Experimental Evaluation of the Effect of Temperature on the Mechanical Properties of Setting Materials for Well Integrity

Abstract

Summary A fundamental understanding of the mechanical properties of zonal isolation materials is important for predicting well integrity during well operation conditions. Conventionally, the mechanical properties of zonal isolation materials are tested at ambient temperature using uniaxial testing. This study examined the mechanical properties of alternative zonal isolation materials such as rock-based geopolymer, thermosetting resin, and an industrial class expansive cement under realistic well conditions by triaxial testing. Mechanical properties such as Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, cohesive strength, friction angle, and compressive strength of these materials at 30 and 90°C were compared. The effect of confining pressure on the mechanical properties of the materials was also examined. The findings of this study show that all selected materials possess compressive strength at 30 and 90°C and that the compressive strength of all the selected materials is strongly impacted by temperature and confining pressure. The Young’s modulus of all the selected materials was unaffected by confining pressure, while only the Young’s modulus of thermosetting resin was sensitive to temperature. The influence of temperature on the Poisson’s ratio varied from one material to another. In addition, when the test temperature increased, the friction angle of neat Class G and geopolymer decreased.

Investigation of the Hydraulic Integrity of Cement Plug: Oilwell Cementitious Materials

“…The API Neat class G cement was as a non-commercial reference for the performance of the other cementitious materials. The mechanical properties of the selected cementitious materials have been recently published (Ogienagbon and Khalifeh, 2022). All the cementitious materials used were mixed using the raw materials and mixing procedure provided by the suppliers.…”

“…Cement with high elasticity was observed to have higher sealing potential. Geopolymers have been reported to be capable of maintaining high elasticity under low temperature and high temperature (Ogienagbon and Khalifeh, 2022) which can then promote its hydraulic sealability. The high hydraulic sealing potential of geopolymers observed in this study further validates the findings of Kamali et al (2022) which investigated the sealing potential of geopolymers at ambient temperature and reported the superior hydraulic sealing potential of geopolymers compared to the other cementitious materials.…”

Prediction of geopolymer pumpability and setting time for well zonal isolation - Using machine learning and statistical based models

“…The geopolymer mix designs to be used in this study, for simulation purposes, are granite-based geopolymers developed for downhole applications [ [8] , [9] , [10] ]. Chemistry, rheological properties and mechanical performance of these geopolymers have comprehensively been examined and published [ [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] ]. However, as mentioned previously, the experimental work is time-consuming, costly and engages access to hardware resources.…”