Investigating the Impact of Particle Migration Phenomena on Drilling Mud Filtrates during Injection through Porous Media

The particle migration phenomenon in porous media during fluid injection is influenced by various factors such as drilling mud composition, particle properties, fluid flow, and porous medium characteristics. Further, this process is predominantly governed by hydrodynamic forces acting on the porous granular medium in addition to the in situ stress state, rheology of the injecting fluid, and constriction size distribution. During fluid injection, the void spaces of the porous medium are filled by the particulates present in the suspension, leading to the obstruction of flow paths. Thus, the overall porosity is reduced, and the hydraulic conductivity decreases as a result of the time-dependent filtration process. In this study, the filtration process is examined by means of a specially designed laboratory experimental setup, with the collection of filtrates resulting from the injection of drilling fluid at a constant pressure. Furthermore, the flow properties of these filtrates are quantified at different time intervals during the experiments to gain an understanding of the impact of particle migration on the filtration process. The characteristic features (viscosity, storage modulus, and shear modulus) of the filtrates at different filtration times are provided by the experimental investigation. Notably, these findings reveal a shift in the fluid properties of the filtrates toward the continuous phase, specifically water. Moreover, it is determined that the effective filtration time for the specific composition of drilling fluid is approximately 30 min, and it is significantly influenced by the properties of both the drilling fluid and the porous medium.