(302e) An Eulerian-Lagrangian Model to Predict Filter Cake Formation and Expression in Oil Drilling

In the oil drilling process, a specially designed slurry forms a filter cake which prevents the premature escape of oil from the well. An understanding of this filter cake's ability to perform in extreme drilling environments is desired. In this work, an Eulerian-Lagrangian model is used to predict filter cake formation and expression. It was developed by combining an Eulerian computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code for the fluid phase with a discrete element method (DEM) model for the particle phase; two-way coupling is achieved between the phases. Individual particle trajectories are determined by fluid drag, electrostatic and Saffman forces. The main results from this work relate to the modeling of the filter cake formation process while varying fluid properties, particle properties, and inlet conditions. Results from the model are validated with experiments.