Laboratory and Field Testing of Wave Machines and Devices for Preparation of Fine-Particle Suspensions

Abstract

The paper presents the results of comprehensive research of the influence of wave technologies on the physical and mechanical properties of fine-particle clay suspensions. The research was conducted under laboratory conditions at NTs NVMT IMASh of the Russian Academy of Sciences and field conditions. It is shown that the wave treatment of the drilling mud by flow-type hydrodynamic vortex generators with tangential and radial ducts and flat generators with cylindrical bluff bodies considerably enhances the quality of the drilling mud, increases the colloidal fraction, reduces the consumption of clay powder, and decreases the time of preparation of the drilling mud by several times compared with the conventional technology. It is shown that the nonlinear wave and cavitation processes that occur in the flow path of hydrodynamic generators make the major contribution to achieving high efficiency of the wave treatment.