| Title | Effect of Variable Rheological Properties of Drilling Muds and Cements on the Temperature Distribution in Geothermal Wells |
|---|---|
| Authors | A. GarcÌa-GutiÈrrez, G. Espinosa-Paredes, G. Amaro-Espejo |
| Year | 2005 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | Geothermal wells, temperatures, circulation, drilling fluids, cements, variable properties |
| Abstract | This paper describes a numerical study of the heat transfer phenomena occurring during fluid circulation in geothermal wells considering the temperature-dependent Non-Newtonian behavior of different drilling muds. The computational code employed is fully transient and allows estimation of temperatures of (a) the drilling fluid in the drilling pipe and the annulus, and (b) the surrounding formation. The effect of circulation losses is also accounted for. The viscosity of eleven different drilling mud formulations was evaluated experimentally as function of temperature, and the resulting numerical correlations were implemented in the computer code to evaluate the heat transfer dimensionless numbers and film coefficients, and the mud temperatures in the well as function of circulation time. The results obtained from well LV-3 of the Las Tres Virgenes Mexican geothermal field show that the computed mud temperatures are highly dependent on the particular drilling mud employed, and thus the degree of well cooling varies widely from one drilling mud to another. |