M. Amanullah et al., AN EXPERIMENTAL-STUDY OF THE SWELLING BEHAVIOR OF MUDROCKS IN THE PRESENCE OF WATER-BASED MUD SYSTEMS, Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology, 36(3), 1997, pp. 45-50
Citations number
10
Categorie Soggetti
Energy & Fuels","Engineering, Chemical","Engineering, Petroleum
Swelling behaviour of three different mudrocks (London Clay, Oxford Cl
ay and Fuller's Earth) of varying composition, geological ages, degree
of lithification, organic matter and expandable clay contents have be
en investigated in the presence of water-based mud systems (KCl/CMC, P
olyamine, Polyamine + glycol and PHPA + glycol) plus water to identify
the factors controlling the swelling behaviour of shales. The results
show that the degree of swelling is not directly correlatable with th
e proportion of swelling clay minerals in the mudrocks. Based on the e
xperimental results, the swelling behaviour of the mudrocks depends on
the composition, geological history and degree of lithification of th
e mudrocks. Well lithified smectite-rich mudrock was found to show les
s swelling than less well lithified mudrocks with lesser amounts of sw
elling clays. Organic matter rich mudrock showed a greater degree of s
welling than those with little organic matter, suggesting that organic
matter may also influence the swelling behaviour. This investigation
provides a better understanding of the swelling behaviour of mudrocks
by introducing the concept of the combined action of physico-chemical
and mechanical swelling processes.