UBC Oilfield Cementing Fluid Mechanics Group
Cementing services are an essential part of the successful construction of any oil and gas well, the maintenance of well productivity and the environmentally safe abandonment of the well. The 3 main operations are: - Primary cementing - Squeeze cementing - Plug cementing The UBC cementing fluid mechanics group focuses on understanding the essential fluid mechanics behind these industrial processes: displacements, mud removal, instabilities and mixing, slumping flows, etc… The group embodies over 10 years of experience with oilfield fluid mechanics. Our research methodology combines mathematical analysis, computational fluid dynamics studies, pilot-scale experiments and visualization. We are experienced in delivering our knowledge in a format that is useful for industrial engineering design and in understanding where and how the processes may fail. Results and analysis from the UBC group are embedded in the design software of at least one major cementing service company. Areas of study: - Annular displacement flows of non-Newtonian fluids - Static wall layer formation in non-Newtonian displacements - Reactive spacers for extended reach horizontal cementing - Stability of cement plugs placed off-bottom - Slumping flows of horizontal cement plugs	Sponsors gratefully acknowledged:
Industrial areas of interest:
Industrial companies wishing to sponsor research and to share in the expertise of the UBC cementing fluids group may do so in any of the following ways: - Funding of research students and postdoctoral researchers, directly or collaboratively within a JIP. - For Canadian based companies there is the possibility of jointly applying for government funding for longer term research projects. - Join an existing research project and contribute financially. - Consultancy services may be offered on specific problems of interest. Areas of potential interest: - Effective mud removal strategies in horizontal well cementing - Local zonal isolation via placement of annular packers - CFD studies of centralizer design - Reactive spacers for extended reach wells (ongoing project) - Non-Newtonian duct displacements in inclined geometries Please contact Ian Frigaard to discuss requirements and interests Other areas of ongoing research in the laboratory with potential interest to the cementing industry include: hydrodynamic stability of shear flows, thermally convective instabilities, bubble propagation and particle settling. Please consult the laboratory research pages for further details.