Microstructure of a Type G Oil Well Cement-Nanosilica Blend
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 27, Issue 5
Abstract
Motivated by the need to improve oil well integrity for potential carbon capture and storage through sequestration, nanosilica was hypothesized capable of improving the quality of oil well cement (OWC) in medium and deep oil wells. In this study, OWC was mixed with 1 and 3% nanosilica by weight to produce OWC pastes with water to binder ratio () of 0.45. The specimens were cured under high temperature and pressure, simulating what occurs in oil wells. A method of analysis combining nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and nanoindentation is proposed. The results are compared with observations extracted from nanoindentation in which classification of hydration products is based on the elastic modulus of the different categories of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H). The results show that the degree of hydration, the degree of reactivity, and silicate polymerization increase under the elevated curing condition compared with the ambient condition. It seems that C-S-H generated by the pozzolanic reaction of nanosilica in OWC paste has not only different composition but also different packing density sensitive to curing conditions.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge KACST support through King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) for funding Project #09-NAN754-04 as part of the National Science, Technology and Innovation Plan. Additional support to the University of New Mexico team by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Award #1131369 is greatly appreciated. The corresponding author would like to acknowledge a National Research Foundation (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MOE) (No. 2013R1A1A2062784).
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 27 • Issue 5 • May 2015
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© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 20, 2013
Accepted: May 7, 2014
Published online: Aug 5, 2014
Discussion open until: Jan 5, 2015
Published in print: May 1, 2015
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