Correlating energy to mix cement slurry under different mixing conditions

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9782914-B2
Application number	US-201314412036-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 31, 2013
Priority date	Oct 31, 2013
Publication date	Oct 10, 2017
Grant date	Oct 10, 2017

Abstract

One example of correlating energy to mix well cement slurry under laboratory conditions to field conditions can be implemented as a method to determine energy to mix cement slurry. Electrical power supplied to an electric mixer in mixing a specified well cement slurry is measured. An energy to mix the specified well cement slurry is determined from the measuring. The determined energy to mix the specified well cement slurry and specifications of field equipment for use in mixing the specified well cement slurry at a well site are compared. The field equipment is a different configuration than the electric mixer. Based on the comparing, it is determined whether the well cement slurry needs redesigning according to capabilities of the field equipment.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method to determine a cement slurry design, the method comprising:
using a computer to measure electrical power supplied to an electric mixer in mixing a specified well cement slurry and determine an energy to mix the specified well cement slurry from the measuring;
using a computer to compare the energy to mix the specified well cement slurry from the measuring with an energy required to mix the specified well cement slurry using field equipment for mixing the specified well cement slurry at a well site, the field equipment being of a different configuration than the electric mixer;
using a computer to make a determination, based on the comparing, whether the specified well cement slurry needs redesigning according to capabilities of the field equipment;
identifying a redefined cement slurry specification; and
operating the field equipment according to the redefined cement slurry specification to achieve a redefined well cement slurry when the redefined cement slurry specification requires a redefining of the cement slurry.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein using a computer to measure the electrical power supplied to the electric mixer comprises measuring the electrical power in a laboratory environment.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining a mechanical energy input (MEI) to mix the specified well cement slurry based, at least in part, on the electrical power.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein using a computer to compare the measured energy to mix the specified well cement slurry with the energy required to mix the specified well cement slurry using the field equipment comprises:
determining, based at least in part on the specifications of the field equipment, a maximum energy that the field equipment can output to prepare the specified well cement slurry in the field; and
comparing the determined energy to mix the specified well cement slurry and the maximum energy that the field equipment can output.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein, based on the comparing, determining whether the well cement slurry needs redesigning comprises determining that the well cement slurry does not need redesigning and that the well cement slurry is mixable using the field equipment.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the field equipment is a hydraulic mixer and wherein the specifications of the hydraulic mixer comprise at least one of a maximum pressure drop across the hydraulic mixer, a maximum volumetric flow rate of the hydraulic mixer, or a maximum rotational speed of the hydraulic mixer.

7. The method of claim 4 , wherein, based on the comparing, whether the well cement slurry needs redesigning comprises determining that the well cement slurry needs redesigning to be mixable using the field equipment, and further determining a well cement slurry specification at which the field equipment is operable to mix the specified well cement slurry.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the well cement slurry specification comprises a different time to mix the plurality of cement slurry components relative to a time to mix the well cement slurry in the electric mixer.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving a well cement slurry specification to mix the specified well cement slurry in the electric mixer, the well cement slurry specification comprising at least one of a speed and a time of mixing, a quantity of each well cement slurry component to be mixed to prepare the well cement slurry, or a quantity of water to be added.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the specified well cement slurry is defined by at least one of a quantity of wetness and a quantity of homogeneity of the well cement slurry.

Assignees

• Halliburton Energy Services Inc

Inventors

• Sodhi Thomas Singh
• Otieno Pauline Akinyi
• Goel Vivek S
• Iverson Benjamin John

Classifications

• E21B33/13

  Methods or devices for cementing, for plugging holes, crevices or the like · CPC title

• B28C7/026 Primary

  by measuring data of the driving system, e.g. rotational speed, torque, consumed power · CPC title

• B28C9/004

  Making slurries, e.g. with discharging means for injecting in a well or projecting against a wall · CPC title

• E21B21/062

  by mixing components · CPC title

• E21B33/14

  for cementing casings into boreholes · CPC title