Effect of Cement Slurry Consistency

Toward Shear-Stress
Adrian Pattinasarany and Sonny Irawan
Faculty of Geosciences and Petroleum Engineering
Department of Petroleum Engineering
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750 Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia
Email: Adrian.Pattinasarany@Halliburton.com;
drsonny_irawan@petronas.com.my
Abstract-A new method has been developed to include the
effect of consistency change in calculating the shear-stress of
cement slurry. This method is applicable to calculate shear-stress
for oil/gas well cementing job that has negligible free fall effect
and pump at below turbulence rate inside a concentric annulus.
The method had combined methods from API Recommended
Practice 10A and 10B to satisfy the research objective. It was done
using viscometer and consistometer and there were no addition or
modification in the components of the devices. The effect of
temperature was taken into consideration by the ability of
consistometer to simulate job temperature based on schedule
given. Statistical analysis was done to determine accurate fluid
model used to calculate the shear-stress. Charts were presented
for graphical analysis of test results to determine the fluid models.
It was found cement slurry was behaved as Power-Law fluid and
this was confirmed using statistical R-squared method. This fluid
model was persistent at each consistency value. Cement slurry
consistency was found to have significant effect to shear-stress.
The effect of shear-rate to shear-stress was also increased as the
cement consistency increased.

I.

INTRODUCTION

Cement slurry consistency is a measurement taken from

consistometer to measure thickening time of cement slurry.
This is related to the torque being placed on a stationary paddle
within the rotating slurry cup. As the cement thickens, the
torque increases on the spring-loaded potentiometer connected
to the paddle shaft. This torque is recorded as a direct current
voltage across a resistor on top of the potentiometer. The actual
consistency of the cement can then be derived from a linear
plot of DC volts versus the thickness of the slurry in Bearden
Units of Consistency [1]. This test is used to determine the
time of cement remain pumpable under simulated condition.
Viscosity is a measure of internal frictional resistance to flow
of the fluid. Common method to measure viscosity is by using
a rotational sleeve and bob. The rotation of the sleeve on fluid
produces a torque on the inner cylinder which is also
transmitted to the bob. A torsion spring restrains the movement
of the bob and a dial attached to the torsion spring indicates the
displacement of the bob. Using this instrument shear-stress can
be calculated. Shear-stress is used to calculate friction during
pumping of the fluid into the wellbore taking account the
wellbore geometry. It is done to make sure that the friction
generated during pumping will not endangered the integrity of

the wellbore. This has been a conventional method to calculate

friction during pumping cement slurry.
The conventional method determines the flow properties
when cement slurry in the liquid phase only and not the
condition when the cement slurry will eventually set, increase
the viscosity and develop the state when its no longer liquid or
pumpable. Many studies have developed mathematical models
that can be used to predict flow properties and pressurevelocity relationships of fluid. The Bingham Plastic Model and
the Power Law Model are most commonly used. The former
has been utilized for drilling fluid analysis since the mid-1940s
[2]. Ravi and Sutton have considered the effect of temperature
at the different depth to determine the friction pressure so
cement slurry can be pumped at higher flow rate and the
displacement efficiency could have been improved without
causing any formation breakdown [3]. If a single rheology
profile is used across the entire wellbore length, a significant
error may be induced [4]. Purvis, Mueller, Dawson and Bray
introduced the helical screw paddle that had been retro-fitted to
a consistometer to determine the shear properties of the cement
slurry with change in the consistency [5].
In this work a method is presented to include the effect of
consistency to shear-stress of cement slurry while utilizing the
simplicity of consistometer and viscometer operation. The
temperature effect has been included because the consistometer
was equipped with control for temperature schedule of the test.
There is no modification or additional components to the
current device configuration.
II. THEORY
The main objective of a cement job is to displace wellbore
fluid and obtain a good bond to casing and formation.
Displacement efficiency increases with an increase in the rate
at which the slurry is pumped; however there is a risk of
fracturing the formations at higher flow rates. Hence the slurry
must always be pumped at flow rates that will attain an ECD
that will not fracture the formations [3].
As the slurry is pumped down the casing and up the annulus
a pressure loss from friction is experienced. This pressure drop

must be overcome by the pumping unit on the surface. If

rheological properties are overestimated, frictional pressures
and hence circulating pressures calculated will be
overestimated at a specified flow rate. Based on these
calculations, the design flow rate will be underestimated.
Whereas if plastic viscosity and yield point were known as a
function of temperature, then the cement slurry could have
been pumped at a higher flow rate and the displacement
efficiency could have been improved without causing any
formation breakdown [3].
Some service company simulators used a constant rheology
(normally measured at surface, BHCT, or some midpoint
value) throughout the wellbore. In deep wells with a substantial
bottom hole temperature, temperature thinning fluids will exert
considerably different frictional pressures at different depths. If
a single rheology profile is used across the entire wellbore
length, a significant error may be induced [4].
Estimating the Reynolds number, flow regime and friction
pressure of different fluids involved in a primary cement job mud, spacer, cement - can be important for the success of the
operation. Temperature prediction of the pressure and profiles
in the wellbore, the control of the return flow rate and the
optimization of mud removal all depend, among other things,
on these three parameters [6].
The rheology of cement slurries is an indication of the
interaction between the cement particles and water molecules.
The properties of hardened cement depend to a large extent on
the chemical reactions and physical processes that occur during
the early stages of hydration. Calorimetric and electron
microscopy studies of cement hydration indicate an initial
stage of rapid formation of a gelatinous hydrate coating around
the cement grains within the first few minutes of mixing
cement with water. An intermediate stage with a very low
reaction rate then follows for several hours the induction or
dormant period. At the end of the induction period, the reaction
rate accelerates again as the surface coatings break and
hydration products grow away from the surfaces into the space
between grains. The cement slurry develops physical strength
rapidly at this stage (cement set) [7]. Cement slurry may be
considered "unpumpable" at BC's ranging from 40 to 100,
depending on operator preference [5].
Complete pressure drop and flow analysis calculations, even
with electronic calculators, are tedious but acceptable results
can be obtained. Computer facilities in most service
companies, and many operating companies, have made more
detailed flow analyses practical. For example, variations of
flow area due to borehole irregularities, and presence of more
than one type of fluid can be easily considered. However, with
computerized analyses, the analytical procedure, the type of
mathematical model used and input data should be completely
understood, to avoid misleading results [2].
Bolivar and Young in their paper on the drilling fluid
conclude that low rheology drilling fluid has demonstrated
considerable ECD reduction as well as other technical benefits
that have contributed toward reduced drilling risk [8]. Cement-

slurry rheology must be optimized for mud displacement, and

this cannot be done if the slurry thickens during displacement.
Furthermore, a slurry that has thickened to >30 to 40 B, is
unlikely to be pumped without generating frictional pressure
drops that lead to formation fracturing [1].
The engineering and economics considerations of a primary
cementing job cannot be overemphasized. A poor cementing
job can result in a failure to isolate zones and can be very
costly in the productive life of any well. Failure to isolate
between producing zones can lead to ineffective stimulation
treatments,
improper
reservoir
evaluation,
annular
communication with unwanted well fluids and accumulation
gas in the annulus [9].
In the oil field, following equation from API RP 10B can be
used for calculating pressure drop and flow regime for cement
slurries in casing and concentric annuli. The equations outline
a procedure to estimate pressure drop and flow regime in a
concentric annulus by using the rheological data from a
rotational viscometer [10].
Rheological models describe the relationship between shearstress and shear-rate of a fluid. The most commonly used
models to describe the rheological properties of cement slurries
are the Bingham plastic and the Power Law models [10].
To determine whether the fluid is Bingham Plastic Model or
Power Law Model the statistic calculation was performed. The
statistic calculation has been done using R-square method. RSquare equation:

(1)

Where SSE is the sum of the squared error and SST is the
sum of the squared total. SST is the same as the SSE if the
model was fitting the average. Cement slurry researched had
shown to follow Power Law Model.
When plotting shear-stress versus shear-rate on Cartesian
(rectangular) coordinates, this model will produce a curve with
zero shear-stress at zero shear-rate. When plotting shear-stress
versus shear-rate on log-log paper cement slurry behaving as a
Power Law fluid will result in a straight line. For this model,
the shear-stress is related to the shear-rate by the relationship:
(2)
In this Equation is shear-stress, isshear-rate, n is referred
to as the Power Law exponent or flow behavior index and k is a
constant, referred to as the consistency index. For shear
thinning fluids (pseudo-plastic) n is a positive number between
zero and 1. Cement slurries normally exhibit pseudo-plastic
behavior. For shear thickening fluids (dilatants) n is a positive
number greater than one. Cement slurries normally do not
exhibit dilating behavior. If an n is equal to 1, the equation then
conforms to the Newtonian fluid model. The units in above
equation are S1 units i.e., 1/s for the shear-rate, Pa for the

shear-stress, and Pa. sn for the consistency index [10].

Here, the parameters are obtained using regression analysis
on the logarithmic form of Power Law Equation:
(3)
Regardless of the unit system, the flow behavior index can
be derived directly from the slope C:
(4)
If shear-stresses are expressed in lbf/ft2 and shear-rates
are expressed in l/s, the consistency index in Ibf.sn/ft2 can be
derived from the intercept D using:
.

(5)

If shear-stresses are expressed in Pa and shear-rates are

expressed in l/s, the consistency index in Pa.sn can be derived
from the intercept D using:
(6)

.
III. METHODOLOGY

The methodologies came from procedure inside API

Recommended Practice 10A [11] and API Recommended
Practice 10B[10]. It consists of slurry preparation, thickening
time test [11] and rheological (viscosity) testing [10]. The
cement used was Cement Indo class G.
The new method is to combine thickening time test and
rheological test to get rheological properties at certain
consistency. The procedure is below:
1. Repeat the thickening time test
2. Stop at 10 minutes interval to collect the cement
slurry sample from the thickening time cup
3. Perform rheology test to find the rheological property
4. Record the Bearden Consistency, cement temperature
and chamber temperature from the consistometer
5. Record the related dial reading from viscometer
6. Repeat the test until limit of dial reading viscometer is
exceeded

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A. Thickening Time Test
Thickening time test was performed using a high pressure
high temperature consistometer. The consistency is presented
the blue color line. This consistometer has a thermometer that
measures oil (chamber) temperature. This is presented as a
green color dot-dash in the charts. The second thermometer
that is directly submerged inside cement slurry measures the
slurry temperature. This is presented as a red color solid line in
the charts. The chamber temperatures are automatically
adjusted based on the temperature schedule and the current
cement slurry temperature. Thickening time test temperature
was performed following API Recommended Practice 10A
Schedule 5 [11].
Consistometer chart consists of two vertical axes and one
horizontal axis. The two vertical axes consist of temperature
and consistency. The green and red lines are associated with
temperature axis. The blue line is associated with the
consistency axis. The horizontal axis consists of elapse time.
Base thickening time test on Fig. 2 was performed before all
other tests to provide a reference in order to ensure the reading
during correlation test was correct. This class G cement had
initial consistency at 5 BC. The time to reach 50 BC was 82
minutes, 70 BC was 80 minutes and 100 BC was 97 minutes.
From each thickening time chart increasing in the cement
slurry consistency was not really apparent, except at 70
minutes and above. The increasing in consistency can be
observed from Fig. 2, together with chamber and cement
temperature. After 80 minutes slurry was no longer pourable
thus was no longer measurable by viscometer. Cement slurry
that undergo 80 minutes thickening time test the 300 rpm
reading was beyond dial reading of viscometer. This was the
reason why the 80 minutes readings were discharged from
shear-stress calculation.
In Table 1 are the results of the several more tests done at
10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 75 and 80 minutes. At every elapse
time the sample is retrieved, consistency, chamber temperature
and cement slurry temperature value recorded and viscosity
measured.

Slurry preparation
Thickening time test
Retrieve sample after
t minutes predetermined time lapsed

Is rheology
measurable?

Y
Rheological testing
Viscosity data
at t time

End of
experiment

Figure 1. Method to analysis effect of consistency toward

shear-stress

Figure 2. Base thickening time test

TABLE 1
CEMENT AND CHAMBER TEMPERATURE AND BC FOR CORRELATION TEST

TABLE 3
SHEAR-STRESS BASED ON ACTUAL READING OF VISCOMETER AT X MINUTES

Time
(Minutes)

Cement Temp.
o
C (oF)

Chamber Temp.
o
C (oF)

Consistency
(BC)

28.3 (83)

26.7 (80)

10

35 (95)

38.9 (102)

20

43.3 (110)

30

5.12 sec-1

10.23 sec-1

170.5 sec-1

341 sec-1

511.5 sec-1

19.17

22.9

53.78

66.03

77.75

10

22.37

29.29

70.82

86.8

98.51

46.7 (116)

10

20

29.82

38.34

75.08

88.93

100.11

51.1 (124)

50.6 (123)

30

20.24

34.08

71.36

85.73

97.45

40

51.1 (124)

51.7 (125)

12

40

22.37

36.74

87.86

96.38

112.36

50

51.1 (124)

51.1 (124)

12

50

23.43

39.41

94.79

107.03

118.75

60

51.7 (125)

51.7 (125)

18

60

37.28

44.73

98.51

104.37

128.87

70

50.6 (123)

44.4 (112)

29

70

35.15

43.13

144.84

165.08

185.84

75

52.2 (126)

50 (122)

24

75

61.77

67.63

171.47

198.62

225.78

80

51.7 (125)

50.6 (123)

44

B. Rheology Test
Table 2 listed the dial reading from sample taken at 10, 20,
30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and 75 minutes. The dial readings were
increased as the time elapsing. This was because consistency
had been increased as time was elapsing
From Table 3 it is apparent as time was elapsed the shearstress also increased. This is because the shear-stress is
function of dial reading. Again this was because consistency
increased. The reading from 80 minutes was not included in
this table because it was too thick to measure.
Flow behaviour index and consistency index were obtained
by using slope and intercept from a logarithmic plot. The
logarithmic plot consists of shear-rate as the abscissa and
shear-stress as the ordinate. The result had been a Power Law
Equation which was used to calculate shear-stress. The
resultant calculated shear-stress then compared to the shearstress from viscometer data.
TABLE 2
DIAL READING FROM VISCOMETER AT MINUTES AVERAGING FROM RAMP UP
AND RAMP DOWN

Time
(min)

3
rpm

6
rpm

100
rpm

200
rpm

300
rpm

18

21.5

50.5

62

10

21

27.5

66.5

20

28

36

30

19

40

Plotting shear-rate and shear-stress it is apparent that the

slurry behaves as Power Law Fluid. To confirm it, the resulted
calculated shear-stress subsequently compared to actual shearstress using R-square method. By definition, R-Squared is
The percent of the variance that can be explained by all of the
independent variables taken together.
In the case of measuring viscosity, which is a natural process, it
is expected near perfect fits to fit the right model to the data.
The measurement errors need to be small enough. The Power
Law Model was chosen because for all the calculated shearstress the minimum R-Squared is 0.9824, maximum R-Squared
was 0.9996 and average R-Squared was 0.9906. The statistics
were performed using all viscosity data. It is confirmed that for
all point of time cement slurry retrieved from consistometer the
cement slurry behave as Power Law Fluid. This in the future
can be used to simplify Equivalent Circulated Density
calculation if using method developed in this research. This
finding needs to be confirmed whether it will apply with
different type of cement and with different additives in the
cement or not.
TABLE 4
FLOW BEHAVIOUR INDEX AND CONSISTENCY INDEX AT X MINUTES TO
CALCULATE SHEAR STRESS

73

Time
(min)

k (lbf Sn/ft2)

k(Pa Sn)

81.5

92.5

0.3

0.12

11.51

70.5

83.5

94

10

0.32

0.14

13.62

32

67

80.5

91.5

20

0.25

0.2

20.35

21

34.5

82.5

90.5

105.5

30

0.31

0.14

13.92

50

22

37

89

100.5

111.5

40

0.33

0.15

14.89

60

35

42

92.5

98

121

50

0.33

0.16

15.63

70

33

40.5

136

155

174.5

60

0.26

0.24

24.38

75

58

63.5

161

186.5

212

70

0.38

0.19

18.76

80

78

83.5

239

272

75

0.29

0.37

36.52

N/A

TABLE 5
CALCULATED SHEAR-STRESS AND R-SQUARED VALUE
5.12
sec-1

10.23
sec-1

170.5
sec-1

341
sec-1

511.5
sec-1

R-squared

18.85

23.24

54.4

67.07

75.81

0.9981

10

22.9

28.56

69.98

87.27

99.3

0.9996

20

30.84

36.79

75.3

89.83

99.6

0.9988

30

23.28

28.96

70.25

87.39

99.3

0.9915

40

25.5

32.04

80.95

101.71

116.24

0.9824

50

26.99

34.04

87.27

110.05

126.04

0.9812

60

37.39

44.84

93.74

112.42

125.02

0.9839

70

34.69

45.04

129.96

168.73

196.56

0.9836

75

58.92

72.19

164.68

201.78

227.25

0.9962

In Fig. 3 term minimum shear-stress and maximum

shear-stress will be used. Minimum shear-stress in this
context means shear-stress at minimum shear-rate tested (5.12
sec-1). Maximum shear-stress in this context means shear-stress
at maximum shear rate tested (511.50 sec-1). The shear-stress at
initial condition (0 minutes) was relatively small. This is
because at this condition the cement was still in liquid form
and not yet developing consistency. The minimum shear-stress
at this point was 9.18 Pa (19.17 lb/100ft2) and the maximum
shear-stress was 37.22 Pa (77.75 lb/100ft2).

140

120

0 min

10 min

20 min

30 min

40 min

50 min

60 min

70 min

75 min

Shear Stress (Pa)

100

80

60

40

20

0
0

100

200

300

400

Shear Rate (sec-1)

Figure 3. Shear-stress and shear-rate chart

500

600

140

120

511.51/sec

3411/sec

170.51/sec

10.231/sec

5.121/sec

100
Shear Stress (Pa)

Time
(min)

80

60

40

20

0
0

20

40

60

80

Time (Min)

Figure 4. Shear-stress and time chart

There was increase in the shear-stress showing that at 10

minutes there had been change in the viscosity of the cement
slurry. The minimum shear-stress at this point was 10.71 Pa
(22.37 lb/100ft2) and the maximum shear-stress was 47.17 Pa
(98.51 lb/100ft2).
After 20 minutes there was continuing increasing in the
shear-stress. The minimum shear-stress at this point was 14.28
Pa (29.82 lb/100ft2) and the maximum shear-stress was 47.93
Pa (100.11 lb/100ft2)
After 30 minutes data reflect the consistency reading when
there was decrease in consistency. The minimum shear-stress
at this point was 9.69 Pa (20.24 lb/100ft2) and the maximum
shear-stress was 46.66 Pa (97.45 lb/100ft2).
After 40 minutes minimum shear-stress was 10.71Pa (22.37
lb/100ft2) and the maximum shear-stress was 53.80 Pa (112.36
lb/100ft2). Although consistency was not visibly high at this
point the increase in shear-stress from previous one was quite
significant.
The minimum shear-stress at 50 minutes was 11.22 Pa
(23.43 lb/100ft2) and the maximum shear-stress was 56.86 Pa
(118.75 lb/100ft2). There was continuing increase of shearstress at every shear-rate at this chart.
After 60 minutes there was significant increase in the shearstress because the increase in consistency also significant. At
this point the cement slurry consistency was 18 BC. The
minimum shear-stress at this point was 17.85 Pa (37.28
lb/100ft2) and the maximum shear-stress was 61.7 Pa (128.87
lb/100ft2).
At 70 minutes the maximum shear-stress was greatly
increased to 88.98 Pa (185.84 lb/100ft2) and minimum shear-

stress at this point was 16.83 Pa (35.15 lb/100ft2). This is due

to the high consistency of the cement slurry.
And at 75 minutes maximum shear-stress was 108.10 Pa
(225.78 lb/100ft2) and minimum shear-stress at this point was
29.58 Pa (61.77 lb/100ft2). At this point the cement slurry was
very thick due to the cement was gelling up.
From Fig. 4 it is apparent that increase in time will also
increase the shear-stress. The reason is because as the time
goes by consistency of the cement also rises due to cement
reaction with water. It can be observed as well that at the same
shear-rate the increase in shear-stress is more -significant; at 70
minutes the increasing is up to 159% whereas at 0 minutes the
increasing is only 84%.
Another finding can be observed from Fig. 4 was the
different between shear-stress at lowest shear-rate (5.115 sec-1)
and highest shear-rate (511.5 sec-1) at 0 minutes value which
is similar to the current practice of measuring the viscosity in
oil field (API 10B Method) was significantly below above 50
minutes value. At typical primary job this is the time when
cement slurry entering annulus and most likely any increasing
in shear-stress will result higher probability of lost circulation.

[2]

G. Suman and R. Ellis, Cementing Handbook, in

World Oil, Houston, Texas: Gulf Publishing Company,
1977, p. 34.

[3]

K. M. Ravi and D. L. Sutton, New Rheological

Correlation for Cement Slurries as a Function of
Temperature, in Proceedings of SPE Annual
Technical Conference and Exhibition, 1990.

[4]

D. Kulakofsky, S. R. Henry, and D. Porter, PC-Based

Cement Job Simulator Improves Primary Job Design,
in Proceedings of SPE Western Regional Meeting,
1993, pp. 731-732.

[5]

D. L. Purvis, D. T. Mueller, J. C. Dawson, and W. S.

Bray, Thickening Time Test Apparatus Provides
Method of Simulating Actual Shear History of Oilwell
Cements, in Proceedings of SPE Annual Technical
Conference and Exhibition, 1993, pp. 647-660.

[6]

D. Guillot and J. Denis, Prediction of Laminar and

Turbulent Friction Pressures of Cement Slurries in
Pipes and Centered Annuli, in European Petroleum
Conference, 1988, pp. 1-6.

[7]

T. Chow, L. V. Mcintire, K. Kunze, and C. Cooke,

The Rheological Properties of Cement Slurries:
Effects of Vibration, Hydration Conditions, and
Additives, SPE Production Engineering, vol. 3, no. 4,
pp. 543-550, Nov. 1988.

[8]

N. Bolivar, S. Dear, J. Young, J. Massam, and T. Reid,

Field Result of Equivalent-Circulating-Density
Reduction With a Low-Rheology Fluid, Proceedings
of SPE/IADC Drilling Conference, pp. 1-6, Feb. 2007.

[9]

D. K. Smith, Cementing. Henry L. Doherty Memorial

Fund of AIME, 1976, p. 184.

[10]

American Petroleum Institute, API Recommended

Practice10B: Recommended Practice for Testing Well
Cements. Washington, D.C.: , 1997, p. 18.

[11]

American Petroleum Institute, API Recommended

Practice 10A: Specification for cements and materials
for well cementing. Washington, D.C.: , 2002, pp. 95112.

V. CONCLUSIONS
1.

A method is developed to include the effect of cement

slurry consistency toward shear-stress
The new method does not require any alteration to
current laboratories equipment
Despite the increasing in consistency the cement
slurry was behaving as Power Law Fluid
There was significant change in the shear-stress due to
increasing in consistency
The current method (API 10B) of determining shearstress (at 0 minute) will result lower shear-stress result
at high shear-rate and at high time interval

2.
3.
4.
5.

NOMENCLATURE
Parameter

Definition

Shear-rate

Consistency index of a
Power Law fluid
Power Law index of a
Power Law fluid
Shear-stress

U.S. Oil Field

Unit
sec-1

SI Unit

lbf secn ft-2

Pa Sn

2 -1

lbf.(100ft )

-1

sec

Pa

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author acknowledges the support of the Faculty of
Geosciences and Petroleum Engineering, Universiti Teknologi
PETRONAS provided during this study.
REFERENCES
[1]

V. R.P.a.R. and V. J.P.M., Improving the Reliability

of Cement-Setting-Time Tests by Taking Into Account
the Influence of Shear, SPE Drilling & Completion,
vol. 8, no. 1, p. 51, Mar. 1993.