Research Progress of Elastomer Materials and Application of Elastomers in Drilling Fluid

Abstract

An elastomer is a material that undergoes large deformation under force and quickly recovers its approximate initial shape and size after withdrawing the external force. Furthermore, an elastomer can heal itself and increase volume when in contact with certain liquids. They have been widely used as sealing elements and packers in different oil drilling and development operations. With the development of drilling fluids, elastomer materials have also been gradually used as drilling fluid additives in drilling engineering practices. According to the material type classification, elastomer materials can be divided into polyurethane elastomer, epoxy elastomer, nanocomposite elastomer, rubber elastomer, etc. According to the function classification, elastomers can be divided into self-healing elastomers, expansion elastomers, etc. This paper systematically introduces the research progress of elastomer materials based on material type classification and functional classification. Combined with the requirements for drilling fluid additives in drilling fluid application practice, the application prospects of elastomer materials in drilling fluid plugging, fluid loss reduction, and lubrication are discussed. Oil-absorbing expansion and water-absorbing expansion elastomer materials, such as polyurethane, can be used as lost circulation materials, and enter the downhole to absorb water or absorb oil to expand, forming an overall high-strength elastomer to plug the leakage channel. When graphene/nano-composite material is used as a fluid loss additive, flexibility and elasticity facilitate the elastomer particles to enter the pores of the filter cake under the action of differential pressure, block a part of the larger pores, and thus, reduce the water loss, while it would not greatly change the rheology of drilling fluid. As a lubricating material, elastic graphite can form a protective film on the borehole wall, smooth the borehole wall, behaving like a scaly film, so that the sliding friction between the metal surface of the drill pipe and the casing becomes the sliding friction between the graphite flakes, thereby reducing the friction of the drilling fluid. Self-healing elastomers can be healed after being damaged by external forces, making drilling fluid technology more intelligent. The research and application of elastomer materials in the field of drilling fluid will promote the ability of drilling fluid to cope with complex formation changes, which is of great significance in the engineering development of oil and gas wells.

Investigating the Structure–Property−Processing Relationship of Polycaprolactone-Based 3D Printed Self-Healing Polymer Blends

“…The enhancement of mechanical and self-healing properties by the addition of a thermoplastic healing agent into a 3D-printable thermosetting resin system enables highly engineered material systems for specific applications. For this material system in particular, there is potential application in various industries, including soft robotics, , automotive, and aerospace components . Enhancing mechanical properties while maintaining relatively similar dimensional accuracy enable this type of material in small-scale applications such as complex stent geometries and drug delivery devices.…”

“…For this material system in particular, there is potential application in various industries, including soft robotics, 7,40 automotive, and aerospace components. 41 Enhancing mechanical properties while maintaining relatively similar dimensional accuracy enable this type of material in small-scale applications such as complex stent geometries and drug delivery devices. The self-healing properties enable utilization in areas like aerospace to reduce the need for replacement of components; instead, self-healing may enable recovery of a damaged part.…”

The Influence of Diisocyanate Structure on Thermal Stability of Thermoplastic Polyurethane Elastomers Based on Diphenylmethane-Derivative Chain Extender with Sulfur Atoms

“…Of much more industrial importance were TPU elastomers, which first appeared in commerce twenty years later [ 1 , 2 ]. Currently, they are used, among others, in medicine (prostheses of blood vessels and joints, elements of artificial heart, diaphragms for dialysis, infusion pumps), automotive (airbags, ABS brake systems), machine (sleeves, couplings), electrotechnical (tires of flexible cables), textile and footwear (soles of shoes, foils to cover knitted fabrics) industries [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. In the solid state, they exhibit properties typical of elastomers, while at elevated temperature they plasticize and can be processed using the methods utilized for thermoplastics [ 2 , 3 , 10 , 11 ].…”

Selection of key additive materials for white oil – based drilling fluids

“…Now, oil-based drilling fluid has been used in Texas oilfield in the United States and Alberta oilfield in Canada, achieving a good result, which, hereafter, also has been promoted successfully in West Africa, in Mexican ports, in China, Adriatic oilfield in Italy and other regions [4][5][6]. But the oil-based drilling fluid used in large-scale has high toxicity, easy to cause serious pollution so that experts have done more the research on white oil-based drilling fluid which is environment-friendly, efficient and non-toxic [7][8][9]. ZHOU et al [10] fabricated a white oil-based drilling fluid system with an 80:20 oil/water ratio whose maximum working temperature was 120°C.…”