Cake Filtration With Particle Penetration at the Cake Surface

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Abstract
Summary: Particles in drilling muds build a filter cake on borehole walls and can migrate into the adjacent porous formation and cause formation damage. This study analyzes cake formation, including particle penetration at the cake surface. Mass-balance equations for captured and suspended particles and the fluid phase are averaged along the cake thickness, taking into account conditions on the surface and the septum. Capture mechanisms, such as surface straining, and internal cake erosion and particle capture are included in the analysis. The results are ordinary differential equations in terms of thickness, average particle concentration, average porosity, and such operational parameters as slurry concentration, injection rate, and volumetric solid fraction. Results show that during early stages of cake formation, penetrated-particle concentration peaks and then declines rapidly shortly thereafter. Comparison of predicted cake thickness with experimental data showed an excellent match.

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