Rheol Acta (2006) 46: 261–271

DOI 10.1007/s00397-006-0114-2 ORIGINA L CONTRIBUTION

Alexandre Ragouilliaux
Benjamin Herzhaft
Flow instability and shear localization
François Bertrand
Philippe Coussot
in a drilling mud

Received: 9 January 2006

Accepted: 27 April 2006
Published online: 13 June 2006
# Springer-Verlag 2006
A. Ragouilliaux . F. Bertrand .
P. Coussot (*)
Institut Navier,
Paris, France
e-mail: coussot@lcpc.fr
e-mail: alexandre.ragouilliaux@lcpc.fr
A. Ragouilliaux . B. Herzhaft
Institut Français du Pétrole,
Paris, France
Abstract To have a better knowledge
of problems occurring with drilling
fluids in complex wells, we carried out
a detailed rheological analysis of a
typical drilling mud at low shear rates
using both conventional rheometry
and MRI velocimetry. We show the
existence of a viscosity bifurcation
effect: Below a critical stress value,
the mud tends to completely stop
flowing, whereas beyond this critical
stress, it reaches an apparent shear rate
larger than a finite (critical) value, and
no stable flows can be obtained
between this critical shear rate value
and zero. These results are confirmed
by MRI velocity profiles, which ex-
hibit a slope break at the interface
between the solid and the liquid
phases inside the Couette geometry.
Moreover, this viscosity bifurcation is
a transient phenomenon, the progres-
sive development of which can be
observed by MRI. A further exami-
nation of MRI data shows that, in the
transient regime, the shear rate does
not vary monotonously in the rheom-
eter gap and is particularly large along
the outer (rough) cylinder, which
might be at the origin of the develop-
ment of a region of constant shear rate
in the apparent flow curve.
Keywords Viscosity bifurcation .
Yielding . Shear localization .
Flow instability

Introduction to the settlement of the solid suspended phase under static

In the very beginnings of the oil drilling process, simple
muds obtained by mixing soil material with water were
used to clean the wells. Nowadays, drilling muds are very
complex fluids, like suspensions, emulsions, or even
foams, the formulation of which is the object of intense
work. These fluids are designed to transport the rock
cuttings, maintain them in suspension when the flow is
stopped, ensure a (high) controlled pressure on the inner
side of the well, and lubricate and clean the drill bit. To
satisfy these requirements, drilling muds are typically shear
thinning and thixotropic and exhibit an apparent yield
stress. Their internal structure is generally complex and is
liable to evolve with flow conditions.
With the development of new drilling techniques, such
as horizontal wells or ultradeep offshore drilling, new
problems may occur, especially at low shear rates. One of
the most harmful problems is barite sag, which corresponds
or slow dynamic phases (Skalle et al. 1999; Dye et al. 1999;
Bern et al. 1996, 2000; Aldea et al. 2001). To prevent or
control these effects, a further understanding of the
rheological behavior of drilling muds at low shear rates is
required. In particular, it was recently shown that the flow
curve of a typical drilling mud exhibits an abrupt change in
the slope below a critical shear rate (Herzhaft et al. 2003),
an effect which might, in practice, significantly affect the
flow characteristics at low velocities.
Here, we focus on a typical drilling mud formulated by
mixing an emulsion in a suspension of solid particles of
different sizes. We can expect that, depending on the
relative fractions of these different components, this
mixture may exhibit a behavior either close to that of a
concentrated emulsion or close to that of a suspension with
a significant colloidal fraction. The rheology of concen-
trated emulsions was studied by Mason et al. (1996) [see
also the review of Mason (1999)]. It was observed that,
262

beyond a critical concentration, these materials exhibit an create between water droplets. In this context, it is likely
apparent yield stress that is a function of the dispersed that the mud behavior is governed by the behavior of the
phase concentration and of the size of droplets, but no network formed by the large concentration of droplets in
significant thixotropic effects were reported. The “local” the interstitial oil–clay suspension.
rheology of concentrated emulsions was recently studied The mud was prepared by successively adding the
by Bécu et al. (2004), who measured the velocity profiles in components in a Silverson L4RT mixer at 6,000 rpm. Then,
Couette flows. They found complex transient behavior the mud was put into a roller oven under relatively high
around the yield stress with, in particular, wall slip and pressure (10 bars) and temperature (80°C) conditions for
shear-banding evolving in time. Wall slip in emulsions was 16 h to accelerate its aging under conditions similar to
also observed in velocity profiles determined by NMR those prevailing in well exploitation. After this preparation
(Hollingsworth and Johns 2004). The effects of surfactant the material appeared very stable, i.e., its behavior and
and droplet deformation under shear have also been studied structure did not evolve significantly over several weeks
to understand the origin of the behavior of simple emulsion and no significant sedimentation occurred over several
systems [see, for example, the review of Barnes (1994)]. In days. The droplet size as it appeared from microscopy
parallel, the rheological behavior of clay–water suspen- (Leica phase contrast microscope) was almost uniform,
sions has been widely studied [see, for example, the review with an approximate average diameter of 1 μm. The clay
of Coussot (1997)]. Here, the situation is slightly different particles are plate-like and have a large aspect ratio (of the
because the solid particles are suspended in oil and it is not order of 100) and a typical length of 0.1 μm.
clear to what extent colloidal interactions can take place as
in water, while it is likely that the clay particles somewhat
stabilize the water–oil interfaces [see the reviews of Binks Methods
(2002) and Aveyrard et al. (2003) concerning the role of
colloidal particles in stabilizing emulsion]. In practice it is For conventional rheometry, we used a Haake RS 150
empirically known that, in mixtures of clay particles in an stress-controlled rheometer equipped with a rough Couette
inverted emulsion, the thixotropic effects are controlled by cell (inner radius of r1=19 mm; outer radius of
the clay fraction, but the detailed rheological behavior of r2=21.5 mm; height of h=55 mm; roughness of
such mixtures has not been described further in literature. 200 μm). The sample was first mixed in the Silverson
Here, we present a rheological study of a drilling mud apparatus (at 6,000 rpm for 15 min) then set up in the
with conventional rheometry and magnetic resonance rheometer, presheared at 1,000 s−1 for 1 min, and left at
imaging (MRI) velocimetry. Materials and procedures are rest for 10 s. Afterwards, we imposed a logarithmic
presented in “Materials and methods.” The experimental increasing–decreasing stress ramp with 45 stress steps
results are presented and analyzed in mechanical terms in
“Experimental results.” We, in particular, show that no Table 1 Formulation: components, order for mixing, and proportions
stable flows can be obtained below a critical shear rate and
that a strong shear localization associated with some Products Time of Order for Quantities
characteristics of the fluid structure explains the abrupt shear (min) mixing (% of the total mass)
slope change in flow curve. In “Physical interpretation,”
HDF 2000 5 1 40.2
we suggest some interpretations of these data in terms of
(dearomatized oil)a
structure evolutions in time, in particular with the help of a
Versatrol 5 2 0.53
phenomenological thixotropy model.
(filtrate reducer)b
Versamul 5 3 1.64
Materials and methods (emulsifier)b
Versawet 5 4 0.26
Material (wetting agent)b
Lime 5 5 1.79
We used a typical industrial drilling mud specifically VG 69TM 5 6 1.35
designed for ultradeep offshore conditions and inclined or (organophilic clay)b
horizontal wells. This material is basically a concentrated Versa HRPTM 5 7 0.37
water-in-oil emulsion with various additives such as (viscosifyer)b
organophilic polymers, organophilic clays, solids, etc. Brine 10 8 28.81
(see Table 1). Among these additives, the surfactants and CaCO3 20 9 23.25
colloidal particles (Yan et al. 2001) stabilize the emulsion, (weighting agent)
while coarse solid particles increase the mud density. The different products were obtained from MI/SWACO
Besides, the role of clays on the rheological behavior of the a
Total solvent
b
mud might be critical through the physical links it could MI formulation
 263

(with a total duration of 85 min). Another experiment
consisted (carried out on a fresh sample) of imposing
various fixed stress levels for 1 h, with similar preshear
and a rest between each stress level. In both cases we
followed the apparent shear rate (see below) in time. The
temperature of the sample was maintained at 25°C during
all tests.
For MRI-velocimetry we used the setup and procedure
described in detail by Raynaud et al. (2002). Here, we
only recall the main aspects. We used a vertical coaxial
cylinder geometry (inner cylinder radius of r10 =40 mm;
outer cylinder radius of r20 =60 mm; height of h=11 cm).
The rotation velocity of the inner cylinder was controlled.
The surfaces of the outer and inner cylinder in contact
with the fluid were covered with sandpaper with an
equivalent roughness of 200 μm. Magnetic resonance
imaging was performed with a Bruker setup equipped
with a vertical 0.5-T magnet (Magnex Scientific) fitted
with shielded gradients, leaving a free bore of 25.5 cm and
delivering a gradient of 50 mT/m with a rise time of
500 μs. The signal was collected within a linear birdcage
coil of 24 cm length and 20 cm diameter. We used a
sequence derived from that of Hanlon et al. (1998): a 1D
acquisition was carried out with a single spin-echo
sequence where 180° RF selectivity was moved from
the slice selection axis to another axis to select a
rectangular volume of interest and enhance signal to
noise by accumulation. The volume imaged was a
(virtual) rectangular portion of 30 mm in the axial
direction with a width (in the tangential direction) of
10 mm and a length of 70 mm (in the radial direction,
starting from the central axis). The spatial resolution of
our measurements, which mainly results from the sample
volume and the characteristics of the magnetic field
gradients, was 0.5 mm. The room temperature was kept
between 20 and 24°C. The samples were first mixed as
described above then inserted in the geometry, left at rest
for 30 s, and a fixed rotation velocity was imposed on the
inner cylinder. Other tests consisted of following this
procedure but with different times of rest before shearing.
Each velocity profile presented here corresponds to the
local velocity averaged over 8 s, and the MRI procedure
required waiting 2 s between two successive profiles.
Depending on tests, the uncertainty on velocity measure-
ments ranged from 10−4 to 3.10−4 m/s.
We can expect that the small droplet size and the large
volume fraction of droplets (the volume concentration of
droplets in the brine, i.e., without taking into additives, is
42%) interacting via clay particles preclude strong migra-
tion or segregation effects. Actually, no sedimentation or
segregation effects were observed in the sample at the end
of conventional and MRI velocimetry. Moreover, conven-
tional MRI density imaging on our samples before and after
a test did not show any significant density heterogeneity in
the sample. As a consequence, it is likely that the
concentration of droplets remained homogeneous during
all our tests.
In Couette flows, the shear stress decrease from the inner
to the outer tool induces a strain heterogeneity in the gap so
that we must distinguish the apparent (or macroscopic)
variables from the effective (or local) variables. Under
usual assumptions (homogeneous material, negligible
effects of inertia and edge) it may be shown (Coleman et
al. 1966) that in the Couette gap the effective shear stress at
the distance r writes:
τ eff ðrÞ ¼
M
(1)
2πhr2
where M is the torque applied on the inner tool, and the
:
amplitude of the effective shear rate, γ eff ; which quantifies
the relative velocity of cylindrical material layers, writes:
: dω d ðν θ =rÞ
γ eff ðrÞ ¼
r ¼
r (2)
dr dr
in which ω is the local rotation velocity of the material and
ν θ ¼ ωr its tangential velocity. Because conventional
rheometry only provides the torque vs the rotation velocity
of the inner cylinder (Ω) (the outer cylinder is fixed), the
data are generally considered in terms of the apparent
shear stress:
M
τ¼ (3)
2πhr12
vs the apparent shear rate:
: Ωr1
γ¼ (4)
ðr2
r1 Þ
In this context, the apparent shear stress vs apparent shear
rate curve will be referred to as the apparent flow curve.
Experimental results
Conventional rheometry
The flow curve obtained from the increasing stress ramp
(see Fig. 1) exhibits an initial part at low shear rates, which
usually corresponds to the viscoelastic, solid regime of the
material (Coussot 2005). However, here, instead of a
smooth transition toward the liquid regime associated with
a stress plateau around a critical stress, there is a slope
change at some shear stress. Moreover, there is a large
hysteresis in the increasing–decreasing curves, indicating a
significant thixotropic behavior. The decreasing flow
curve, which supposedly corresponds to steady flows,
264

has the typical aspect observed for yield stress fluids: in
logarithmic scale, from high to low shear rates, its slope
progressively decreases to zero (shear stress plateau
generally associated with yield stress). However, here,
before reaching the region of low shear rates, for a critical
stress the plateau breaks down and the stress, again,
strongly decreases. The final aspect of the decreasing flow
curve is in fact close to the typical aspect of flow curves
with significant wall slip (Bertola et al. 2003), whereas here
we used rough surfaces that, in principle, preclude such
effects. Moreover, direct,

: visual observations of the
apparent viscosity (τ γ Þ of the emulsion indicate that
slow steady flows under small shear stresses cannot be
expected. For example, after some time at rest, the material
has a pasty aspect; i.e., it is clearly unable to flow unless a
sufficiently large stress is applied to it.
To clarify that point, we carried out systematic creep
tests under different shear stress levels and observed the
apparent flow characteristics over long time. The results are
presented in terms of the apparent viscosity vs time (see
Fig. 2). During a relatively long initial period (say, about
200 s) the apparent viscosity is approximately constant and
slightly increases as the stress level decreases. Afterwards,
the viscosity starts to increase in various extents and two
regimes can be distinguished: beyond a critical stress (say,
τc=2.82 Pa) the viscosity reaches different, finite values
increasing as the stress decreases; below this critical stress
the viscosity is several decades larger and reaches a value,
independent of the stress but still increasing after 1 h of
flow (in fact, in that case the deformation is so small over
such a period that the sample can be considered in a solid
regime). There appears to be a wide gap between the largest
viscosity reached in the first regime and the viscosity in the
second regime: the viscosity abruptly jumps from a finite
value (say about μc=5 Pa.s) to more than 105 Pa.s at the
critical stress. Correspondingly, the material
cannot flow
steadily at an apparent shear rate below τ c μc =0.57 s−1 in
steady state. This phenomenon a priori corresponds to the
viscosity bifurcation (or divergence) effect observed for
various pasty materials (Coussot et al. 2002a,b), but the
specificity of the present results is that (1) the material
never fully stops flowing and reaches a unique viscosity
value below the critical stress and (2) the bifurcation starts
after a significant period of flow in a quasi-Newtonian
regime. Also remark that here the bifurcation effect is
extremely clear for the stress values closest to the critical
stress because in that case, the material first starts to follow
the route toward the second regime then abruptly bifurcates
toward the first regime after about 1,200 s of flow (see
Fig. 2).
A typical characteristic of Couette flows of yield stress
fluids is that below a critical apparent stress (along the
inner cylinder) there is an unsheared region (when the shear
stress along the outer cylinder is smaller than the yield
stress). In the absence of wall slip and for a homogeneous
material, as soon as there is an unsheared region we can
deduce the velocity profile in time from the rotation
velocity of the inner cylinder under such creep tests at
different stress levels (Baudez et al. 2004). Here, it is
sufficient to remark that steady flows below τ0=2.8 Pa are
negligible while the material significantly flows for a stress
of τ1=2.85 Pa. As a consequence, from ffi (1) we deduce that
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
for τ1, beyond the distance r1 τ 1 =τ 0 ; the effective shear
stress is smaller than τ0 and the flow isp negligible.
ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi The

sheared thickness is thus less than e ¼ r1 τ 1 =τ 0
1 ¼
0:0089r1 : If we now compute the apparent shear rate
obtained for τ1 using the effectively sheared thickness e
instead of the rheometer gap r2−r1 in (4), we find a new

Stress level (Pa):

5
10 1.5
1 1.9
10 2.1
4
10 2.3
2.4
Shear stress (Pa)

Apparent viscosity (Pa.s)

Critical stress 2.6

3
10 2.7
2.8
2.85
0 2
10 10 2.9
2.95
3
1
10 3.5
4
Increasing stress 0
5
Decreasing stress 10 6
-1
10
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 -1
10
Shear rate (1/s)
2 3
Fig. 1 Conventional rheometry: apparent flow curve obtained from 10 Time (s) 10
an increasing–decreasing stress ramp (see procedure in text). The
critical stress level (dashed line) shows up as an abrupt change in the Fig. 2 Conventional rheometry: apparent viscosity in time for
shape of the decreasing stress curve different stress levels starting from the same material preparation
 265

value of 8.4 s−1. Actually, there may still be some
significant shear rate variations over the sheared thickness,
but because this value results from a computation over a
thinner region, the shear rate heterogeneity plays a smaller
role and the effective shear rate at different distances within
the sheared region should be closer to this value.
Using the series of apparent shear rates obtained for the
different apparent stress values at given times, we can also
build a “transient” apparent flow curve and observe its
evolution in time (see Fig. 3). Neglecting the intermediate
region of constant shear rate (see below), this flow curve
may be well represented by a simple power-law model
:n
(τ ¼ kγ , in which k and n are two material parameters)
with an exponent n decreasing from 0.65 at 12.4 s to
approximately 0.4 at 240 s. More precisely, after 100 s of
flow the shape of the flow curve becomes more complex
and three regions can be distinguished. For stresses smaller
than about 2.35 Pa, the apparent viscosity continuously
increases and tends toward infinity, but surprisingly, the
shear rate is uniform in this stress range. For stresses larger
than about 2.85 Pa, the material behavior tends to that of a
simple yield stress fluid, but with the specificity that no
stable flows can be obtained below a critical shear rate. For
intermediate stresses (between 2.35 and 2.85 Pa) the flow
curve is vertical during a first period, i.e., the apparent
shear rate is constant over this range of stresses, and then
the shear rate rapidly decreases and reaches the level of the
first region. The constant shear rate region is the hallmark
of some flow instability because a material cannot flow
homogeneously at different rates for different stresses. It is
likely that this phenomenon results from strain localization
(the most common explanation for flow curves with
peculiar aspects), but at this stage we hardly have a fully
satisfactory explanation. Indeed, this differs from a simple
wall slip, which generally leads to a significant increase of
the shear rate with shear stress (Bertola et al. 2003), and
from a usual localization of shear occurring in yield stress
fluids in Couette flow, which in fact leads to an apparent
simple yielding behavior (Coussot 2005).
MRI velocimetry
The typical aspect of successive (tangential) velocity
profiles in time is presented in Fig. 4. During a first period
(at least several dozen of seconds) the fluid is fully sheared
in the gap and the velocity profile remains almost the same
over a duration which increases with Ω. The rheological
behavior of the fluid in this period of constant velocity
profile and fully sheared gap is that of a simple power-law
fluid: The corresponding

2=n velocity
 profiles in Couette flow
0
[i.e., ν θ ðrÞαr r
r
2=n2 ; in which r is the distance
from the axis (see, for example, Coussot 2005)] can be well
fitted to data (see Fig. 5) with n decreasing from 0.7 to 0.25
when Ω decreases from 100 to 6 rpm. These values seem to
be inconsistent with those obtained from conventional
rheometry (see above). In fact, the range of shear rates
observed from such MRI velocity profiles for a given
: :
rotation velocity is very narrow (typically from γ 0 to 4γ 0 ),
:
with γ 0 increasing from 0.6 to 10 s−1 when Ω increases
from 6 to 100 rpm. Finally, in the range of shear rates
covered by conventional rheometrical tests (say, from 6 to
40 s−1) (see Fig. 3), the power-law exponents obtained
from both techniques (0.65 and 0.7) are consistent with the
initial apparent flow curves.
In a second period the velocity profile significantly
evolves and progressively reaches its steady state shape (no
further evolution of the profile within the duration of our
test). We can remark that the characteristic time for

Fig. 3 Conventional rheometry: 7

apparent flow curves at different Time (s):
6
times as deduced from creep 12.4 60.3
tests of Fig. 2. The dotted line 5 132 193
illustrates the constant slope of 241 301
the initial flow curve. The full 4 349 494
stars correspond to the apparent 1000 3600
steady-state flow curve of the
Shear stress (Pa)

thixotropy model with the rheo- 3

logical parameters defined in the
text and μ0=1.25 Pa.s
2

-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
-1
Shear rates (s )
266

Fig. 4 MRI velocimetry:

velocity profile in time for
v (m/s)
Ω=8 rpm (see procedure in text). v (m/s)
The insert shows the aspect of Time of flow (s):
0.010
some velocity profiles at a 5
smaller scale 0.03
20
40
50
0.005
60
70
0.02 80
100
0.000 120
4.5 5.0 5.5
r (cm) 6.0 150
250
0.01 490

0.00

4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0

r (cm)

reaching this steady flow is much smaller than in our in region B than in region A, while the shear stress slowly
conventional rheometrical tests, but we have no explana- varies in the gap as the opposite of the square distance,
tion for that. Another peculiar effect occurs in the transient indicates that the viscosity in region B is much larger than
regime; two parts may be distinguished in the velocity in region A. Moreover, the fact that the plateau level tends
profiles (see Figs. 4 and 6): close to the inner cylinder toward zero indicates that the viscosity in region B
(region A) the velocity profile keeps a shape corresponding continuously increases and apparently tends toward
to that of a power-law fluid but with an outer radius infinity. There is thus a viscosity bifurcation effect
decreasing in time; close to the outer cylinder (region B) analogous to that observed in our creep tests in conven-
the velocity profile is almost horizontal, forming what will tional rheometry.
be referred to as a plateau in the following, with an average Consequently, the steady state velocity profiles exhibit
level progressively tending toward zero. The smaller slope an unsheared region (within the resolution of our
experimental setup) close to the outer cylinder, the size
10
0
of which increases as Ω decreases (Figs. 7 and 8). This
v behavior corresponds to that expected for a simple yield
stress fluid. However, it is worth noting that, at the
Vmax approach of the unsheared region, the slope of the velocity
-1
profile in the sheared region is finite and almost constant
10
over several millimeters (see insert of Fig. 7). This means
that the shear rate apparently drops from a finite value to
zero at the interface between the two regions, whereas the
Experiments: Model: shear stress continuously decreases with r, a behavior that
-2 100rpm n=0.7 was already observed with other pasty materials (Coussot
10
60rpm n=0.7 et al. 2002b). Moreover, the corresponding critical slope at
20rpm n=0.45 this interface is approximately the same for different values
8rpm n=0.3 of Ω (see Fig. 8), which tends to prove that it is an intrinsic
6rpm n=0.25 rheological parameter of the material. This result shows
that the critical apparent shear rate observed in creep flows
0.7 0.8 0.9
r r2 1.0
in conventional rheometry finds its: origin in the existence
of an effective critical shear rate ðγ c Þ: Due to the limited
Fig. 5 MRI velocimetry: first velocity profile (after 5 s of flow) for resolution of our MRI data, the value of this critical shear
different values of [tangential velocity scaled by the maximum
velocity (Vmax) (along the inner cylinder) as a function of W the rate actually significantly depends on the procedure used to
distance scaled by the outer radius]. The lines correspond to a determine it (for example, the distance over which one
power-law model (with different n values) fitted to these data
 267

Fig. 6 Velocity profiles of v (m/s)

Fig. 4 in logarithmic scale Time of flow (s):
5
10
20
30
-2 40
10
50
60
70
80
90
100
130
250
-3
10 350

4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5

r (cm)

decides to draw a straight line). Here, we chose to compute
this value as the average slope of the velocity profile over
the last 2 mm before reaching the solid–liquid interface.
The obtained values fluctuate in the range 6–10.4 s−1 (see
Fig. 8). These variations might be due to the uncertainty on
our global procedure (preparation, measures, etc.), which is
hard to estimate. The average value of 8.2 s−1 is
nevertheless close to the critical apparent shear rate
associated with viscosity bifurcation for creep flows
(8.4 s−1).
Let us further analyze the steady velocity profiles.
Before any assumption is made concerning the constitutive
equation of the fluid, we can use a procedure that makes it
possible to study the consistency of the set of data obtained
under different rotation velocities (Coussot 2005). In our
experiments, to each level of rotation velocity, Ω,
corresponds a critical radius associated with the location
of the liquid–solid interface. At this distance the slope of
the velocity profile is equal

to the
shear rate because [from
:
(2)] we have γ eff ¼ @ν θ @r
ν θ r , which we can input
2
ν θ ðrc Þ ¼ 0: The corresponding shear stress along this
interface is a priori τc, so that we have M ¼ 2πHrc2 τ c .
Using this expression, the effective stress at
any distance r
may be rewritten τ eff ðrÞ ¼ τ c ðrc =rÞ2 ¼ τ c R2 ¼ τ eff ð RÞ;
in which R=r/rc is the dimensionless distance from the axis.

Fig. 7 MRI velocimetry: ap- Rotation velocity (rpm):

parent steady state velocity pro- 0.03 60
files for different values of Ω. 40
The insert shows the aspect of 20
some of these profiles at a 10
0.2 0.02
smaller scale 20
8
Velocity (m/s)

6
10
4
0.01
Velocity (m/s)

3
6 2
1
0.00 2

0.1
4.0 4.5
Distance from axis (cm)

0.0
4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0
Distance from axis (cm)
268

v
10 rc &c
10
0 Rotation
velocity (rpm):
1
2
-1
10 3
4
6
8
-2
10 10
20
40
60
-3
1 10
0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95
r rc 1.00
0 1
10 10 Fig. 9 MRI velocimetry: steady state velocity profiles represented
Rotation velocity (rpm) in terms of the velocity scaled by the critical distance (rc)
corresponding to the liquid–solid interface as a function of the
Fig. 8 Critical shear rate (empty squares) (in s−1) at the solid–liquid distance scaled by rc. The continuous line corresponds to the
interface as a function of the rotation velocity of the inner cylinder thixotropy model fitted to data and the gray dashed line to a power-
for steady state flows of Fig. 7. Ten times the thickness of the law model fitted to data (see parameters in text)
sheared region (in cm) is also represented (full squares). The
continuous line corresponds to the predictions of the model for this
thickness vortices and an average velocity profile differing from
that associated with a stable laminar flow under the same Ω
value.
In such a representation, because the critical stress at the Finally, our results for Ω<40 rpm (for which Ta<Tac)
interface is fixed, the stress distribution does not change show both the consistency of our assumption of a critical
with the imposed velocity, only the range covered by the radius associated with a critical shear rate and a critical
stress increases (toward larger values) as rc increases with shear stress and the existence of a single rheological
the rotation velocity. Moreover, in this representation,
h: i the behavior for the fluid in the flowing region. To represent
distribution of the shear rate magnitude γ eff ð RÞ asso- both the yielding behavior and the absence of steady flows
below a critical shear rate, the simplest constitutive
ciated with this stress distribution via a unique constitutive equation is a truncated power-law, which writes:
equation of the sheared fluid should also be similar for
different velocity levels. Because this shear rate distribution :
τ eff < τ c ) γ eff ¼ 0 and
is also related
 to the
velocity
 profile V ð RÞ ¼ ν θ =rc via  :
: n (5)
:
γ eff ð RÞ ¼ R@ðV =RÞ @R , we deduce that the different τ eff > τ c ) τ eff ¼ τ c γ γ c
velocity profiles obtained with a single material and
expressed in the form V(R) should be similar. This is After integration of the momentum (1) using the shear
effectively what appears (see Fig. 9) from our experimental rate definition (2) we find an expression for the tangential
data after this rescaling using rc values estimated from the velocity, which can be expressed in the following dimen-
location of the slope break in Fig. 7 (see Fig. 8): all the velocity sionless form:
profiles fall along a master curve, except the velocity
:  
profiles for Ω larger than 40 rpm. V ð RÞ ¼ nγ c R
2=n
1 R=2 (6)
In the context of wide-gap Couette flows, it is useful to
estimate the local
2value of the Taylor–Couette number, i.e., This equation can be fitted to the master curve for the
2 0 2 3 :
Ta ¼ ρ r Ω d η , in which η is the local viscosity velocity profile (see Fig. 9) with n=0.21 and γ c =4.6 s−1.
computed from the value of the local shear rate and the This value for n does not appear to be fully consistent with
corresponding
 0
shear
 stress in conventional rheometry, and the average apparent slope of the flow curve in logarithmic
r ¼ r1 þ r2 2 and d ¼ r20
r10 . For Ω>40 rpm, the
0 0
scale in this range of shear rates as obtained from
values of Ta obtained close to the inner cylinder are just conventional rheometry [last apparent flow curve
larger than the critical Taylor–Couette number (i.e., (t=3,600 s) in Fig. 3]. In fact, the range of validity of this
Tac=1,712). This means that the Taylor–Couette flow power-law behavior is still limited, the range of shear rates
instability might occur, leading to more-or-less large covered by this model in such tests being, indeed, 4.6–
 269

24.7 s−1. Remark that a Herschel–Bulkley model does not evolves in time, and a time-dependent model is required to
predict the existence of a critical shear rate but can encompass the various characteristics of the fluid in time.
nevertheless be fitted approximately to such velocity In this context, we can test a simple thixotropy model
profiles. However, doing so, one obtains an exponent (Coussot et al. 2002c), which was already shown to be able
much larger than 1 (Jarny and Coussot 2002), which to predict viscosity bifurcation and yielding effect. This
appears to be inconsistent with data from conventional model describes the material

: behavior in terms of its actual
rheometry at sufficiently large shear rates suggesting an apparent viscosity (τ eff γ eff Þ; which is a function of its
exponent smaller than 1. actual state of structure described by a single “structure
We also carried out tests with different times of rest parameter,” λ. This model expresses as:
before imposing a finite value of Ω (see example in
:
Fig. 10). The velocity profiles in time exhibit the qualita- τ eff ¼ μ0 ð1 þ λm Þγ eff (7)
tive aspects described above, but the characteristic time at
which the transition from the initial fully sheared regime to
the steady state flow decreases with the time of rest. dλ 1 :
Moreover, the critical distance associated with steady state ¼
αλγ eff (8)
decreases as the time of rest increases. dt θ

in which μ0 is the viscosity associated with a complete

Physical interpretation destructuration of the fluid (λ→0) (typically just at the end
of a strong preshear), θ is a characteristic time of
Let us summarize the rheological properties of this fluid as structuring, and m and α are two additional material
we could deduce them from a global view of our parameters. The shape of the dimensionless velocity profile
experiments. After a preshear or a strong agitation, the in Couette flow can be predicted solely from the value of :
material behaves as a simple power-law fluid over a range parameter m, and its vertical position only depends on γ c
of shear rates including zero, as if it was destructured. (Roussel et al. 2004). This model appears capable of
Then, if the applied stress is lower than a critical value, the predicting the steady state properties of our material in
material starts to restructure after a time increasing with the terms of velocity profiles within the MRI Couette geometry
stress level and its apparent viscosity increases and (see Fig. 9). From this.fit, we deduce the values of m=1.043
:
progressively tends toward infinity. If the applied stress is and γ c ¼ ðm
1Þ1=m αθ =1 s−1. Note that this value for
larger than this critical value, it reaches a steady
the critical shear rate significantly differs from that found
destructuration state and goes on flowing. The steady
from a direct analysis of MRI data, but the discrepancy
state behavior is eventually well represented by a truncated
between the experimental and theoretical velocity profiles
power-law, i.e., power-law model with a yield stress. This
essentially appears close to the solid–liquid interface.
means that the behavior of the material significantly
The equation for the flow curve  of the
 material
.  can  be
: :
n :
v (m/s) deduced from (1) and (2): τ eff ¼ μ0 1 þ γ eff γ c γ eff :
-1
10 This flow curve cannot be directly compared with our data
Time of flow (s):
Experiments Model
from conventional rheometry, which correspond to appar-
10s 20s ent shear stress vs apparent shear rate. Indeed, even within
20s 250s such a small-gap Couette geometry, the effect of the shear
10
-2 30s 500s stress heterogeneity cannot be neglected, especially for
40s stresses close to the yield stress. Using this equation in the
150s expression for the rotation velocity as it follows by
R r2 : . 
integration of (2) [Ω ¼
r1 γ eff r dr ], we find from
-3 (4) the value of the: apparent shear rate, itself associated to a
10
specific value of γ eff associated to a value of τeff via the
flow curve [and thus to the apparent stress via (3)]. Using
:
the above values for γ c and m, we obtain the apparent flow
curve in Couette flow of the material. The vertical position
10
-4
of this curve depends on the value of μ0 which, in our
4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 context, may be chosen arbitrarily because we have no
r (cm) torque measurements in our MRI tests. We find that, in our
Fig. 10 MRI velocimetry: velocity profiles in time for Ω=20 rpm range of observation of apparent shear rates, the agreement
and a rest time of 600 s before the test. Continuous or dashed lines of the apparent flow curve with the experimental data
correspond to the thixotropy model fitted to data (see text)
270

-1
v (m/s) is a process associated with complex rearrangements
10
taking place after long times.
Beyond a critical stress, the material then undergoes
some restructuration, as proved by the increase of its
-2
10 apparent viscosity, but it goes on flowing. Below the
Time fo flow (s): critical stress the material also restructures, but this leads to
Experiments an almost complete stoppage of the material. A peculiar
80 120
10
-3
180 220 effect may be observed from the velocity profiles in linear
230 250 scale (see Fig. 4). The slope of the velocity profile appears
300 500
Model to first decrease to a value in region B that is significantly
10
-4 80 smaller than close to the outer cylinder. This means that the
120
230 local shear rate (indirectly related to the slope of the
300 velocity profile) in such transient flows does not vary
500
10
-5 monotonously, whereas the shear stress continuously
4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 decreases from the inner to the outer cylinder. In practice,
r (cm) this means that a transient shear localization can develop
Fig. 11 MRI velocimetry: velocity profiles in time for Ω=20 rpm along the outer wall even if it is rough and if the rest of the
and a rest time of 30 s. Continuous or dashed lines correspond to the material flows. Such effects might be at the origin of the
thixotropy model fitted to data (see text) peculiar shape of the transient flow curves in the interme-
diate regime (see Fig. 3) because there is clearly a behavior
change in the two first stress regions: Below 2.4 Pa the
material fully restructures and there is no possibility for a
obtained from conventional rheometry in steady state (see shear localization along the walls; on the contrary, between
Fig. 3) is good, especially when one takes into account the 2.4 and 2.82 Pa there is a transient localization along the
fact that the model parameters were previously found from wall while the material restructures in its bulk and,
a fit onto the velocity profiles corresponding to a much eventually, along the walls. However, more information
more limited range of shear rates. At last, the critical radius concerning the physical properties of the sheared band
predicted by the model can be computed from similar along the outer wall would be necessary to effectively
simulations of the velocity profiles. These predictions are prove that this effect can lead to a constant shear rate for
also in good agreement with our data (see Fig. 8). different shear stresses.
Then, we can compare the predictions of the model with
our data for transient flows. An example is shown in
Fig. 11, in which we have fitted at best the values of θ and α Conclusion
(θ=0.4 s and α=0.13). We see that the exact experimental
timing is not predicted by the model, but it is remarkable This study shows that, from systematic creep tests and MRI
that the model effectively reproduces the development of a velocimetry, it is possible to explain the peculiar trends
pseudoplateau close to the outer cylinder. The model is observed from a conventional stress increasing–decreasing
nevertheless unable to predict the decrease of the sheared ramp with drilling muds. Indeed, it appears that such fluids
thickness in steady state when the time of rest is significant undergo a viscosity bifurcation effect: Below a critical
(see Fig. 10). We can conclude that, from a global point of stress the fluids progressively stop flowing, whereas above
view, this model well describes the main rheological trends this stress they go on flowing at a shear rate larger than a
of our system, but due to its simplicity it is unable to finite value, as proved by creep tests and slope break at the
describe its detailed characteristics. solid–liquid interface observed within the material. This
Let us now examine some further flow characteristics of main trend of the thixotropic behavior of such a material
this material and discuss their physical origin. First, we can be well represented by a simple thixotropic model.
can remark that the initial (power-law of the material) However, we also showed that the material is able to
behavior over a wide range of stresses after preshear develop a transient shear localization along the outer
indicates that the preshear sets it in a relatively (rough) cylinder, which might explain one peculiar aspect
destructured state in which it has temporarily lost its of the apparent flow curve in time [the vertical (constant
yielding character. The relatively long duration of the shear rate) parts]. Although it seems reasonable to assume
initial power-law period indicates that the restructuration that this effect is due to the formation of a solid network of
droplets linked by clay particles, further studies with the
 271

help of model materials are required to definitively clarify
these observations.
Concerning barite sag, this study already provides
important information, in particular concerning the timing
for viscosity bifurcation which could govern the occur-
rence of sedimentation. More precisely, sedimentation
could be avoided if the initial power-law behavior stage
was sufficiently reduced, which means that further study is
required to understand the physical parameters governing
the duration of this initial stage.
Acknowledgements A. Ragouilliaux, F. Bertrand, and P. Coussot
work in Laboratoire des Matériaux et des Structures du Génie Civil,
which is a lab depending on Laboratoire Central des Ponts et
Chaussées, Ecole des Ponts, and Centre National de la Recherche
Scientifique, and is a division of Institut Navier. The authors want to
thank G. Ovarlez, N. Bonn, and T. Palermo for fruitful discussions.

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