Petroleum Engineering Laboratories

Drilling Fluids Flow Loop Laboratory

Drilling Fluids Flow Loop Laboratory

1. To provide research facilities to faculty and graduate students

The dynamic flow loop is built to simulate the mud circulation system of an oil well and to study the performance of drilling fluid under bottomhole conditions. It is made up of a continuous pipe and comprises a mud circulating pump, heat exchanger, shear valve, test section, and a control panel. The test section includes a series of capillary viscosimeter, dynamic filtration cells, pH meters, and corrosion cells at both hot and cold ends of the flow loop. Technical data of the flow loop are: Q(max) = 126 cc/s, T(max) = 250 ⁰C, P(max) = 20 MPa, total circulating length = 50 m, and viscosity range = 1 to 100 mPa.s.

This laboratory was developed with the financial support of King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology for their research project "Testing of Thermal Stability and Corrosivity of Drilling Fluids." It is used for the evaluation of drilling fluid parameters under bottomhole conditions.

1. Flow Loop Setup