles that are only slightly larger than the opening size can become wedged into openings. This effectively plugs the screen openings and decreases the open area available to pass fluid. Solids that tend to cling together, such as gumbo, are also difficult to screen. Particle size has a significant effect on both solids and liquid capacity. A very small increase in near-size particles usually results in a very large decrease in fluid capacity for any screen, single or multilayer.
Solids compete with the liquid for openings in the shaker screen. Fast drilling can produce large quantities of solids. This usually requires coarser screens to allow most of the drilling fluid to be recovered by the shale shaker. Fast drilling is usually associated with shallow drilling. The usual procedure is to start with coarser-mesh screens in the fast drilling, larger holes near the top of the well and to ‘‘screen down’’ to finer screens as the well gets deeper. Finer screens can be used when the drilling rate decreases.
Boreholes that are not stable can also produce large quantities of solids. Most of the very large solids that arrive at the surface come from the side of the borehole and not from the bottom to the borehole. Drill bits usually create very small cuttings.
7. Hole Cleaning
One factor frequently overlooked in the performance of shale shakers is the carrying capacity of the drilling fluid. If cuttings are not brought to the surface in a timely manner, they tend to disintegrate into small solids in the borehole. If they stay in the borehole for a long period before arriving at the surface, the PV and solids content of the drilling fluid increases. This makes it appear that the shale shaker is not performing adequately, when actually the solids are disintegrating into those that cannot be removed by the shale shaker.

(1)The Bingham Plastic rheological model may be represented by the equation
shear stress = (PV)shear rate + YP:   By definition, viscosity is the ratio of shear stress to shear rate. Using the Bingham
Plastic expression for shear stress,
viscosity = [(PV)shear rate + YP]=shear rate:
Performing the division indicated, the term for viscosity becomes
(PV) + [YP/shear rate]:
As shear rate approaches infinity, viscosity becomes PV.

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How a shale shaker screens fluid

The primary purpose of a shale shaker is to remove as many drilled solids as possible without removing excessive amounts of drilling fluid. These dual objectives require that cuttings (or drilled solids) convey off the screen while simultaneously most of the drilling fluid is separated and removed from the cuttings. Frequently, the only stated objective of a shale shaker is to remove the maximum quantity of drilled solids. Stopping a shale shaker is the simplest way to remove the largest quantity of drilled solids. Of course, this will also remove most of the drilling fluid. When disregarding the need to conserve as much drilling fluid as possible, the ultimate objective of reducing drilling costs is defeated.
The size of drilled cuttings greatly influences the quantity of drilling fluid that tends to cling to the solids. As an extreme example, consider a golf-ball–size drilled solid coated with drilling fluid. Even with a viscous fluid, the volume of fluid would be very small compared with the volume of the solid. As the solids become smaller, the fluid film volume increases as the solids surface area increases. For silt-size or ultra-fine solids, the volume of liquid coating the solids may even be larger than the solids volume. More drilling fluid is returned to the system when very coarse screens are used than when screens as fine as API 200 are used.
Drilling fluid is a rheologically complex system. At the bottom of the hole, faster drilling is possible if the fluid has a low viscosity. In the annulus, drilled solids are transported better if the fluid has a high viscosity. When the flow stops, a gel structure builds slowly to prevent cuttings or weighting agents from settling. Drilling fluid is usually constructed to perform these functions. This means that the fluid viscosity depends on the history and the shear within the fluid. Typically, the low-shear-rate viscosities of drilling fluids range from 300–400 centipoise (cP) to 1000–1500 cP. As the shear rate (or, usually, the velocity) increases, drilling fluid viscosity decreases. Even with a low-shear-rate viscosity of 1500 cP, the plastic viscosity (or high-shear-rate viscosity) could be as low as 10 cP.
Drilling fluid flows downward, onto, and through shaker screens. If the shaker screen is stationary, a significant head would need to be applied to the drilling fluid to force it through the screen. Imagine pouring honey onto a 200-mesh screen (Figure 7.1). Honey at room temperature has a viscosity of around 100 to 200 cP. Flow through the screen would be very slow if the screen were moved rapidly upward through the honey (Figure 7.2), causing the honey to pass through the screen surface and into a collection device. These forces of vibration affect drilling fluid in the same manner. The introduction of vibration into this process applies upward and downward forces to the honey. The upward stroke moves the screen rapidly through the honey. These forces of vibration affect drilling fluid in the same manner. The upward stroke moves drilling fluid through the screen. Large solids do not follow the screen on the downward stroke, so they can be propelled from the screen surface.
When the screen moves on the downward stroke, the large solids are suspended above the screen and come in contact with the screen at a farther point toward the discharge end of the shaker. This is the reason that the elliptical, circular, and linear motion screens transport solids.

Screens are moved upward through the fluid with the elliptical, circular, and linear motion shale shakers. The linear motion shaker has an advantage because solids can be transported out of a pool of liquid and discharged from the system. The pool of liquid creates two advantages: Not only does it provide an additional head to the fluid, but it also provides inertia or resistance to the fluid as the screen moves upward. This significantly increases the flow capacity of the shaker. The movement of the shaker screen through the drilling fluid causes the screen to shear the fluid. This decreases the viscosity and is an effective component to allow the shaker to process drilling fluid.
The upward movement of the shaker screen through the fluid is similar to pumping the drilling fluid through the screen openings. If the fluid gels on the screen wires, the effective opening size is decreased. This would be the same as pumping drilling fluid through a smaller-diameter pipe. With the same head applied, less fluid flows through a smaller pipe in a given period of time than a larger pipe. If a shaker screen becomes water wet while processing NAF, the water ring around the screen opening effectively decreases the opening size available to pass the fluid. This, too, greatly reduces the flow capacity of the shaker.

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SCALPING SHAKERS AND GUMBO REMOVAL

Gumbo is formed in the annulus from the adherence of sticky particles to each other. It is usually a wet, sticky mass of clay, but finely ground limestone can also act as gumbo. The most common occurrence of gumbo is during drilling of recent sediments in the ocean. Enough gumbo can arrive at the surface to lift a rotary bushing from a rotary table. This sticky mass is difficult to screen. In areas where gumbo is prevalent, it should be removed before it reaches the main shale shakers.

Many gumbo removal devices are fabricated at the rig site, frequently in emergency response to a ‘‘gumbo attack.’’ These devices have many different shapes but are usually in the form of a slide at the upper end of a flowline. One of the most common designs involves a slide formed from steeply sloped rods spaced 1 to 3 inches apart and about 6 to 8 feet long. The angle of repose of cuttings is around 42 °, so the slides have a slope of around 45 °. Gumbo, or clay, does not stick to stainless steel very well; consequently, some of the devices are made with stainless steel rods. Drilling fluid easily passes through the relatively wide spacing in the rods, and the sticky gumbo mass slides down to disposal (Figure 6.1).

Several manufacturers have now built gumbo removal devices for rig installation. One of these units consists of a series of steel bars formed into an endless belt. The bars are spaced 1 to 2 inches apart and disposed perpendicular to the drilling-fluid flow. The bars move parallel to the flow. Gumbo is transported to the discharge end of the belt, and the drilling fluid easily flows through the spacing between the bars. Another machine uses a synthetic mesh belt with large openings, like an API 5 to an API 10 screen. The belt runs uphill and conveys gumbo from a pool of drilling fluid. A counterrotating brush is used to clean gumbo from the underside of the belt. The belt speed is variable so it can be adjusted for the solids-loading and fluid properties.

When linear motion shale shakers were introduced into oil well drilling operations, drilling fluid could routinely be sieved through API 200 screens for the first time. This goal was desirable because it allowed the removal of drilled-solids sizes down to the top of the size range for barite that met American Petroleum Institute (API) specifications.

Circular motion and unbalanced elliptical motion shale shakers were usually limited to screens of about API 80. Drillers soon found, however, that gumbo could not be conveyed uphill on a linear motion shale shaker. The material adhered to the screen. To prevent this, the circular and unbalanced elliptical motion shakers were used as scalping shakers.

The ‘‘rig’’ shakers remained attached to the flowline to remove very large cuttings and gumbo. These were called scalping shakers. Even in places where gumbo might not be present, scalpers were used to prevent very large cuttings or large chunks of shale from damaging the API 200+ screens. These screens have finer wires, which are much more fragile than wire used on an API 20 or API 40 screens. Scalping shakers also had the advantage of removing some of the larger solids that would enter the mud tanks when a hole appeared in the fine screen.

Tests indicated that fitting the scalper with the finest screen possible, an API 80 or API 100, did not result in the removal of more solids when combined with the API 200 on the main shaker. Apparently, shale in that size range would break apart on the scalper into pieces smaller than 74 microns, or it would damage the cuttings enough so that the linear motion shaker screen broke the cuttings. This action resulted in fewer total solids rejected from the system. Scalping shakers should be used as an insurance package to prevent very large cuttings from hitting the fine screens. Scalping shakers, even with an API 20 screen, will still convey gumbo. Frequently, relatively fine screens on a scalping shaker experience near-size blinding. Coarse screens are preferred.

Scalping shakers should be used with either linear motion or balanced elliptical motion shale shakers.Gumbomust be removed before any screen can convey drilled solids uphill out of a pool of liquid. These motions may be used on shakers to remove gumbo if the screen slopes downward from the back tank (possum belly) to the discharge end of the shaker.

Combination shakers are available that mount a downward-sloping screen on a linear motion shaker above an upward-sloping screen with a linear motion. Gumbo will move down the top screen and be removed before the fluid arrives at the lower screen. Again, however, the scalping screen should be a very coarse screen. Some screens reject gumbo significantly better than others. Some screens also convey gumbo more efficiently than others. Manufacturers have a great assortment of screens that have been tested in various regions of the world that experience gumbo attacks. Hook-strip screens with large rectangular openings—in the range of API 12—have been used very effectively in many regions. Experience indicates that the rectangular openings should be oriented so that the long opening is parallel to the flow.

Several important factors control whether to use a shale shaker/scalping shaker to effectively remove gumbo. If the screen deck can be tilted downward, with an articulated deck, gravity will assist gumbo removal. If the older-style unbalanced elliptical motion shaker is used, the fixed downward angle will usually satisfactorily convey gumbo. If the deck angle is flat, like most circular motion machines, the shaker has to generate a sufficient negative, or downward, force vector, normal to screen, to overcome the adhesion factor (or stickiness) of the gumbo so that the screen separates from the solids. If it does not separate, the gumbo is effectively glued to that spot on the screen.

If the drilling fluid is changed to decrease the quantity of gumbo reaching the surface, gumbo removal may not be a problem for main shakers with a high g factor. Scalping shakers, however, will still provide insurance for removal of large cuttings and in case the break in a shale shaker screen goes unnoticed.

Polyurethane shaker screen – frame for scalping shaker
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Tank arrangement-3

2. Auxiliary tank system-Trip Tank
A trip tank should also be a component of the tank system. This tank should have a well-calibrated, liquid-level gauge to measure the volume of drilling fluid entering or leaving the tank. The volume of fluid that replaces the volume of drill string is normally monitored on trips to make certain that formation fluids are not entering the well bore. When one barrel of steel (drill string) is removed from the borehole, one barrel of drilling fluid should replace it to maintain a constant liquid level in the well bore. If the drill string volume is not replaced, the liquid level may drop low enough to permit formation fluid to enter the well bore due to the drop in hydrostatic pressure. This is known as a kick. Fluid may be returned to the trip tank during the trip into the well. The excess fluid from the trip tank should be returned to the active system across the shale shakers. Large solids can come out of the well and plug the hydrocyclones if this drilling fluid bypasses the shakers.
The addition of trip tanks to drilling rigs significantly reduces the number of induced well kicks. The obsolete or old-system drillers filled the hole with drilling fluid with the rig pumps by counting the mud pump strokes (the volume was calculated for the displacement of the drill pipe pulled). The problem here was that a certain pump efficiency was estimated in these calculations. If the mud pump was not as efficient as estimated, slowly but surely the height of the column of drilling fluid filling the hole decreased. This caused a decrease in hydrostatic head, and if formation pressures were greater than the hydrostatic head of the drilling fluid, a kick would occur.
Another common way to induce a kick was to continue filling the hole with the same number of strokes used for the drill pipe even when reaching the heavy-weight drill pipe or drill collars were pulled. Both the heavy-weight drill pipe and the drill collars have more displacement per stand than the drill pipe; therefore a reduction in the height of the column of drilling fluid in the well bore would occur and problems would result.
3. SLUG TANK
A slug tank or pit is typically a small 20- to 50-barrel compartment within the suction section. This compartment is isolated from the active system and is available for small volumes of specialized fluid. Some drilling-fluid systems may have more than one of these small compartments. They are manifolded to a mixing hopper so that solids and chemicals may be added and are used to create heavier slurry to be displaced partway down the drill pipe before trips. This prevents drilling fluid inside the pipe from splashing on the rig floor during trips. These compartments are also used to mix and spot various pills, or slurries, in a well bore. The main pump suction must be manifolded to the slug pit(s).
Proper agitation is needed for this tank because there will be many different types of slurries mixed during drilling operations. Some will be easy to mix, while others will take a lot of energy to mix properly. The addition of a mud gun or guns would be beneficial in mixing various pills as well as keeping solids from settling in the bottom or corners of this tank.
4. RESERVE TANK(S)
The reserve tank(s) are for storage of excess drilling fluid, base fluids, or premixed drilling fluid for future mixing/additions. It could even be a completely different type of mud system for displacing the existing drilling fluid.
Land drilling rigs do not have reserve tanks in their systems. Extra tanks are rented as needed for their operation. These tanks are typically called fractionalization (frac) tanks.
Marine drilling rigs incorporate reserve or storage tanks in their design. The volume and number of these tanks depend on the space available and the available deck load capabilities of the rig. If more storage volume is required for marine drilling rigs, extra storage tanks can sometimes be installed on deck depending on space and deck load availability.
The type of drilling fluid stored in the reserve tanks will dictate whether it needs to be agitated. Since the type of fluids stored will vary, adequate agitation should be available if required.