Appendix A Development of Equations for Non-Newtonian Liquids in a Rotational Viscometer Bingham Plastic Model {A fluid that follows the Bingham plastic model, unlike a Newtonian fluid, will not yield and begin to shear until a stress is applied that is large enough to break down the cohesive forces between the fluid particles. Initially, ifa small torque is applied to the rotor such that the shear stress atthe inner eylinder, 7 is ess than the yield point of the fluid, 7,, then no fluid movement will occur. If the torque is increased so that 7) >7,>72, movement will occur near the bob, but a portion ofthe fluid will re ‘main solid and will move as a rigid body attached to the rotor. As can be seen from Eq, 4.45, the shear stress Varies inversely with the square of the radius, so thatthe shear stress at the bob is alway greater than the shear stress at the rotor. If the torque is inereased further so thatthe shear stress at the rotor is also greater than the yield point of the Muid (73>7,), flow will occur throughout the entire region between the bob and the rotor. The equations developed in the following for characterizing fluids that follow the Bingham plastic model by means of a rotational viscometer apply only when the flow between the bob and the rotor is developed fully. This assumption is generally valid for drilling fluids and cement slurries at the 300- and {600-rpm rotor speeds. "The shear stress at any point in a fluid that follows the Bingham plastic model for which the shear stress is areater than the yield point is given by stp ‘Combining this equation with Eq 4.45 yiclds de 36059 1 dr IR uy pr (At) ‘Assuming that no slip occurs at the walls of the the angular velocity is zero at ry and w at ‘ry. Thus, separating variables in Eq. A-I yields hdr ip 360.5 6 (arm Pah | Pa: ie Substituting the value 2N/60 for w, the values of ry, rrp, and h shown in Table 4.2, and changing the units of viscosity and yield point to field units of centipoise and pounds force per 100 sq ft yields 3000 300 ad N N (a2) Two readings must be made with the rotational viscometer to solve for the two unknown fluid proper- ties, 4p and 7. Normally the 300- and 600-rpm readings are used. Substituting these values in Eq. A-2b gives 3008390 _ 300 ry “97300 and. 300 400 300, ar Solving these two equations simultaneously for plastic viscosity and yield point leads to the following equa: tions.APPENDIX A Hp =8600 — 800. (Ady 8300 -Hip- (a4) ‘Thus, if a standard torsion spring is used, the plastic viscosity is obtained simply by subtracting the 600-rpm dial reading from the 300-rpm dial reading, and the yield point is obtained by subtracting the 300-rpm dial reading from the plastic viscosity Example Problem A-1. A rotational viscometer contain- ing a Bingham plastic fluid gives a dial reading of 12 at a rotor speed of 300 rpm and a dial reading of 20 ata rotor speed of 600 rpm. Compute the plastic viscosity and yield point ofthe fluid. Solution. The plastic viscosity is given by Bq. A-3: Mp =20~12=8ep, ‘The yield point is given by Eq. A-4: 2-8: 164/100 sq ft The shear rate present in a fluid that follows the Bingham plastic model at a given speed of rotation can bbe obtained by using Eq. A-I and A-2a, Equation A-2a ccan be rearranged to give 30056 4 47 In ralry Using the values for r), r2, and h shown in Table 4.2, the value 2xN/60 for wy, and changing the units of Viscosity and yield point to field units of centipoise and pounds force per 100 sq ft yields 066N Py (3:04 ) rp Nr ‘Thus, the shear rate, 7, is given by da _ $.066N $n (3:04 ) as) a a ee 475 ‘The yield point computed from Eq. A-4 is an ex: trapolation of the 300- and 600-rpm shear stress values to a shear rate of zero. Usually, drilling fluids and cement slurries do not follow the Bingham plastic model closely at low rates of shear. Thus, the computed yield point generally does not correspond with the shear stress at which fluid movement begins. However, drilling fluids and cement slurries usually do tend to “gel” if let static for a period of time. It is common practice to measure the “gel strength’ of a drilling fluid after a specified static waiting period. This is done by turing the rotor at 2 slow speed and noting the dial reading at which the gel structure is broken and fluid movement near the bob begins. The gel strength can be related to the dial reading using Eq. 4.45 evaluated at the bob radius of 1.725: 360.56 2x(3.80)(1.7245)? =5.08 8, (Aba) Converting the shear stress units to field units of pounds force per 100 sq ft yields 7,7 1.06 8. (A6b) In practice, the factor 1.06 usually is truncated to 1.0 50, that the dial reading of a viscometer containing a stan- dard torsion spring is numerically equal to the gel strength in pounds force per 100 sq ft. The dial reading ‘generally cannot be made very precisely, so the factor 1.06 is not considered significant. Since drilling fluids quite often do not follow the Bingham plastic mode! at low shear rates, plastic visco ty and yield point values obtained from the 300- and (600-rpm dial readings may not characterize the fluid cor- rectly at low rates of shear. Usually, the shear rate ccaused by viscous flow in the annulus will be much lower than the shear rate ina rotational viscometer at 300, or 600 rpm. If a six-speed rotational viscometer is, available, the plastic viscosity and yield point also can be computed from the 3- and 6-rpm dial readings or the 100- and 200-rpm dial readings. Equations for this pur- pose, similar to Eqs. A-3 and A-4, can be obtained through use of Eq. A:2b. However, at low shear rates, the flow between the bob and the rotor may not be developed fully and thus Eq. A-2b may not apply. The rotor speed above which the assumption of fully developed flow is valid can be estimated if the yield point that applies at that rotor speed is known. The rigid body of fluid attached to the rotor will disappear when the shear stress in the fluid at ry is equal to the yield point ofthe fluid, Thus, we have 360.5 0 Dahrz? Eq. A-2a can be rearranged to give 360.50 4(w2up*7y In ra/ry) aha6 Combining these two equations and solving for the angular velocity, «9, yields al Using the values for ry and r> shown in Table 4.2 and the value 2xNN/60 for w2, and changing the units of viscosity and yield point t0 field units of centipoise and Pounds force per 100 sq ft yields (array (AT) ‘Since the drilling fluid may not follow the Bingham plastic model at low rates of shear, it is often difficult 10 obtain a meaningful estimate of the proper value of yield point to use in Eq, A-7b. Power-Law Model The shear stress in a power-law fluid between the bob and the rotor ofa rotational viscometer is given by Combining this model of fluid behavior with Eq. 4.45 A) ‘Separating variables and noting that the angular velocity at ry is zero and the angular velocity at r is the angular velocity of the rotor, «3, we obtain 360.50 rhe? (a8) 1360.50) Yor de [Vao= (A9) 3 Bahk eT Integration ofthis equation gives (222)"(2)( 1 Oe) INR? (10) Eq. A-10 can be rearranged to give 2w> (Cape) Combining this equation with Eq. A-8, substituting 2/60 for w>, and solving for the shear rate, 7, yields oa "Cek) For drilling fluids, n generally has a value between 0.5 and 1.0. The shear rate, *, is not very sensitive to the Value of m for this range of m values. For example, at a (ay [APPLIED DRILLING ENGINEERING rotor speed of 300 rpm, the shear rate at the bob does not deviate greatly from the value of S11 seconds~! that corresponds to a Newtonian fluid (n=). Normally, the consistency index, K, and flow- behavior index, n, are obtained from dial readings of a rotational viscometer taken at 300 and 600 Substituting these two readings in Eq. A-10 yields 2(300) Stun)" 0 2ehK ¢ (ea 5 zm) Me DehK OIG Dividing the second equation by the first equation and solving for the flow-behavior index, n, gives n=3.322 10g 0/830) (A-12) Solving the first equation for the consistency index, K, gives 15.1 8300, (Tess) AL first glance, it appears that the relation for com- puting X from the viscometer dial readings is quite com- lex. However, note that if the numerator and denominator of this equation are multiplied by (1/r))?, then It can be shown that the shear rate at 300 rpm for n values close to one is approximately equal to SII seconds ~'. Using this value in the equation above and substituting the value for r; shown in Table 4.2 yields 5.1 B00 su" (A138) where K has units of dynes per second’ per square cen- timeter. If K is desired in dynes per second” per 100 ‘em? or equivalent centipoise, then K is given by 510 6300 Su” ‘Similarly, if K is desired in units of pounds force per second” per square feet, then K is given by 0.0106 600 sue (A130) (A130)