Title: Suspension Characteristics of Borate-Crosslinked Gels: Rheology and Atomic Force Misroscopy Measurements
Author(s): Naval Goel, Subhash Shah, Wei-Li Yuan, and Edgar A. O'Rear
Journal: Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Volume 82 Issue 12 (13 December 2001) pages 2978-2990
Summary: Borate-crosslinked guar gels were prepared and characterized to understand their capability to suspend and transport sand particles through a fracture created in a petroleum reservoir. In this study, the crosslinked gels were formulated by varying the borate crosslinker concentrations which were selected such that the gels satisfied the minimum viscosity criteria, 100 cp at 100 sec-1, used to evaluate crosslinked gels for their suspension capabilities. Not all of these gels, however, exhibited satisfactory particles transport through a slot which models a parallel fracture. These gels were then characterized using oscillatory measurements and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to understand the influence of microscopic behavior of the crosslinked gels on their macroscopic performance in the slot. The results showed that the suspension transport characteristics of these gels could be described through crosslinked networks formed across the guar polymer. The AFM images and rheological measurements of these gels suggest that the elastic modulus provides more useful information than viscosity about the crosslinked gel structure and their capability to suspend sand particles.
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