Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 9899 (2012) 174184

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Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering

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Mathematical modeling of thixotropic drilling mud and crude oil ow

in wells and pipelinesA review
S. Livescu n
Baker Hughes, 6620 36 St. SE, Calgary, AB, T2C 2G4, Canada

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 7 September 2011
Accepted 30 April 2012
Available online 14 May 2012

Many drilling muds and crude oils are known to be thixotropic. Under a wide range of pressures,
temperatures and ow regimes, they display unusual complex ow properties when owing through
wells (crude oils and drilling muds) and during storage and pipeline transportation (crude oils).
Understanding and modeling the deviation from Newtonian behavior of drilling muds and crude oils
are essential in accurately and optimally designing the ow systems associated with these uids.
Despite an impressive amount of experimental and rheological modeling studies concerning the nonNewtonian drilling mud and crude oil behavior, mathematical modeling studies taking into account their
thixotropic properties are rare. In addition, there was no literature review of the knowledge gained to date.
Thus, a review paper on studies addressing the mathematical modeling of thixotropic drilling mud and
crude oil ow in wells and pipelines will pinpoint the challenges and limitations encountered in such
studies. This will hopefully trigger further development and new research topics.
This review paper focuses mainly on mathematical modeling studies concerning the well and pipeline
ow of thixotropic drilling muds and crude oils. After describing how thixotropy is understood today inside
and outside of the petroleum industry community, several mathematical models available in the literature
are examined. Finally, challenges, limitations, and potential areas for the development of these models are
presented.
& 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
thixotropy
non-newtonian
wellbore ow
pipe ow
annular ow
crude oil
drilling mud

Contents
1.
2.

3.

4.
5.

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Rheological models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
2.1.
Time-independent models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
2.2.
Time-dependent models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
2.3.
Time-dependent models with yield stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Mathematical modeling of thixotropic drilling mud and crude oil ows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
3.1.
Drilling muds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
3.2.
Crude oils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Current limitations of mathematical modeling studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Acknowledgment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

1. Introduction
In petroleum industry, the wellbore ow of drilling muds and
the well production and pipeline transportation of crude oils are

Tel.: 1 403 531 5496; fax: 1 403 531 6751.

E-mail address: silviu.livescu@gmail.com

0920-4105/$ - see front matter & 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2012.04.026

of high importance. The rheological behavior of these uids under

a wide range of conditions (pressure, temperature, etc.) critically
affects their performance.
Drilling muds (oil-based muds, water-based muds, etc.) exhibit complex rheological behavior (Houwen and Geehan, 1986;
Alderman et al., 1988; Hemphill et al., 1993; Merlo et al., 1995;
Maglione et al., 1996, 2000; Bailey and Peden, 2000; Herzhaft
et al., 2003, 2006; Kelessidis et al., 2006; Maxey, 2007; Hamed

S. Livescu / Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 9899 (2012) 174184

and Belhadri, 2009; Majidi et al., 2008, 2010). The main functions
of the drilling muds are to provide hydrostatic pressure to prevent
the reservoir uids entering into the well bore, to carry out the
drill cuttings, to keep the drill bit cool and clean during drilling,
and to suspend the cuttings while drilling is stopped. Drilling
muds are typically characterized as thixotropic shear-thinning
uids with yield stress: their viscosity decreases with increasing
the shear rate in order to avoid high pressure drops when the
muds ow upward the annular; sedimentation of solid cuttings
and barite when mud ow is stopped is avoided due to the yield
stress; in addition, thixotropic behavior of drilling muds is
obvious as they develop gel strength when not sheared and this
gel strength depends on the time of rest (Herzhaft et al., 2003,
2006).
Complex uids such as drilling muds may be described as
soft-jammed systems: they are composed of a large number of
small elements in colloidal interaction in the liquid phase. These
elements are jammed or spatially oriented in such a way that the
uid exhibits a yield stress that has to be overcome in order for
the structure to start owing. Some authors, including Herzhaft
et al. (2006), considered that a great number of these elements is
not at equilibrium and evolve under the action of thermal
agitation, so that the drilling mud exhibits a time-dependent
viscosity, i.e., the uid is thixotropic. This supports the theory that
thixotropy (gel properties) and yielding (shear properties) are
interconnected and they should be linked together through one
rheological model.
Many excellent experimental studies are available describing
the complex rheology of drilling muds. For instance, Alderman
et al. (1988) studied the high temperature and high pressure
rheology of water-based muds containing suspensions of bentonite clay with added heavier minerals, polymers, and surfactants.
They stated that the micron-sized primary clay platelets, forming
a network of bulk aggregates and dispersed individual particles,
are electrically charged on both their faces and on their edges and
form a cross-linked gel structure. The dynamic behavior of this
structure is dependent on the time and intensity of the applied

shear, exhibiting considerable thixotropy and yield stress. Guuven

et al. (1988) studied the rheology of water-based muds based on
three different types of clays (bentonite, saponite, and sepiolite)
and also found time-, temperature-, and shear-dependent behavior in all cases. Herzhaft et al. (2003) studied the inuence of
temperature and clay microstructure on oil-based mud rheology.
Oil-based muds are composed from water droplets, oil, organophilic clays and various additives such as surfactants, viscosiers,
and solids. In their experiments, Herzhaft et al. (2003) reproduced
the low temperature and low shear rate conditions specic to
offshore operations. They observed solid-like structure at rest
with a high level of elasticity which is affected by temperature
and shear history compared to viscosity. The time of rebuilding
the structure was very long (more than four hours). They
identied the organophilic clays in interaction with the emulsion
droplets to be responsible for the structure dynamics.
Many crude oils with a low content of asphaltane exhibit
conventional rheological behavior (Newtonian, low viscosity,
single-phase), since the waxy structure cannot recover after
yielding without temperature cycling. However, some crude oils
are not so simply described (Govier and Ritter, 1963; Perkins and
Turner, 1971; Govier and Aziz, 1972; Petrellis and Flumerfelt,
1973; Economides and Chaney, 1983; Wardhaugh et al., 1988;
Wardhaugh and Boger, 1987, 1991; Rnningsen, 1992; Chang
et al., 1999, 2000; Davidson et al., 2004; Martnez-Palou et al.,
2011). Above 3040 1C (86104 1F) most crude oils are Newtonian
uids, but at lower temperatures some crude oils display complex
rheological behavior. For instance, Economides and Chaney
(1983) investigated experimentally the Prudhoe Bay crude oil

175

rheology and they observed non-Newtonian behavior with decreasing temperature: thixotropy below 5 1C (41 1F), pseudoplasticity
below 2 1C (36 1F), and waxying at  30 1C ( 22 1F). Also, waxy
crude oils contain parafn crystals which severely can change the
crude oil rheological properties: their viscosity and/or yield stress
can vary over a range of several orders of magnitude with a 20 1C
(68 1F) temperature drop (Wachs et al., 2009).
The time-dependent behavior observed in some crude oils is
identied largely due to the break-down and recovery of the
crystalline structure formed during heating and cooling. Although
the exact nature of the structure is not well dened, it is believed
that it is the result of crystalline formations composed of parafn,
asphaltane, and resin constituents. In general, the breakdown of
structure with shear produces a decrease in apparent viscosity.
The structure recovery or build-up after shearing is generally
slow. A complete structure recovery is obtained only after
reheating of the crude oil (Petrellis and Flumerfelt, 1973).
The reversible variation of viscosity with time is called
thixotropy, whether elastic effects are present or not (Mewis,
1979; Barnes, 1997; Mewis and Wagner, 2009). Note that the
temperature effect is ignored in this denition (Mewis, 1979).
Many other denitions can be found in the literature. For
instance, according to Mewis and Wagner (2009), thixotropy
should be fully dened as the continuous decrease in viscosity
with time when a liquid is owing from rest and the subsequent
increase in viscosity with time when the ow is discontinued.
According to Barnes (1997), thixotropic uids have gel-like
properties which disappear when sheared, but reappear when
put to rest. The rheological properties of such uids depend on
the time needed by their microstructure to evolve from one state
to another. Structural changes in a owing thixotropic liquid are
due to two competing effects: break-down due to ow stresses
and build-up due to the collisions of the particles which form the
microstructure. It is obvious that thixotropy always assumes
processes at microscopic or molecular scales for changing the
uid consistency.
Thixotropy has important consequences on the ow of uids
encountered in many industries. A large number of systems that
have been found to be thixotropic are listed in the excellent
reviews by Barnes (1997), Mewis (1979), and Mewis and Wagner
(2009). Besides drilling muds and crude oils, paints, inks, coatings,
clay and coal suspensions, metal slurries, food and biological
systems, creams and pharmaceutical products, and even human
blood, to name a few, are deemed to be thixotropic. Thixotropic
behavior of drilling muds and crude oils has been studied by
many authors, both experimentally and theoretically. As the focus
of this review paper is on the mathematical modeling of thixotropic drilling mud and crude oil ow, a number of such studies
are presented in tabular form in Tables 1 and 2, respectively. Note
that, as of August 2011, a search in the Society of Petroleum
Table 1
Studies involving mathematical modeling of thixotropic drilling mud ows.
Authors

Details

Houwen and Geehan

(1986)
Alderman et al.
(1988)
Billingham and
Ferguson (1993)
Pereira and Pinho
(2002)
Herzhaft et al. (2006)

Rheological behavior and modeling of oil-based muds

Negra~ o et al. (2010)

High-temperature, high-pressure rheological behavior

and modeling of water-based muds
Modeling and simulation of thixotropic bentonite
muds with yield stress
Rheological behavior and modeling of turbulent ow
of thixotropic drilling muds with yield stress
Transient rheological and structural modeling of
thixotropic oil-based muds with yield stress
Modeling and simulation of thixotropic drilling muds
with yield stress in deepwater environments

176

S. Livescu / Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 9899 (2012) 174184

Table 2
Studies involving mathematical modeling of thixotropic crude oil ows.
Authors

Details

Govier and Fogarasi

(1972)
Economides and
Chaney (1983)
Wardhaugh et al.
(1988)
Wardhaugh and
Boger (1991)
Rnningsen (1992)
Chang et al. (1999)

Rheological behavior and modeling of thixotropic

crude oils
Rheological behavior and modeling of Prudoe Bay oil

Davidson et al.
(2004)
Vinay et al. (2009)
Wachs et al. (2009)

Margarone et al.
(2010)

Rheology of thixotropic waxy crude oils

Flow characteristics of thixotropic waxy crude oils
Rheological behavior of North Sea crude oil
Modeling and simulation of thixotropic waxy crude
oils with yield stress
Modeling and simulation of compressible thixotropic
waxy crude oils with yield stress
Modeling of thixotropic weakly compressible waxy
crude oils with yield stress
1.5-Dimensional modeling and simulation of
thixotropic weakly compressible waxy crude oils with
yield stress
Modeling and simulation of thixotropic gelled waxy
oils restart

Engineers electronic library of scientic articles resulted in 115

papers with the keyword thixotropic. A similar search in the ICI
Web of Knowledge database resulted in 1135 papers.
Besides being thixotropic, most drilling muds and crude oils
are deemed to be yield stress uids (Govier and Aziz, 1972; Bird
et al., 1983; Mller et al., 2006; Barnes, 1999, 2007; Bonn and
Denn, 2009). Yield stress (or viscoplastic) uids behave like
materials with very large viscosity below an yield stress and like
uids above that yield stress. There are many controversies in the
non-Newtonian literature regarding the yield stress concept
(called the yield stress myth by Barnes, 1999) and the rheology
and modeling of yield stress uids. For example, most of the
models available in literature predict the rheological behavior of
the material as not owing at all below the yield stress (solid-like
behavior), but owing above the yield stress (uid-like behavior).
Accordingly, the viscosity of the material changes from an innite
to a nite value. However, it is more realistic to consider the
viscosity as depending on the applied stress and having a
discontinuity as it decreases abruptly from a very high value
when the shear increases above a critical, or yield, stress value
(Sochi, 2010). As Barnes (2007) indicated, the ow behavior is
well described by these models above the yield stress, but the no
ow assumption below the yield stress is not correct. There is
more and more evidence, mostly due to increased experimental
capabilities, that most materials weakly yield or creep at very low
shear rates. This is supported by the observation that any material
will ow provided long enough time. The direct consequence is
that, from the experimental point of view, it is difcult to
measure the yield stress of a material as a unique value. In fact,
the yield stress may vary by more than an order of magnitude
depending on the measurement technique (Sochi, 2010). This has
led to numerous discussions in the literature about the experimental difculties and the yield stress concept and usefulness in
describing the rheological behavior of many non-Newtonian
uids. Nevertheless, the overall yield stress interest in experimental and modeling studies remains high. As of August 2011, a
search in the Society of Petroleum Engineers electronic library of
scientic articles resulted in 510 articles with the keywords yield
stress. A similar search in the ICI Web of Knowledge database
resulted in 43,371 papers.
One possible solution to overcome most of the difculties in
dening, measuring, and modeling the yield stress was proposed

by Mller et al. (2006). The rheological model they used was also
used before by other authors (Coussot et al., 2002; Huynh et al.,
2005; Herzhaft et al., 2006) and after (Liu and Zhu, 2011). By
considering thixotropy and yield stress effects together, Mller
et al. (2006) demonstrated an experimental protocol that allows
reproducible data to be obtained for the critical stress necessary
for the uid ow. They also showed that the interplay between
the yield stress and thixotropy allows to account for the ubiquitous shear localization observed in thixotropic uids with yield
stress. However, due to thixotropy, the yield stress is no longer a
material property, since it depends on the (shear) history of the
uid. Given all these facts, it is impressive that mathematical
modeling and numerical simulation studies concerning thixotropic yield stress uid ows are rare.

2. Rheological models
The rheological behavior of uids is classied in accordance
with the relationship between an applied shear stress t and the
resultant shear rate g_ found under the conditions of laminar ow.
This relationship is normally obtained by curve tting based on
experimental viscometric data. Signicant work has been carried
out in the petroleum industry in order to determine the precise
description for this relationship for drilling muds and crude oils
(Govier and Fogarasi, 1972; Economides and Chaney, 1983;
Houwen and Geehan, 1986; Wardhaugh and Boger, 1987;
Alderman et al., 1988; Wardhaugh et al., 1988; Cawkwell and
Charles, 1989; Wardhaugh and Boger, 1991; Rnningsen, 1992;
Hemphill et al., 1993; Maglione et al., 1996; Chang et al., 2000;
Maglione et al., 2000; Kelessidis et al., 2006; Dolz et al., 2007;
Maxey, 2007; Hamed and Belhadri, 2009).
The uids are Newtonian if this relationship is linear, while all
uids for which the relationship is no longer linear are nonNewtonian. Non-Newtonian uids are usually divided into three
main categories: time-independent, viscoelastic, and time-dependent, although in reality uids may belong to more than one
category (Sochi, 2010). Note that although certain drilling muds
and crude oils may display viscoelastic behavior, current oileld
rheological measurements do not address the viscoelasticity of
drilling muds and crude oils. In addition, modeling of viscoelastic
effects in drilling mud and crude oil ow applications has
received very limited attention and it will not be elaborated here.
Mathematical models describing the rheological behavior of timedependent and time-independent uids are discussed further.
2.1. Time-independent models
A uid is time-independent if the shear rate at a given point is
dependent upon the instantaneous shear stress at that point. The
uid is described as shear-thinning or pseudoplastic if the
viscosity decreases, and shear-thickening or dilatant if the viscosity increases on increasing shear rate. Time-independent models may or may not contain a yield stress. In petroleum industry,
most common rheological models for time-independent uids
with yield stress are Bingham, Casson, and HerschelBulkley,
respectively,

t ty ZB g_
p

1
q

ty ZC g_

t ty kg_ n

2
3

where ty is the yield stress, ZB and ZC are the Bingham and Casson
viscosity, and k and n represent the consistency factor and the
ow behavior index, respectively. Bingham and Casson models

S. Livescu / Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 9899 (2012) 174184

Table 3
Time-independent crude oil and drilling mud studies. Here WCO represents wax
crude oil and DM represents drilling mud.
Authors

Rheological model

Vinay et al. (2005)

Bingham model with temperature-dependent

plastic viscosity and yield stress (WCO)
Vinay et al. (2006, 2007)
Bingham model (WCO)
Frigaard et al. (2007)
Bingham model (WCO)
Reed and Pilehvari (1993)
Power-law model (DM)
Hemphill et al. (1993)
HerschelBulkley model (DM)
Merlo et al. (1995)
HerschelBulkley model (DM)
Maglione et al. (1996)
HerschelBulkley model (DM)
Escudier et al. (2002)
HerschelBulkley model (DM)
Kelessidis et al. (2006)
HerschelBulkley model (DM)
Ozbayoglu and Omurlu (2007) HerschelBulkley model (DM)
Founargiotakis et al. (2008)
HerschelBulkley model (DM)
Hamed and Belhadri (2009)
HerschelBulkley model (DM)
Majidi et al. (2008, 2010)
HerschelBulkley model (DM)
Sorgun and Ozbayoglu (2011) Power-law model (DM)

are two-parameter models (ty and ZB or ZC ) and the Herschel

Bulkley model is a three-parameter model (ty , k, and n). Other
models are available (see Govier and Aziz, 1972; Bird et al., 1983;
Barnes, 1999; Bailey and Peden, 2000; Kelessidis et al., 2006;
Nasiri and Ashrazadeh, 2010 and references therein). Note that
the HerschelBulkley model (also called the yield power-law
model) reduces to the power-law model (Govier and Aziz, 1972)
if ty 0. Several studies using time-independent rheological
models for crude oil and drilling mud ow applications are listed
in Table 3. Note that, regarding the time-independent behavior of
crude oils, Govier and Ritter (1963) stated that: true Bingham
plastic behavior is rare; pseudoplastic behavior is widely encountered, especially at low temperatures; and dilatancy has been
observed only to a minor degree.
2.2. Time-dependent models
A uid is time-dependent if its viscosity depends on the
duration of shear at constant shear rate. There are two categories
of time-dependent uids: thixotropic, when the viscosity
decreases with time at constant shear rate, and rheopetic, when
the viscosity increases under similar conditions. Most drilling
muds and crude oils at low temperatures are thixotropic uids.
Precise mathematical denition of the thixotropic behavior in
terms suitable for petroleum industry has not yet been achieved.
The difculties stem from the complex physical phenomena
encountered when drilling muds and crude oils ow through
wells and pipelines, such as multiphase and multiscale physics
and a wide range of operating conditions (pressure, temperature,
ow rate, etc.) which cannot easily be replicated through
experiments.
Most of the thixotropic models found in literature belong to
three groups: rst, the uid microstructure is represented by a
scalar parameter, typically lt, and its time change dl=dt is used
as the working parameter; second, the temporal change in
microstructure, such as the number of bonds, is described
directly; and third, the viscosity-time data is used to describe
the time-dependent behavior. Here only the rst group will be
elaborated, as this is the mathematical theory adopted by the
most researchers to describe the thixotropic behavior of many
uids, including crude oils and drilling muds (Billingham and
Ferguson, 1993; Barnes, 1997; Wachs et al., 2009). Note that there
has been some discussion about the adequacy of a single scalar
parameter for the complete description of structure. Mewis (1979)
reviewed the available experimental evidence against a one-to-one
correspondence between a scalar structural parameter and the

177

rheological characteristics of the uid. He also showed the existence

of a structural hysteresis phenomenon which cannot be described
by a single scalar parameter.
Using the scalar measure of structure l, which can vary
between 0 and 1, it is assumed that the completely built-up
structure is represented by l 1 and the completely brokendown structure is represented by l 0. Then thixotropy is
introduced via the time derivative of the structure parameter,
dl=dt, which describes the time competition between microstructure break-down and build-up.
Cheng and Evans (1965) showed that the most general form of
constitutive models based on a single scalar parameter lt takes
the form
dl
gl,II,III
dt

tij G1 l,II,IIIdij G2 l,II,IIIdik dkj

where t is time, tij is the deviatoric stress tensor, dij is the rate of
deformation tensor, II dij dji and III dij djk dki are the second and
third invariants of dij, respectively, and g, G1, and G2 are arbitrary
functions of dij. In one-dimensional shear ows, such as the ows
through wells and pipelines, the third invariant III is identically
zero and the second invariant II is equal to g_ =2. Also, in onedimensional ow, if G2 is different from zero, the uid supports
normal stresses. Cheng and Evans (1965) and Billingham and
Ferguson (1993) set G2 0, as they were interested in inelastic,
thixotropic uids such as bentonite mud. Thus, the constitutive
model can be written as
dl
gl, g_
dt

tij G1 l, g_ g_

If the value of gl, g_ is negative, the system is breaking-down

towards equilibrium; if the value of g is positive, the system is
building-up towards equilibrium. At equilibrium, for every value
of g_ there is a particular value of l which can be found by setting
dl=dt to zero in Eq. (6).
The most general description of the rate of break-down is
given by the product of the current level of structure and the
shear rate raised to some power and the rate of build-up is some
power of 1l,
dl
d
a1lc bl9g_ 9
dt

where a, b, c, and d are material constants. Thus, it is seen that the

shear-induced break-down term results in a decrease of l,
whereas the build-up term leads to an increase of l. Note that
for cd 1 Moores equation (Moore, 1959) for ceramic slurries is
obtained. Due to its simplicity, Moores model was adopted by a
few authors in thixotropic uid ow modeling and simulation
studies (Billingham and Ferguson, 1993; Livescu et al., 2011).
Other models involving Eq. (8) or its derivatives are available in
literature (Barnes, 1997; Mujumdar et al., 2002). Note that several
investigators modied the original Moores evolution equation for
l in two ways. First, Billingham and Ferguson (1993) included a
rate of diffusion of uid structure term given in Eq. (10) below.
Second, l was assumed to vary in both time and space as in Eq.
(12) below (Chang et al., 1999; Wachs et al., 2009; Livescu et al.,
2011).
The constitutive equations are completely specied by dening the viscosity Z as a function of l. In Moores model, Z varies
linearly with l: in the limit of high shear rate, l-0, the viscosity
reaches the value Z Z1 ; conversely, the viscosity of a fully

178

S. Livescu / Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 9899 (2012) 174184

recovered structure, l-1, takes the value Z Z0 ,

where Z1 and Z0 are the limiting viscosities at very high and very
low shear rates, respectively. Hence Moores model is a fourparameter model (Z1 , Z0 , a, and b).

the standard material derivative. Note that Houska model is an

eight-parameter model (ty0 , ty1 , ZH , DZH , nST, a, b, and d).
Another model has a different approach and was adopted by
many authors (Coussot et al., 2002; Huynh et al., 2005; Herzhaft
et al., 2006; Mller et al., 2006; Liu and Zhu, 2011). It couples the
following l evolution equation:

2.3. Time-dependent models with yield stress

dl
1
alg_
tc
dt

Z Z1 Z0 Z1 l

The measurement of the yield stress depends on the shear

history of the material (Barnes, 1999, 2007; Herzhaft et al., 2003,
2006; Mller et al., 2006). This is why time-independent rheological models, such as the HerschelBulkley model (3), used to
describe the thixotropic shear-thinning uids with yield stress
represent the uid properties at steady state, i.e., in the absence of
thixotropic effects. Therefore, the time-independent yield stress
shear-thinning models are not appropriate to represent the
complex viscosity behavior at very low shear rates or during
transient regimes (Herzhaft et al., 2003, 2006).
One step further from the time-independent models is the
time-dependent (generalized) Bingham model used by Davidson
et al. (2004) and Negra~ o et al. (2010)

tt ty t ZB g_

10

ty t

and an equation linking the viscosity and the structural parameter l

Z Z0 1 bln

ty 0ty 1
ty 1
1 kt

lss

atc g_

tss Z0 g_ 1 bat c g_ n 

12

t sgng_ flty Z1 Z0 Z1 l9g_ 9n g, 9t9 Z ty l

g_ 0, 9t9 o ty l

13

where D represents a structural diffusion term. Billingham and

Ferguson showed that diffusion must be included in order to
ensure that the model is structurally stable when applied to
axisymmetric pipe ow. Note that Sestak et al. (1982) were the
rst who coupled Eq. (12) without diffusion and Eq. (13) to model
experimental rheological measurements of bentonite mud.
Related to Billingham and Fergusons model, there is Houska
model (Sestak et al., 1982, 1987), also used by Chang et al. (1999)
and Wachs et al. (2009),
Dl
d
a1lbl9g_ 9
Dt

14

t ZH DZH 9g_ 9nST 1 sgng_ ty0 lty1 , 9t9Z ty0 lty1

g_ 0, 9t9 o ty0 lty1

18
19

For high shear rates, when all the structure is destroyed, the uid
becomes Newtonian,
20

whereas for low shear rates the limiting behavior is

11

where ty 0 and ty 1 are the apparent yield stresses at times

t 0 and t-1, respectively, and k is a constant that characterizes
the material consistency. Note that, although the yield stress is
allowed to vary in time, the viscosity ZB is constant, so this model
does not consider thixotropic effects.
There are a few models available which take into account the
uid rheology due to both thixotropy and yield stress. For
instance, Billingham and Ferguson (1993) coupled Moores model
for thixotropy and another model for yield stress in a modeling
and simulation study for the one-dimensional, axisymmetric ow
of bentonite mud in a circular pipe. Their constitutive equations
are
@l
a1lblg_ D
@t

17

where tc is the characteristic time of the built-up microstructure

at rest, Z0 is the limiting viscosity at high shear rates, and a, b, and
n are material specic parameters. At steady state, dl=dt 0, the
structural parameter and the shear stress are, respectively,

tss Z0 g_

and

16

15

where the yield stress (respectively, consistency) has two components: a permanent part ty0 (respectively, ZH ) and a thixotropic
part ty1 (respectively, DZH ). Here, the operator D=Dt represents

tss Og_ 1n

21

Eq. (21) shows that the uid is shear-thinning without yield stress
if 0 o n o 1. However, the uid has a yield stress if n 4 1. The yield
stress behavior is clearly seen if the shear stress is plotted against
the shear rate. Thus, if the shear rate is decreased continuously
from a high value to a critical shear rate value, the shear stress
decreases almost linearly to a minimum value (yield stress) and
then increases if the shear rate is further decreased. The main
advantage of this model is that the determination of the solid
liquid limit is implicit, not explicit as with other yield stress
models which require a certain yield stress value ty . Thus, the
material always ows everywhere and the viscosity becomes very
large in the unyielding (creeping) regions.
It is also worth to mention the model used by Derksen and
Prashant (2009). They used Moores model and approximated the
Bingham behavior by a two-viscosity model (Beverly and Tanner,
1989): at very low shear rates the uid behaves as a very viscous
uid of viscosity ZB0 ; at a critical shear rate (corresponding to the
Bingham yield stress) the viscosity ZB0 switches to Bingham
viscosity ZB . This approach introduces an additional (numerical)
parameter, ZB0 , but it has the capability to simulate creeping ow
below the yield stress value (Mller et al., 2006; Barnes, 2007).

3. Mathematical modeling of thixotropic drilling mud and

crude oil ows
In petroleum industry, mathematical modeling of thixotropic
drilling mud and crude oil ow in wells and pipelines is fundamental to understand and predict important ow characteristics
such as ow regimes, pressure drops, and pressure peaks, but
only few papers have been published on this subject. Outside
petroleum industry, modeling of pipe and annulus ow of
thixotropic uids have received signicantly more attention
(Pinho and Whitelaw, 1990; Escudier and Pesti, 1996; Corvisier
et al., 2001; Coussot et al., 2002; Pereira and Pinho, 2002;
Escudier et al., 2002, 2005). For example, the transition between
laminar and transient regimes in pipe ow was studied in detail

(see Guzel
et al. 2009a,b and references therein). The mud ow on

S. Livescu / Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 9899 (2012) 174184

inclined surfaces was also studied in detail (Huang and Garca,

1998; Balmforth and Liu, 2004).
In general, there are only a few studies on mathematical
modeling of thixotropic uid ows available in literature
(Mujumdar et al., 2002; Huynh et al., 2005; Sherwood, 2008; Liu
and Zhu, 2011; Livescu et al., 2011). Huynh et al. (2005) and Liu and
Zhu (2011) studied the basic characteristics of the uniform ow of a
layer of thixotropic uids, such as paints, self-compacting concrete,
or natural muds, under gravity. For modeling thixotropy and yield
stress, they used the constitutive Eqs. (16) and (17). Livescu et al.
(2011) presented an analysis for thin lm leveling of paints. They
coupled two different rheological models for thixotropic uids
without yield stress with the hydrodynamic equations governing
leveling ows under the standard assumptions required by the
lubrication approximation. In the next sections, mathematical
modeling studies concerning thixotropic drilling mud and crude
oil ows are presented.
3.1. Drilling muds
During a well drilling job, the mud is injected (at surface) into
the drillstring (pipe) and returns to the surface through the
annulus (outside the drillstring) carrying cuttings generated by
the bit. Although the pipe and annulus cross-sectional areas
change along the well length, the geometry is usually simplied
by assuming them as constant. The pipe and annulus are completely rigid and do not undergo any kind of strain.
A large majority of studies concerning the mathematical
modeling of the drilling mud ows has involved various timeindependent rheological models such as Bingham, Casson,
HerschelBulkley, etc. More complex rheological models, such
as the three-parameter HerschelBulkley model, are accepted to
be more accurate than two-parameter models, such as the
Bingham and the Casson models, in predicting the rheological
behavior of drilling muds. However, complex mathematical models for drilling mud ow studies are not generally accepted
because of the difculties in nding analytical solutions for the
uid mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations and
the complexity for the derivation of such parameters as the
Reynolds number and the friction factor. Although in recent
years, mathematical modeling and numerical simulation studies
of multiphase ows in injecting or producing wells have made
signicant progress (Hasan and Kabir, 2002; Livescu et al., 2010),
in general, this is not the case for drilling mud ows. Many
studies concerning mathematical modeling of drilling mud ows
involve empirical correlations and/or severe simplications in
order to identify different ow regimes (laminar, turbulent, and
transitional between laminar to turbulent), calculate uid velocity
proles, tubing and annular pressure drops, etc. (Kelessidis et al.,
2006; Reed and Pilehvari, 1993). A compromise between the
accuracy of the model and the simplicity of the calculations has
been the main driver for the mathematical modeling of drilling
mud ows. It is still widely accepted that the best way to achieve
this compromise, with the simplication that thixotropic or
viscoelastic effects can be neglected, is to use the Herschel
Bulkley model.
Several authors contributed at the understanding of the
rheological behavior of drilling muds owing through wells. For
example, Kelessidis et al. (2006) observed that the pressure drop
and velocity proles for laminar ow in pipes and annuli can be
signicantly affected by the choice of the rheological parameters.
Alderman et al. (1988) observed that, when tting the Herschel
Bulkley model with experimental data for water-based muds,
high shear mud viscosity decreases with temperature in a similar
manner as does the aqueous phase viscosity and increases with
pressure to an extent which increases with mud density. Also, the

179

yield stress is independent of pressure and depends only weakly

on temperature until a characteristic temperature is reached, then
the yield stress increases approximately exponentially with the
inverse of temperature. Last but not least, Alderman et al. (1988)
observed that the ow behavior index n in Eq. (3) increases with
temperature and decreases with pressure to an extent which
increases with mud density.
Bailey and Peden (2000) presented a comprehensive suite of
general formulations suitable for hydraulic calculations for conventional and unconventional (slimhole, underbalanced, and
horizontal) wells. They assumed a time-independent three-parameter correlation for describing the drilling mud rheology and
developed a generalized rheological parameter which couples
laminar and turbulent ow regimes. Like Reed and Pilehvari
(1993) before them, Bailey and Peden reduced the general set of
ow and rheological equations for the drilling mud well ow to a
set of correlations developed for steady state, isothermal, incompressible, viscosplastic, single-phase uids owing through pipes
and annuli (the annulus was modeled as a tube with an equivalent diameter).
Maglione et al. (2000) coupled the HerschelBulkley model for
the mud rheology and the one-dimensional mass and momentum
conservation equations inside a drilling well in order to compute
the velocity prole, Reynolds number, and pressure drop, in both
circular and in annular sections. Maglione et al. made several
simplifying assumptions for both rheologic and ow behaviors.
The main assumptions for the HerschelBulkley model are that
the drilling mud is incompressible and the rheological parameters
are independent of pressure and temperature. The assumptions
for the ow model include the following: steady state axial ow,
concentric annulus and tubing sections, annular section considered as a rectangular slot, and laminar or turbulent ow only
(plug ow has been considered as part of the laminar ow while
transitional ow has been neglected).
Founargiotakis et al. (2008) also presented an integrated
approach for laminar, transitional, and turbulent ow of drilling
muds in concentric annulus, modeled as a slot. Their integrated
model consisted of a set of analytical, semi-analytical, and
empirical equations. Thus, they coupled the HerschelBulkley
model for the drilling mud rheology with: prior analytical solutions for laminar ow; correlations for turbulent ow, using the
MetznerReed Reynolds number; and correlations for transitional
ow, introducing transitional Reynolds numbers which depend
on the local ow behavior index n.
Sorgun and Ozbayoglu (2011) developed a computational uid
dynamics model for predicting the frictional pressure drop during
horizontal drilling in both concentric and eccentric annuli. They
coupled the power-law model for the drilling mud rheology with
one-dimensional, incompressible, single-phase mass and momentum conservation equations. This CFD model was validated
against experimental data.
Billingham and Ferguson (1993) had a different approach in
studying the bentonite mud (an inelastic, thixotropic, generalized-Newtonian uid) well ow. The well was modeled as a pipe
(no annulus) with circular cross section and the ow as onedimensional and axisymmetric. They used Eqs. (12) and (13) to
describe the bentonite mud rheology. The rheological model was
not structurally stable, for certain parameter ranges, but this
problem was eliminated by introducing the diffusion of the uid
structure in Eq. (12)


1@
@l
D
Dn l9g_ 9r
22
r @r
@r
where r is the radial distance from the axis of the pipe and Dn
is the rate of diffusion of uid structure. This rheological model was
coupled with an isothermal, incompressible, single-phase momentum

180

S. Livescu / Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 9899 (2012) 174184

conservation equation. Billingham and Fergurson used two different

sets of boundary conditions for the structural parameter l at the pipe
wall and showed that by using each of them obtained an identical
solution at leading order when the rate of diffusion of the uid
structure D is sufciently slow.
Studying the solutions for l, Billingham and Ferguson showed
that, for monotonic equilibrium rheograms, there is a unique,
stable steady state solution and examined the approach to
equilibrium. More interestingly, they also found that their model
can give rise to non-monotonic rheograms. In this case, when no
diffusion of uid structure is allowed, multiple, stable, steady
state solutions exist. The equilibrium solution of the initial value
problem depends on the details of the initial uid structure. On
allowing a vanishingly small rate of diffusion of uid structure,
Billingham and Ferguson also found that only one steady state
solution exists. This shows that, when the rheogram is not
monotonic, the model is not structurally stable unless some
diffusion of uid structure is included.
Negra~ o et al. (2010) presented an one-dimensional, isothermal, compressible (pressure-dependent density), single-phase
mathematical model for the start-up ow of gelled drilling muds
in annular spaces and circular pipes. They considered transient
and advection terms in the momentum conservation equation.
They used the Fannin friction factor used before by Chang et al.
(1999) for the frictional pressure drop in laminar pipe ow
and a different correlation (Fontenot and Clark, 1974) for the
annular ow.
Although the studies listed above contribute to the understanding of drilling mud rheology and ow in wells, all of them
assume severe simplications which make their conclusions
applicable to only a limited range of real downhole operating
conditions. For example, the muds are generally considered
incompressible and single-phase; the pressure and temperature
effects on rheology or ow are usually ignored; transient effects
are ignored on ow and may also be ignored on rheology; full
multiphase mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations
are not solved; nally, validation and verication of these theoretical ow models are usually ignored. All these severe simplications prove that the current mathematical models for drilling
mud well ow problems need to be re-evaluated.
3.2. Crude oils
Although crude oil can be thixotropic at low temperatures
such as in offshore or Arctic environments, there is no study
which accounts for thixotropic effects of crude oil well ow. Only
non-Newtonian effects such as viscoplasticity and shear-thinning
have been considered in well ow studies. This has two main
causes. First, most crude oils are Newtonian uids under normal
downhole conditions, i.e., high pressures and high temperatures.
However, with the recent advancements in well technologies in
offshore or Arctic environments in the last 1020 years, certain
crude oils could exhibit thixotropic behavior before reaching the
surface. There is a need for more experimental data which could
mimic these subsurface conditions. This would hopefully shed
light on the time-dependent rheology of crude oils owing in
ultradeep, offshore wells. Second, the well ow is very complex,
involving multiple phases, complex well geometries, wide ranges
of ow conditions, etc. Building a mathematical model which
takes into account thixotropic effects with as few simplifying
assumptions as possible and still obtaining close results to reality
is very challenging.
Thixotropic crude oil ow studies in literature consider pipelining crude oils that contain large proportions of high molecular
weight compounds such as parafns. Most of the complexity is
related to the parafn crystals forming an interlocking gel-like

structure that changes some of the crude oils rheological features.

The crystallization mechanism is mainly controlled by temperature. These oils, known as waxy crude oils, usually exhibit high
pour point. This is an experimentally measured temperature at
which the oil behave like a gel or does not pour while being
cooled. Below the pour point, the oil is thixotropic and has
temperature-dependent and shear-dependent yield stress and
viscosity (Vinay et al., 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009; Wachs et al.,
2009).
The main interest with waxy crude oil pipeline ow is the
start-up issue (Sestak et al., 1982, 1987; Cawkwell and Charles,
1987, 1989; Wardhaugh and Boger, 1987, 1991; Wardhaugh et al.,
1988). For maintenance, emergency, or other reasons, the pipeline
ow can stop. During the no-ow time, the oil temperature
decreases to the outside temperature, the gel-like structure builds
up, and the waxy crude oil undergoes thermal shrinkage. Gas
voids appear, in the range of 48% of the total pipe volume, and
the uid becomes unusually compressible. The waxy crude oil
start-up issue consists of resuming the ow of a compressible
ow of a gel-like viscoplastic and thixotropic material, usually by
injecting some fresh warm oil at the pipe entry. Although the pipe
cross sectional area may change along the pipe length, the
geometry is usually simplied by assuming it as constant. Also,
the pipe is completely rigid and do not undergo any kind of strain.
Mathematical studies of thixotropic crude oils owing in
pipelines are well represented in literature. For example, Sestak
et al. (1982, 1987), Cawkwell and Charles (1987, 1989), Chang
et al. (1999), Davidson et al. (2004), and Frigaard et al. (2007)
considered an initially gelled uid within a pipe being displaced
by a non-gelled uid. Vinay et al. (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009) and
Wachs et al. (2009) presented a suite of excellent studies
concerning the mathematical modeling and numerical simulation
of the waxy crude oil pipeline ow. By acknowledging that most
waxy crude oils are thixotropic under certain conditions and the
thixotropic effects may be important in breaking down the
structure, Vinay et al. (2005, 2006, 2007) used a time-independent Bingham model (1) in the rst papers and focused on the
compressibility, inertia, and shear rheology (viscosity and yield
stress) effects. Only in the last two papers (Vinay et al., 2009;
Wachs et al., 2009) they also included thixotropic effects.
Recently, Margarone et al. (2010) presented a new one-dimensional mathematical model for gelled waxy oil restart ows as a
pipeline restart tool. Like other authors before them (Vinay et al.,
2006, 2007; Frigaard et al., 2007), Margarone et al. assumed no
thixotropic effects and coupled the Bingham model and the onedimensional, isothermal, compressible (pressure-dependent density), single-phase mass and momentum equations. They validated their model against experimental data of a North-Africa
crude oil and concluded that their model underestimates the
maximum pressure with an error of approximately 20%.
Chang et al. (1999, 2000) presented an analysis based on a
three-yield-stress model, which has been experimentally veried
for waxy crude oil. They discussed three possibilities of the startup process, according to the applied pressure relative to the
complex yielding behavior of the oil, which is represented by
three characteristic yield stresses: an elastic-limit, a static and a
dynamic yield stress. The physical model of the start-up assumes
that the gelled oil is to be displaced by introducing another uid
under constant pressure and that the displacing uid displays
time-independent yield stress behavior. For the thixotropic rheology, they used Houska model given by Eqs. (14) and (15). Both
laminar and turbulent ows of the two uids are considered in
the model. Their results indicate that the gelled oil yield stress
and thixotropy play an important role in determining the oil ow
rate after start-up, and that the start-up modeling results are
highly sensitive to the rheological behavior of the gelled oil.

S. Livescu / Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 9899 (2012) 174184

Davidson et al. (2004) developed a two-uid displacement

model for simulating the restart of a pipeline containing gelled
waxy crude oil after shutdown. They assumed that the gelled oil is
to be displaced by pumping in another uid under constant
pressure and that the incoming uid displays Bingham plastic
behavior. The rheology of the gelled oil is modeled based on a
North Sea waxy crude oil, which can be reasonably described by
the generalized Bingham Eq. (11) with a time-dependent apparent yield stress. The start-up ow model takes into account the
compressibility and longitudinal variations in physical and rheological properties of both uids. Davidson et al. introduced the
concept of a propagating yield front and initial compression ow,
that precede the gelled oil viscous ow for a successful start-up.
Thus, they wrote the total pressure drop DpT required for the ow
start-up as a sum of pressure drops over the compression ow
region (Dpc ) and the yield front (Dpf )

DpT Dpc Dpf

23

where Dpc depends on the shear stress related to the compression

ow and Dpf was obtained from the force balance across the yield
front. This model predicts that the start-up ow is subjected to
two delay times, one due to the transient yield stress behavior of
the gelled oil and the other due to the compressibility effects. Oil
compressibility has a positive effect on ow rate, movement of
the uidoil interface, and the time taken to clear the gelled oil
from the pipe.
Some of the studies above disregarded certain effects in the
mass and momentum equations. For instance, Sestak et al. (1987)
and Chang et al. (1999) considered that the transient ow
changes were only due to the time changes of the uid rheological
properties and ignored the transient term in the momentum
conservation equation. Davidson et al. (2004) extended Changs
model by allowing the compressibility vary with pressure.
Cawkwell and Charles (1987, 1989) included transient ow and
compressibility effects but ignored the advection term in the
momentum conservation equation.
Vinay et al. (2005) developed a mathematical and numerical
model for transient non-isothermal ows of a viscoplastic uid in
a pipe, applied to the waxy crude oils transportation in a pipeline
under extremely low external temperature conditions. They used
an extension of the Bingham model by considering the plastic
viscosity and the yield stress to be temperature-dependent
parameters. No thixotropic effects were considered. They coupled
the rheological model and the one-dimensional, incompressible,
single-phase mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations and proposed a decoupled numerical algorithm. At each
time step, the velocity-pressure problem and the temperature
problem were solved sequentially. They showed through steady
state results the inuence of the temperature changes on the ow
pattern, especially in terms of yielded/unyielded regions. They
also showed that, in a pipe ow, as soon as the temperature eld
varies in the mean ow direction, the uid is yielded.
Vinay et al. (2006) proposed a mathematical and numerical
model for isothermal transient ows for a weakly compressible
viscoplastic uid in an axisymmetric pipe geometry. They used
the Bingham model (no thixotropy effects) and solved the twodimensional, compressible, single-phase mass and momentum
and the constitutive equations numerically. Based on their
numerical results, they showed the inuence of compressibility
on the ow pattern, especially in terms of yielded/unyielded
regions, pressure and time to restart the ow.
Frigaard et al. (2007) considered the isothermal displacement
ow of a weakly compressible waxy crude oil from a pipeline, in
the case that the displacing uid is incompressible and less
viscous. They coupled the Bingham model with the one-dimensional, single-phase mass and momentum equations for the two

181

uids. They showed that uid compressibility only has a signicant effect on the timescale over which all residual uid is
drained from the pipeline, but no noticeable effect on the initial
breakthrough of the new uid. They also provided estimates for
the maximal residual wax fraction.
Vinay et al. (2007) presented a one-dimensional model of early
transients in the isothermal pipeline restart ow of waxy crude
oils, which are modeled as compressible yield stress uids (no
thixotropic effects). They showed that restart transients are
effectively controlled by three dimensionless numbers: a Reynolds number, Re, a compressibility number w, and the Bingham
number B. The rst two of these combine to dene three different
dimensionless timescales: for compressive pressure diffusion; for
the propagation of acoustic waves; and for viscous damping. The
Bingham number governs whether or not the pipeline restarts.
They compared their one-dimensional results and the previous
two-dimensional results (Vinay et al., 2006) and obtained good
agreement. They also explained certain counter-intuitive observations, such as the fact that a pipeline full of more compressible
uid may in certain circumstances restart earlier than the same
pipeline lled with a less compressible uid.
Wachs et al. (2009) investigated the problem of the start-up of
a compressible ow in a pipeline lled with a viscoplastic and
thixotropic material. They coupled the Houska model (14) with
the one-dimensional, isothermal mass and momentum equations.
They proposed a compromise between their previous one-dimensional and two-dimensional models (Vinay et al., 2006, 2007) and
called it a 1.5-dimensional model. Only the velocity component
along the pipe axis was assumed non-zero but was allowed to
vary both in axial and radial directions. By doing this, they
obtained the same numerical accuracy as of the two-dimensional
model, but the computational time was signicantly shorter. They
also showed that, due to the combined effects of compressibility
and thixotropy, the ow can restart for a pressure drop below the
value traditionally predicted for viscoplastic uids by the conservative relation

Dp

4ty L
D

24

where L the pipe length and D is the internal pipe diameter.

Vinay et al. (2009) used their previously reported 1.5-dimensional model to examine the possibility that the ow can restart
for a pressure drop below the value (24), due to the combined
effects of compressibility, viscoplasticity, and thixotropy. From a
parametric study, they derived a new analytical solution for the
minimum pressure required to restart pipelines lled with gelled
waxy crude oil
q
0:25K 2 R2 4K wbRty L0:5KR
, w a0
Dp
2wbR
4ty L
, w0

25
D
where RD/2 is the internal pipe radius, b is the structure breakdown parameter from the Houska model (14), K is a tting
material parameter (Vinay et al. used K 0.04 in their study),
and w 1=r@r=@pT is the isothermal compressibility.

4. Current limitations of mathematical modeling studies

Despite the great progress made by the studies concerning the
mathematical modeling of thixotropic drilling mud and crude oil
ows, there are signicant improvements that could still be
made. Currently, these studies are not evenly distributed between
drilling muds and crude oils. As mentioned earlier, modeling
thixotropic effects in the crude oil well ow problems have not

182

S. Livescu / Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 9899 (2012) 174184

been considered from either experimental or theoretical points of

view. Mathematical modeling studies of thixotropic waxy crude
oils owing through pipelines has made great progress recently.
For describing the waxy crude oil ow, the models include both
correlations, which are solved analytically or numerically, and
mass and momentum conservation equations, which are solved
numerically. Mathematical modeling studies of drilling muds well
ows have received the most attention to date. Most of these
studies contain correlations for the mud ow, which are solved
either analytically or numerically.
An inconvenience regarding the ow modeling of thixotropic
uids in petroleum industry is the steep increase of the number of
parameters with increasing complexity of the rheological model
characterizing the uids and the need to experimentally and
computationally determine their values. For drilling muds, for
example, this is even more augmented by other complexities,
such as a wide range of operating conditions (long horizontal,
extended reach, and inclined wells with large pressure and
temperature gradients) and multiple phases/components owing
together (some water-based drilling muds are strongly contaminated, e.g., they are formulated with hydrocarbons, bentonite,
etc.) (Dolz et al., 2007).
In almost all studies to date, the rheological properties of crude
oils and drilling muds were not obtained under downhole conditions and they may be very different from those measured at
ambient pressures and temperatures at the surface. This may be
appropriate for modeling the crude oil pipeline ow, but it is a
severe limitation for modeling the crude oil and drilling mud well
ow. Many rheological models have been proposed in order to
describe the ow curves of crude oils and drilling muds as
functions of temperature and pressure. However, no data have
been published in literature about the effects of the well pressures and temperatures on the overall complex rheological
behavior of eld oils and muds. In fact, all the studies on the
different types of crude oils and drilling muds (oil- and waterbased muds) have been performed in laboratory only in a
stationary mode and for limited ranges of pressures, shear rates
and temperatures. No study has been carried out taking into
account the effect of real well temperatures and pressures on the
effective viscosities, viscoelastic properties, and thixotropy of the
eld oils and muds (Wardhaugh and Boger, 1987, 1991;
Wardhaugh et al., 1988; Maglione et al., 2000; Zamora and Roy,
2000; Kelessidis et al., 2006).
Many excellent studies concerning mathematical modeling of
crude oil pipeline ows, especially start-up related problems,
have been published in the last few decades (Cawkwell and
Charles, 1987; Sestak et al., 1987; Cawkwell and Charles, 1989;
Chang et al., 1999; Davidson et al., 2004; Vinay et al., 2005, 2006,
2007, 2009; Frigaard et al., 2007; Wachs et al., 2009; Margarone
et al., 2010). They proposed several mathematical models, capturing the effects of compressibility, viscoplasticity, and thixotropy
on the start-up pressure and ow regimes. These models were
solved either analytically or numerically. Special attention was
paid to the stability and efciency of the numerical schemes. The
complexity and accuracy of these models evolved naturally over
the years and the most exhaustive studies were published in the
last ten years. These models have only a few limitations. First, all
models assume the ow is single-phase. However, in reality,
crude oils are multiphase uids. Second, the existing crystallized
wax is taken into account through rheological models (via yield
stress and thixotropy), but its ow effect is ignored. Third, even if
the pipelines are almost horizontal, the effect of the slip between
different phases on the uid velocity and pressure drop have
also to be studied. Forth, a unied and consistent pressureand temperature-dependent rheological model which includes
the combined effects of viscoplasticity, shear-thinning, and

thixotropy is needed. Most of the experimental studies on the

rheological behavior of crude oils are more than two decades old.
Since then, powerful tools such as quality HTHP/LT (high-temperature/high-pressure/low-temperature) viscometers and inexpensive computers have advanced fast. They can be used for
validating and tuning the classic rheological models or for developing new models which describe the rheology of crude oils
under real pipeline ow conditions.
Mathematical modeling of thixotropic crude oil well ow,
especially in deepwater and Arctic environments, has received
little, if any, attention. There are many mathematical models
available concerning the transient, non-isothermal, multiphase
well ow of Newtonian uids (see Livescu et al., 2010 and
references therein). Some commercial simulators even consider
viscoplasticity via Bingham or HerschelBulkley models. However, there is a need for more models describing the rheology of
crude oils under real downhole conditions.
Mathematical modeling of thixotropic drilling mud well ow
was of interest for a long period of time. Important contributions
related to hydraulic parameters such as hydrostatic pressure,
cuttings transport, pressure loss, rheology, and ow regimes, are
well documented in literature. However, most of these studies
have tried to reduce the entire set of constitutive and ow
equations to simple correlations which could be solved analytically. This came with a high price of compromising the accuracy,
as, in general, correlations and analytical solutions are valid for
specic ow conditions and not for the entire range of conditions
encountered under drilling operations. As shown earlier, there is
an extremely limited number of mathematical modeling studies
of drilling mud and crude oil ows in wells and pipes which solve
coupled constitutive and mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations. For example, the almost twenty-year old paper by
Billingham and Ferguson (1993) coupled Moores model (Moore,
1959) developed for ceramic slurries with an one-dimensional,
axisymmetric, isothermal, incompressible, single-phase momentum equation for laminar pipe ow. Given the importance of the
drilling operations in petroleum industry, it is amazing that more
advanced mathematical models, at least at the mathematical or
physical level of complexity of those addressing the waxy crude
oil ow in pipelines (Chang et al., 1999; Davidson et al., 2004;
Vinay et al., 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009; Frigaard et al., 2007; Wachs
et al., 2009; Margarone et al., 2010), are not yet available.
Considering that downhole mud properties are different than
those measured at surface conditions, one could argue that the
mathematical modeling of the drilling mud well ow should start
with new experimental insights. This will eventually lead to a
unied and generalized rheological model including the effects of
viscoplasticity and thixotropy for the entire range of operating
pressures, temperatures, and ow conditions. Once such a model
will be available, it could be implemented in an existing wellbore
ow simulator (Hasan and Kabir, 2002; Livescu et al., 2010).
Zamora and Roy (2000) published a Top 10 list of drilling mud
hydraulics and rheological issues. The rst item on their list is
that most unscheduled trouble events in drilling such as lost
circulation, stuck pipe, bridging, pack-off, hole ll, excessive
torque and drag, barite sag, borehole enlargement, loss of well
control, bit balling, and slow drilling rates, are still hydraulics
related. A mathematical model which would solve the constitutive and ow equations of the drilling mud well ow could aim at
explaining more accurately many of these unscheduled trouble
events.
Another item on Zamora and Roys (2000) Top 10 list is that
hydraulics and rheological behavior critically depend on temperature, although the impact of mud temperature proles on
mud density, rheology, and related consequences has long been
ignored, over-simplied, or underrated at best. It is recognized

S. Livescu / Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 9899 (2012) 174184

that, in general, the mud properties are much more sensitive to

temperature than to pressure. Although a few recent studies
(Chang et al., 2000; Herzhaft et al., 2003) offer mathematical
models taking into account the effect of temperature, accurate
non-isothermal modeling is still an unresolved challenge.
Also, simple steady state models are still suitable for most
mud-hydraulics analyses, but are inappropriate for current deepwater and Arctic applications. For example, considerable cooldown in the riser can occur when the drilling mud is static for a
period of time. Dynamic conditions can exist downhole
even when pumps are off and there is no pipe movement. When
circulation stops, the mud temperature prole immediately
begins to change in the direction of the geothermal prole.
This generally means that the mud towards the surface gets
cooler and mud towards the bottom gets hotter. The changing
prole affects downhole density, which in turn alters the hydrostatic pressure.

5. Conclusions
In this review, various mathematical models for thixotropic
drilling muds and crude oils owing in wells and pipelines were
presented. Although many drilling muds and crude oils, under
certain conditions, are deemed to be thixotropic shear-thinning
uids with yield stress, only time-independent rheology, such as
shear-thinning and yield stress, is traditionally taken into account
in modeling studies of drilling mud and crude oil ows. The
thixotropic behavior of drilling muds and crude oils is not as well
represented. Some drilling muds are also viscoelastic, but viscoelasticity has not been discussed here, as mathematical modeling
studies of viscoelastic effects of drilling muds are almost nonexistent. From the point of view of considering thixotropic effects
in modeling the ow of drilling muds and crude oils, there are a
few excellent studies concerning the start-up pipeline ow of
waxy crude oils and limited capabilities studies concerning the
drilling mud well ow. However, the effect of thixotropy of crude
oils before reaching the surface, in deepwater and Arctic environments where the temperature may be low enough for crystallized
wax to appear, is not well documented, either experimentally or
theoretically.
The current limitations of the mathematical modeling studies
concerning thixotropic drilling mud and crude oil ows have two
main causes. First, despite recent advancements in tools such as
quality HTHP/LT (high-temperature/high-pressure/low temperature) viscometers, a unied rheological model valid for a wide
range of pressures, temperatures, and ow regimes which could
account for complex rheological effects such as thixotropy and
yield stress still does not exist. In fact, there are debates among
rheologists regarding even the yield stress denition and concept.
As Barnes stated in one of his papers (Barnes, 2007), the amount
of published data that supports the idea that the ow does not
stop completely but it becomes very slow when the stress is
decreased below the yield stress has increased greatly with the
improvement of controlled-stress rheometers. However, at the
same time, the use of yield stress as a physical concept has
continued unabated. Modeling studies in petroleum industry are
no exceptionthe huge majority of them still use Bingham,
HerschelBulkley, or similar constant yield stress models to
represent the rheology of drilling muds and crude oils. One
possible solution in overcoming the yield stress debates is to
consider the interplay between thixotropy and yield stress
(Coussot et al., 2002; Huynh et al., 2005; Herzhaft et al., 2006;
Mller et al., 2006; Liu and Zhu, 2011) and account for both
effects together. In addition to these debates, most of the experimental data regarding the rheological behavior of drilling muds

183

and crude oils have been obtained under surface conditions which
could be signicantly different than the downhole conditions.
Second, despite recent advancements of powerful and inexpensive computers, the mathematical modeling of thixotropic
drilling mud and crude oil ows suffers from severe simplifying
assumptions. For example, the combined effects of thixotropy,
shear-thinning, and yield stress rheology and non-isothermal
mutiphase behavior is still a subject that has not been addressed
in depth. In the last years, Frigaard et al. (2007), Vinay et al. (2005,
2006, 2007, 2009), and Wachs et al. (2009) published a series of
mathematical and numerical simulation studies regarding the
waxy crude oil ow in pipelines. Other authors also published
signicant contributions (Chang et al., 1999; Davidson et al.,
2004; Margarone et al., 2010). Similar studies concerning the
thixotropic drilling mud or the crude oil well ow are rare and
assume far more simplications (Billingham and Ferguson, 1993;
Negra~ o et al., 2010). With the current high costs for drilling a
single well, it is just a matter of time until the mathematical
modeling of thixotropic uid ows in petroleum industry will
become an active research area.

Acknowledgment
The author wishes to thank the management of Baker Hughes
for permission to publish this work.
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