Mud Viscosities and Other Rheological

shear stress and shear rate. Another

Properties (Viscosity, Gel Strength and

property that is crucial in a drilling mud is

Yield Point)

its yield point.

Yield point is the

characteristic for minimum stress, below

Nor Syamimi binti Mohd Asymawi

which flow does not occur. At low shear

Sofea wahidah binti Salleh

rates

there

is

typical

non-linear

relationship between shear stress and shear

Muhammad Masrul bin Ismail

rate, which tends to be attenuated with the

Muhammad Hafizszul bin Amirusham

increase of shear rate. Whereas for

Newtonian fluid flow is the ratio of shear

Farah Adeeba binti Jamal

stress to shear rate or viscosity is constant.

Drilling Laboratory, MARA University of
Viscosity of fluid is the resistance to flow.

Technology

In drilling, it is one of the most important

mud properties to be controlled to ensure
smooth drilling operation. Drilling mud

ABSTRACT

must have high enough viscosity to

Generally, rheology is defined as the study

transport the drill cuttings from bottom

of deformation and flow behaviour of all

hole to the surface. This is to ensure that

forms of matter. In drilling engineering,

the cuttings could be removed at the

rheology refers to the shear stress/ shear

minimum velocity of the mud pump.

rate/ time relationship of drilling fluids.

Marsh funnel are popular quality-control

The

rheological

tools used in the drilling field. They offer a

properties are to design and evaluate the

simple, practical alternative to viscosity

hydraulic and assess the functionality of

measurement.

the mud system. Mud rheology has two

measurement, a single points known as

types of fluid that are non-Newtonian fluid

drainage time is used to determine an

flow and Newtonian fluid flow.

average viscosity.

For

main

purposes

non-Newtonian

of

fluid

flow,

the

Based

on

For

this

single

the

point,

normal

little

viscosity is not influenced by temperature

information is obtained regarding the

and pressure but is also strongly related to

known-Newtonian behaviour of the fluid

the velocity at which the mud flows

or the mud. It is used to determine the

through hydraulic system. It also exhibits a

rheological properties of drilling muds and

variety of different correlations between

other non-Newtonian fluids by using the

excessive friction pressure losses and,

viscosity obtained from the Marsh Funnel.

therefore,

fluid

properties

bottom

hole

circulating mud densities, which in turn

INTRODUCTION
Drilling

excessive

can
for

rock

lead

to

problems. There

very
are

costly
two

drilling
ways

of

formations are fairly straight forward with

measuring viscosity that are qualitative

carrying capacity and lubrication being the

(relative measurement) or quantitative

most important factor. The fluid must carry

(absolute measurement). The qualitative

cuttings from the bore hole and also

measurement is conducted through the use

provide lubrication to prevent excessive

of marsh funnel while the absolute

wear on the tooling (Tyson Smith, 2011).

measurement is conducted through the use

It is mandatory to specify not only type of

drilling mud for each hole interval to be
drilled but also the specific properties of
the muds. These are the density, flow
properties or rheology, filtration and solid
content as well as chemical properties.
Currently,

the

problems

in

drilling

activities may contribute to high cost, thus

to avoid this costly drilling problem, these
properties must be field controlled and
properly maintain at their optimum values.
Therefore, any changes should be monitor
by conducting field tests such as mud
viscosities and other rheological properties
experiment (J.J Azar & G.Robello Samuel,
2007).
Maintaining viscosity high enough to carry
cuttings from the bore is critical in
maintaining penetration rates. Too little
viscosity will allow cuttings to fall out of
the slurry and be deposited behind the drill
head. Too high of viscosity will result in

of rotational viscometer which will then

allow the calculation of yield point, plastic
viscosity, gel strength, power low index
(n), and consistency index (K). The
purpose of using marsh funnel is to detect
any variation in the viscous properties of
the fluid. Generally, absolute measurement
or rotating viscometer is recommended
because it gives a more accurate data
compared to marsh funnel. From rotating
viscometer, the value of PV and YP are
given and these values are more important
to determine the pressure drop in the
circulating system.
MATERIALS AND EXPERIMENTAL
METHODS
The material used in this study is waterbased mud. There are two ways to
determine the viscosity. First by using the
Fann Viscometer. Second is by using the
marsh funnel viscosity. We used this type
of mud to determine the viscosity, gel

strength and yield point. (George V.

The Fann Viscometer is set up. The mud is

Chillingarian, Ersen Alp, Mouhammed Al-

then poured into the cup sample of the

Salem, Saffet Uslu, Sue Gonzales &

Fann Viscometer. The cup is then placed in

Ronald J. Dorovi, 1983).

the hole so that it cannot move. The rotary

In the first experiment, we used the Fann

Viscometer which is also known as the
direct-indicating viscometer. (Savins &
Roper, 1954). There are two speeds of
rotation which are 300 and 600 rpm. We
change the speed by controlling the range
knob. The Fann Viscometer consists of the
rotary speed setting, bob, deflection dial, a
cup for the mud sample and a motor.

marsh funnel viscosity. By using the marsh

we

can

only determine

the

viscosity. Marsh funnel is used to measure

the viscosity by observing the time taken
for the oil-based mud to flow from a cone
through a short tube. Before starting the
experiments, the water-based mud is mixed
by the mixer machine to ensure that the
mud

is

completely

dissolved

before

conducting the experiment. The mud is

poured in the container until it reaches the
level

marked at

the

container.

The

container is then placed at the machine and

leave for about one to two minutes so that
the mud is completely mixed. Then, the
mud is set to rest for also about one to two
minutes.

minute. After one minute, the reading of

viscometer is observed at the deflection
dial and it is recorded. The gel strength and
the yield point are calculated. The oilbased mud is then set to rest for one minute
before proceed with the next speed which
is 300 rpm. The steps are repeated.
For

In the second experiment, we used the

funnel,

speed setting is then set to 600 rpm for one

the

second

experiment,

as

aforementioned, we used the marsh funnel.

The marsh funnel is held vertically with
the end of the tube is closed by a finger.
The mud is then poured through the mesh
to remove the particles which might block
the tube and affect our data. When the
mud is already stable, the finger is
removed. As the finger is removed the
stopwatch is also started. The mud is
allowed to run into a beaker. The time in
seconds is recorded as a measure of the
viscosity.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION:
Viscosity is a measure of a fluid's
resistance to flow. It describes the internal
friction of a moving fluid. A fluid with
large viscosity resists motion because its
molecular makeup gives it a lot of internal
friction. A fluid with low viscosity flows

easily because its molecular makeup

Plastic Viscosity,

results in very little friction when it is in

300 rpm Reading

motion.

Gases

also

have

= 600 rpm reading -

viscosity,

although it is a little harder to notice it in

Apparent viscosity,

ordinary circumstances. Viscosity is one

the rheological properties of drilling mud
together with gel or shear-strength and
yield strength that needs to be measured.

Normally Bingham Plastic Model is

used to describe mud properties as Plastic
Viscosity and Yield Point

Rheology is the study of the deformation

and flow of matter. (in this case drilling
mud). It is important to know the rheology
of mud because most drilling fluids are
non- Newtonian fluids (that is ratio of
shear stress to shear rate is not constant).
The viscosity of the mud has to be
measured

because

such

rheological

parameter helps to determine how drilling

fluids will flow under a variety of different
conditions.
Viscosity is a general term used to define

A low plastic viscosity shows that the mud

the internal friction generated by a fluid

can drill rapidly because of the low

when a force is applied to cause it to flow.

viscosity of mud exiting at the bit. The

Viscosity maybe in the form of plastic or

reverse is the case for a low plastic

apparent viscosity. The former is a

viscosity. High plastic viscosity is caused

measure of the internal resistance to fluid

by a viscous base fluid and by excess

flow resulting from interaction of solids in

colloidal solids. To lower plastic velocity,

a drilling mud, while the latter is the

a reduction in solids content can be

viscosity of the drilling mud measured at a

achieved by dilution.

given shear rate at a fixed temperature.

They are both measured in centipoises and
are calculated as follows:

Another type of viscosity is Marsh or

funnel viscosity measured in seconds with
a Marsh funnel. This is not a true viscosity,
but it is important because it serves as a

qualitative measure of how thick the mud

strength of drilling mud should be

sample is. However this is not applicable

measured and maintained in the favourable

to quantitative analysis of flow properties

range.

(Azzar and Lummus, 1986).

(a)

pressure required to start flow may

The difference between plastic viscosity

fracture a weak formation and

and funnel viscosity is the ratio of the

speed of the sample fluid as it passes
through the outlet tube (the shear rate) to
the amount of force (the weight of the
fluid) that is causing the fluid to flow (the
shear stress). On the contrary, the plastic
viscosity is the resistance of fluid to flow.

If gel strength is too high, the

could lead to blowout.

(b)

If gel strength is too low, settled

drilling mud will not effectively
suspend cuttings and other debris
and may allow weighting material
to settle.

Having swab and surge pressures produced

Liquid drilling fluids are commonly called

by pipe movement in drilling muds having

drilling mud. All drilling fluids, especially

excessive

drilling mud, can have a wide range of

undesirable

chemical and physical properties. These

temporary over-balance or under-balance

properties are specifically designed for

of hydrostatic pressure (Devereux, 1999).

drilling

conditions

and

the

special

problems that must be handled in drilling a

well. The type of drilling fluids used in our
experiments is water based mud. This fluid

gel

strength

may

cause

pressure effects resulting in

From the result, the initial 10 sec of gel

strength is 22.6 lb/100ft2 and at final 10
minutes is 32 lb/100 ft2.

is the mud in which water is the continuous

REASONS FOR YIELD POINT (YP)

phase. This is the most common drilling

MEASUREMENT:

mud used in oil drilling,

Yield point is a measure of the internal

Gel strength is similar to the yield point in

the sense that both measurements are
influenced by the attractive forces in the
mud. The difference between both
measurements is that gel strength is time
dependent. This is usually done in 10
seconds and 10 minutes range. The
following are some of the reasons why gel

resistance of a fluid (in this case drilling

mud) to initial flow. In other words, it is
the stress required to start fluid movement.
This resistance is caused by the electrochemical or attractive forces in the mud
under dynamic flow conditions. It is
important

to

measure this

parameter

because it reflects the ability of the mud to

carry drilled cuttings out of the annulus or

hole. The yield point of a mud can be

Based on the result observed, types of

reduced by adding deflocculant to a clay-

drilling muds and its rheological properties

based mud and increased by adding

can be determined. From the calculation,

freshly dispersed clay or a flocculant, such

the value on n is 0.363. This indicates that

as lime.

the mud is a pseudoplastic fluid. Their

viscosity cannot be described by a single

It is normally expressed as:

number. Non-Newtonian and pseudoplastic

fluids exhibit a variety of different
correlations between shear stress and shear
rate. The present study has shown that, this

Yield point is similar to mud gel strength

parameter is related to each other. Next, we

in causing a sudden pressure change at the

also can summarise that Marsh Funnel is a

start of pumping. However, the major

quick

difference between yield strength in terms

qualitative information about viscosity.

of hydraulics is that gel strength will not

However, it does not provide enough data

exist once the fluid is moving and the gel

to evaluate some parameters. Therefore,

has been broken, while the effects of yield

rotating viscometer is best recommended

point will not disappear when the fluid is

apparatus.

moving. Gel strength is a status-dependent

prevented, the data obtain slightly deviates

property of a mud. Its value depends on

from the actual data. The errors may occur

how well the gel is formed.

due to the

and

efficient

Since

way of

errors

finding

cannot

be

some factors that affect the

yield point of water-based drilling mud

such as, temperature, and contaminant.

CONCLUSION

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From the experiment, we can conclude that

there are two ways to measure the viscosity
that is relative and absolute measurement.
For

absolute

measurement,

we

can

determine parameters which are plastic

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