Shaped Particles
Sze-Foo Chien: SPE, Texaco Inc.
Summary
Settling Velocity, Slip Regime, and Settling Shear Rate. Richards 2 reported settling-velocity data for galena and quartz particles
in water for a wide range of diameters. Quartz particles have a density comparable with that of drill cuttings and silica sands. Fig. 1
shows the settling velocity of quartz particles as a function of nominal particle diameter.
In a given fluid, the settling velocity increases with particle diameter, but the rate of increase is different for different particle-size
ranges. The logarithmic plot in Fig. 1 shows three distinct regimes
of settling behavior. For particles < 0.018 cm in diameter, settling
velocity increases approximately proportionally to the square of the
particle diameter. For particles > 0.13 cm in diameter, the settling
velocity increases proportionally to the square root of the particle diameter. The settling behavior of the small-diameter range is known
as laminar slip, and that of the large diameter range as the turbulent
slip. Between these two regimes is the transitional-slip regime. In
Now retired.
Copyright 1994 Society of Petroleum Engineers
Original SPE manuscript received for review Nov. 13, 1992. Revised manuscript received
May 23,1994. Paper accepted for publication Nov. 8, 1993. Paper (SPE 26121) presented
at the 1994 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held in New Orleans, Sept.
25-28.
100 ~--------------------------------.
1,000
."./
J-&:~
/&:
10
100
&:A:
&:
t'"
.,.""'-
f:
10
/'
l
0.1
Laminar ~ansitio~
Turbulent
--Slip'-+rr- Slip ~ - - Slip':.:!.------+
--....
------
Fluid
Fluid
Fluid
Fluid
L1
L2
L3
L4
Water
&:
0.01 l..--1-...J-l.-U...I.uJ....---l......J......I...LUJJ.L--1-..L..J...J..WJ.U....----Jc......L...w.........
0.001
0.01
0.1
10
0.1
0.001
0.001
Particle Diameter, em
0.1
10
Particle Diameter, em
Fig. 2-Settling shear rate vs. particle diameter (data from Refs.
2 and 3).
The drag force consists of a viscous drag, which is the result of the
fluid viscosity, and a profile drag, which is the resistance of the fluid
against the particle profile. A low NRe ( < 10) implies a relatively high
viscous force, and a major portion of the drag force is used to overcome the viscous resistance of the fluid. At high NRe (> 50), the inertial force becomes dominant and the fluid density and the particle profile and surface roughness affect the drag force. At NRe> 100, the
drag coefficient of a given particle approaches a constant value.
To show the range of particle Reynolds numbers of the laminarand turbulent-slip regimes, Fig. 5 plots NRe for Richards'2 data vs.
particle size and another set of data representing particle settling in
a drilling fluid. Note that the regimes representing laminar and turbulent slips can be identified by the slopes of the curves. For most
fluids, the laminar slip prevails when NRe < 10. Because the effect
of the fluid viscosity on the settling process is mainly in the laminar-
10r-------------------------------,
-
100 .....----------------------------------,
- - -~ -_. Fluid L3
- - - - . Fluid L4
50
FluidLl
.. c Fluid L2
- --~ --. Fluid L3
--_-. Fluid L4
FluidLl
.. c Fluid L2
'c,
"
30
0.5
20
.. " 00 ........ -0. ..
-<1 ........
0.2
.0'
..
"' .. "'000"'''' a
10
0.1
0.050
0.020
2~~~L-----~--~~~~~~
0.05
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.5
1.0
__~
2.0
Disk Thickness, em
Fig. 3-Settling velocity of discs in non-Newtonian fluids
(data from Ref. 3).
282
0.010
L-...l...-J...J...L.Ll..1.!l.--L...L..l....L.!..JWL--L-L...I...LJ.LJ..U_ _.J.-L...J...J...I.U.J.J
0.1
0.3
10
30
100
300
l,OO(
10,000
~--------------.----,
'0
v. ~
1,000
I
"
100
.~
if'
.,
Qj
..0
(.)
E
::l
'"e
10
Cl
en
"0
"0
c:
o Rlchards 2
a Moore 7
: ~~~f'
t:.
>Q)
a::
Q)
u
.
& Sylveste~
'0" ';:--J...w.JjJJJ"-:-.LLlWJUL..L.L.l.J.il.llL....w....J..llillL-LLllliUL;-l-.J.JJWJ.JJJ';:--J...LJ.lillll
0.1
10. 3
10- 1
10-2
102
10'
103
10"
CIl
a..
0.01
... Water
P, = 1.000 g/cm 3
Drilling Fluid PI = 1.678 g/cm'
0.001
Pp = 2.696 g/cm'
0.0001
0.003
0.01
0.03
0.1
0.3
Particle Diameter, em
Fig. 5-NRe vs. particle diameter.
'P = As/Ap.
(cDl,
,@ ~---------------------------------------.
- . - . - . - 'I' '" 0.2
_ . _ .. _ .. 'f' .. 0.3
--'1'-0.8
.-------. 't' 1.0
C ,0"
.91
+ (67.289/e5.0301Jl),
(6)
The relationship in Eq. 6 is valid for irregularly shaped particles in
either Newtonian or non-Newtonian fluids and for NRe from 0.001
50
30
Pp = 2.696 g/cm'
P, c 1.678 g/cm 3
Non-Newtonian Fluids
R3 = 1.007
10
. ................................... (3)
A smooth sphere has a 'P value of 1. Most drill cuttings, sand particles, and other frequently occurring irregular particles have a 'P
en
(.)
Rs
1.678
Rs
= 2.014
:>.
'g
~
Cl
.
E
0.5
Q)
CJ)
0.3
--. . . ..
_._.- - - _.
- - - - - _.
~
(.) ,0>
0.1
,a'
Power Law
Bingham-Plastic
Casson
Herschel-Bulkley
Newtonian
0.05
0.03
0.03 0.05
1a'" al,;.3-'-'....I..I..Lill,al-:'2;-'--LLll.w,oL:.,...J....W-U.illL,...J....LLll.1Jl,a1:-,...J....J....I..I..L.w,0>L.:-'-I...J..J..W.I,o"l;;-'...w..w.uI,a"
Particle Reynolds Number
0.1
0.3
0.5
Particle Diameter, em
Fig. 8-Settling velocity of irregularly shaped particles in fluids
of various models.
283
50
1.0 , - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,
30
- - - Power-Law
. . . .. Bingham-Plastic
_._.- Casson
0.5
- - - _. Herschel-Bulkley
- - - - - _. Newtonian
0.3
Pp
PI
10
....
Non-New1onian Fluids
C\l
R3
..c
R6
1.007
1.678
R100 = 14.2 (H-B only)
Q)
(/)
0>
c:
R3
R6
(f)
=
=
Newtonian Fluid
'E
Q)
0.1
= 2.696 g/cm3
= 1.678 g/cm 3
=
=
Power-Law
. . . Bingham-Plastic
_.- Casson
.:...:.
:~.:....: .
Herschel-Bulkley
- - - Newtonian
0.05
0.03
1.007
2.014
1
0.03 0.05
L-_'---'-'-'-.w...L...W.._-'----'--'-..J-L.L.I....I-'-_-'---'-J..-l
0.1
0.3 0.5
30 50
10
0.1
0.3
0.5
Particle Diameter, cm
(30.0/N Re )
1.250.......................... (7)
that in the previous correlation, an empirical equation is used to express the effective viscosity as a function of the plastic viscosity of
Bingham-plastic fluid and annular velocity. In this work, the effective viscosity will be evaluated at the settling shear rate.
For those interested only in the settling velocity in the turbulentslip regime, settling velocity can be obtained by substituting the turbulent-slip drag coefficient of Eq. 4 in Eq. I:
j d[ (Pp/Pj) -
I].
(11)
19.44ge50301J1
d(~ - I )
= O.
....................... (8)
v;
+ 240.0 ( ~J vs
1046.878
d( ~; - I) = O.
.....
(9)
The value of settling velocity can be solved from Eq. 9 by a quadratic formula and choosing the positive root of Vs:
1+ 00727d(~ -1)(~:)' - 1]
...................... (10)
Note that Eq. 10 has the same parameters and form as Chien'sl settling velocity equation except for the numerical coefficients. The
difference in the numerical coefficients is because the derivation of
the earlier equation essentially is based on Richards'2 data and the
parameters involved are in customary units. Another difference is
284
Ys
As discussed earlier, the settling shear rate of the laminar-slip regime, where fluid viscosity has a dominant role, ranges from 0.1 to
50 seconds-I and is usually < 25 seconds-I. Therefore, fluid rheological data also should be measured in the same shear-rate range.
The effective viscosity at various shear rates will depend on the
constitutive equation of the fluid, or the relationship between the
shear stress and shear rate of the fluid. For Newtonian fluids, viscosity is independent of shear rate and the effective viscosity is the same
as the dynamic viscosity; i.e.,
fl.e
fl.N
.........................
(14)
50
Pp = 2.696 g/cm3
I
0.155 Pa'si
30
0.737
10
~
>.
'" '"
.- .-
..- .-
,,"
,,"
/
/
I
I
'0
I
/
/
/
C>
t:
0.5
Q)
I
/
C/)
0.3
P, = 1.198g/cm3
I
I
P,
I
I
I
0.1
1.678 g/cm3
Pf = 2.157 g/cm 3
I
I
0.05
0.03 0.05
L-~~~~L-
__~~~~~~LLU-____~~
0.1
0.3
0.5
Particle Diameter, em
Bingham-Plastic Model.
(asd/vs) + f.lB
f.le =
(15)
Power-Law Model.
f.le
= l(vs/dr
(16)
Casson Model.
f.le
....................
[(/0;;/ jvs/d) + ~r
(17)
Herschel-Bulkley Model.
f.le =
Settling Velocity Solution Methods.The settling velocity for a prescribed particle and fluid can be solved by use of the appropriate effective viscosity equation and Eq. 8 or 9. As described previously,
a Newtonian fluid is one whose viscosity is independent of the shear
rate; therefore, its dynamic viscosity can be used readily as the effective viscosity to solve the settling velocity.
Although the effective viscosity is a function of the settling velocity for Bingham-plastic fluids, the settling velocity correlation can
be grouped to become a quadratic equation of Vs.
For the other three types of non-Newtonian fluids, their effective
viscosity may be such that the settling velocity correlation is no
longer a quadratic equation. Either a trial-and error or a numerical
iterative method, such as Newton-Raphson method,13 can be used.
Such a method can also be used to solve settling velocity for any
type of fluid, Newtonian or non-Newtonian. Only the positive root
of the solutions should be chosen as the practical solution.
(18)
50 ~------------------------------30
Pp
PI
i
=
=
=
g/cm3
2.696
1.678 g/cm3
0.737
/
/
'"
'" '"
50
r------------------------------.
30
i = 0.537
i
i
10
~
::E'u
o
I
I
I
I
/
/
/
EQ)
en
I
I
0.5
I
I
0.3
/
I
0.1
I
I
::E'u
o
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
I
I
I
I
0.5
Pa'si
... I = 0.155
- - I = 0.309 Pa'si
- - I = 0.619 Pa'si
Particle Diameter, em
Fig. 12-Effect of Ivalue of power-law fluid on settling velocity.
SPE Drilling & Completion, December 1994
I
I
I
0.3
I
I
~
en
'" '"
Ol
C
/
/
/
I
I
Ol
~ #/'
E
u
10
I
/
. ',..
0.737
0.937
0.1
I
I
.' I
. I
. I
I
. I
I
Pp = 2.696 g!cm3
PI
1.678 g/cm3
= 0.155 Pa's i
Particle Diameter, em
Fig. 13-Effect of ivalue of power-law fluid on settling velocity.
285
1.0
50~============~------~~
aBC 0.172Pa
30
aBc 0.344 Pa
aBc 0.688 Pa
---
i = 0.537
- - i = 0.737
.... i = 0.937
0.5
0.3
""
"' "'
(/)
ill
"' "
c..
" "'
""
:>.
'0
0
u
(/)
:>
(/)
-...
".." ,.
"' "'
0.1
U
~
"' "'
;6
"' "'
~
" "'
Cl
" "'
.5
"" "'
0.03
2.696
"' "'
UJ
E
u
EQ)
"' "
C/)
" "'
0.5
0.3
"'
" "'
0.1
g/cm3
0.3 0.5
. I
I
I
2.696 g/cm3
0.0671 Pa's
PI = 1.678 g/cm3
Pp
~B =
0.155 Pa'si
0.05 L....L.....I...J....L...U..l.---L--'---'--'-'--..J...J.....LJ...JL...-_-'---'----'--'
0.1
0.3 0.5
3
5
0.03 0.05
0.01
0.1
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
J
J
J
J
PI = 1.678 g/cm 3
=
./
../ /
'0
0.05
Pp
10
Shear Rate,
10
30 50
Particle Diameter, em
5. 1
Fig. 14-Effect of Ivalue of power-law fluid on the effective viscosity of fluid examples in Fig. 13.
286
1. New settling velocity correlations for irregularly shaped particles have been derived. These correlations consider size, surface
condition, and density of the particle and rheology, density, and velocity of the fluid; they cover all types of fluids and slip regimes and
NRe from 0.001 to 10,000.
2. An effective viscosity at a shear rate corresponding to the settling process is used to predict settling velocity. This shear rate,
which is equal to settling velocity divided by particle size, is defined
SPE Drilling & Completion, December 1994
50
r-------------------------------~
30
., ,
,,
"
10
~
.,'
'0
~;;'~'
,,1
, ,,
, ,
,
cp
ca
0..
:tE-
0>
C/)
'0
.~
EQ)
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
0.5
(/)
:>
Q)
0.3
,
," ,
u>
Pp = 2.696 g/cm 3
Pt = 1.678 g/cm3
as = 0.172 Pa
.,
0.1
0.5
,'
,,
as=
as=
as=
\
\
\
\
0.3
Pp
UJ
lis
\
\
\
0.05
0.03 0.05
0.1
0.3
0.5
as settling shear rate. The settling shear rate of most settling processes in drilling and fracturing operations is in the 0.1 to 50 seconds-I range. To predict a settling velocity, rheological data should
be measured in a similar low-shear-rate range.
3. The mathematical form of the effective viscosity for Binghamplastic, power-law, Casson, and Herschel-Bulkley models of nonNewtonian fluids are presented.
4. For non-Newtonian fluids, the effective viscosity depends on
the settling velocity and a trial-and-error or a numerical iteration
method, such as the Newton-Raphson method, can be used to solve
for the settling velocity.
5. For Newtonian fluids, viscosity is independent of shear rate
and the settling velocity can be solved by a quadratic formula. Of
course, the trial-and-error and numerical iterative methods may also
be used to solve the settling velocity for Newtonian fluids.
6. In the turbulent-slip regime, the fluid rheology plays a minor
role and the settling velocity is essentially determined by the fluid
density and particle density and surface characteristics. Settling velocity correlations specifically for turbulent slip are proposed.
0.1
0.05
0.0671 Pa's
Pf = 1.678 glcm3
"- ....
....
----
---
--~
0.1
0.3
0.5
Particle Diameter, em
Fig. 17-Effect of yield stress of Bingham-plastic fluid on effective viscosity.
y=
ys =
\II =
flB =
flc =
fle =
flN =
Nomenclature
= 2.696 glcm3
L...J--'-~L..J...L_--l._L-....l-l-L..J....J....J....I...._--l._J........J....J
0.03 0.05
Pf'Pp =
,,
Particle Diameter, em
0.172 Pa
0.344 Pa
0.688 Pa
r=
OB =
Oc =
0H =
crnls
shear rate, lit, second-I
settling shear rate, lit, second-I
sphericity of a particle as defined in Eq. 3,
dimensionless
plastic viscosity of Bingham-plastic model, mILt,
Pa's
plastic viscosity of Casson model, mILt, Pa' s
effective viscosity of non-Newtonian fluids, mILt,
Pa's
viscosity of Newtonian fluids, mILt, Pa' s
density of fluid and particle, respectively, mlL3,
glcm 3
shear stress, mlLt2, Pa
yield stress of Bingham Plastic model, mlLt2, Pa
yield stress of Casson model, rnI(Lt2), Pa
yield stress of Herschel-Bulkley model, mlLt 2, Pa
References
1. Chien, S.F.: "Annular Velocity for Rotary Drilling Operations," IntI. J.
Rock Meeh. Min. Sci. (1972) 9, 403.
2. Richards, R.H.: "Velocity of Galena and Quartz Falling in Water,"
Trans., AIME (1908) 38, 210.
3. Walker, R.E. and Mayes, T.M.: "Design of Muds for Carrying Capacity," JPT (July 1975) 893.
4. Novotny, E.1.: "Proppant Transport," paper SPE 6813 presented at the
1977 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Denver, Oct.
9-12.
5. Hannah, R.R. and Harrington, L.1.: "Measurement of Dynamic Proppant Fall Rates in Fracturing Gels Using a Concentric Cylinder Tester,"
JPT (May 1981) 909.
287
50
30
r---------------------------------,
.... Fluid Vel.
- - Fluid Vel.
- - - Fluid Vel.
o
0.8
10
~
u
~
'0
0.6
.~
C>
EQ)
0.4
0.5
CJ)
0.3
Pp = 2.696 g/cm3
Pf
I
0.1
0.05
0.03 0.05
0.1
0.3
1.678 g/cm3
0.155 Pa' Si
0.737
0.5
0.2
~~LL~
Particle Diameter, em
__~~~~__L-~-L~__L-~~
15
10
20
25
30
35
aB
flBi'.
. .............................
(A-I)
fle
where
flB
+ (aBlY,)
flB =
, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (A-2)
0.1O(R6 - R3 )
and a B = 0.5.11(2R 3
.......................
(A-3)
fle =
..
(A-S)
(lac
+ ;;;;
fit .......................
(A-9)
and,uc =
0.583(;R;,-[R;f. .....................
(A-12)
cp x 1.0*
dyne/cm2 x 1.0
ft 3 x 2.831 685
gal x 3.785412
in. x2.54*
Ibm x 4.535 924
psi x 6.894 757
Conversion factor is exact.
E-03 =Pa's
E-Ol =Pa
E-02 =m3
E-03 =m 3
E+OO =cm
E-Ol =kg
E+OO =kPa
SPEDC
Calculation of iH IH. and aH for a given set of R3. R6. and RlOO
values can be done in many ways; this Appendix represents only one
of the possibilities.
289