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. 2025 Feb 10;11(2):127.
doi: 10.3390/gels11020127.

Stress Overshoot Analysis in Flow Start-Up Tests: Aging Time Fitting of the Different Gel-Based Drilling Fluids

Luis H Quitian-Ardila  1   2 , Raquel S Schimicoscki  1 , Yamid J Garcia-Blanco  1 , Eduardo M Germer  1 , Vladimir Ballesteros-Ballesteros  2 , Oriana Palma Calabokis  2 , Admilson T Franco  1
Affiliations

Stress Overshoot Analysis in Flow Start-Up Tests: Aging Time Fitting of the Different Gel-Based Drilling Fluids

Luis H Quitian-Ardila et al. Gels. .

Abstract

Drilling fluids are essential for maintaining cutting suspension during drilling, exhibiting gel-like behavior at rest and liquid-like behavior under shearing. These fluids display shear-thinning behavior, yield stress, and thixotropy. This study investigates the impact of aging time on stress overshoot and the deformation required to disrupt the gelled structure of water-based and synthetic-based drilling fluids. Flow start-up tests were conducted using a rotational rheometer at 25 °C and atmospheric pressure. The results show that aging time significantly affects both stress overshoot and the shear strain needed to disrupt the gelled structure. Longer aging times reduce the strain required to break the structure, indicating a correlation between aging time and stress overshoot. The fitted model strongly correlates with the experimental data, providing valuable insights for the planning and simulation of offshore drilling wells, primarily in well stability.

Keywords: flow start-up; gel-like behavior; gels; stress overshoot; yield stress.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Steady-state flow curves for the various analyzed drilling fluids. The measurements were carried out in triplicate and fitted by the Herschel–Bulkley model.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Typical results of the flow start-up test in viscoelastoplastic-thixotropic fluids displaying shear stress as a function of shear strain. The red circles indicate the shear stress peak, known as stress overshoot. The red arrows are pointing out that after reaching the maximum point, the microstructure is irreversibly broken, resulting in the fluid’s viscous behavior.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison between the experimental results and the fits for the (a) olefin-based with NaCl, (b) olefin-based 60/40 oil/water, and (c) bentonite suspensions.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Comparison between the experimental results and the fits for (a) XG—HEC and (b) XG—HPMC suspensions and (c) water-based suspensions with xanthan gum.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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