Avaliação experimental da transmissão de pressão em tubulações preenchidas por fluidos viscoplásticos

Abstract

Drilling fluids exhibit a viscoplastic behavior, which is defined by a yield stress. If the stress imposed to the fluid does not surpass the yield stress, the material behaves like an elastic solid; if the yield stress is exceeded, it flows like a viscous liquid. In well drilling operations, some valves installed on the drillpipe near the bottom of the hole are actuated by pressure differences in the drilling fluid. However, it has been argued that the pressure applied at the surface is not fully transmitted to the valve’s position, preventing its actuation. Therefore, the pressure transmission in viscoplastic fluids demands further investigation. In order to compensate for the lack of experimental studies about the problem, an experimental analysis of the pressure transmission in yield stress fluids has been performed in this work. The experimental rig consists of a long thermally-controlled helical pipe, on which are installed relative pressure transducers. Fluid is displaced by a helical pump at a controlled flow rate. During the experiments, the fluid is pressurized inside the closed pipeline while the pressures are measured and recorded. The results showed that, in agreement with literature, the pressure at one end of a closed pipeline filled with a yield stress fluid is not fully transmitted to the other end. Moreover, it was observed that the pressure gradient in the pressurized fluid is proportional to its yield stress, which indicates a relation between pressure transmission and the presence and magnitude of the yield stress. The experiments were compared to simulation work developed at the Research Center for Rheology and Non-Newtonian Fluids with good agreement.