Effect of Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes on Viscoelastic and Thermophysical Characteristics of Drilling Muds with Various Hydrocarbon Phase Contents

This paper presents the results of an experimental study of the effect of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) additives on the viscoelastic and thermal properties of hydrocarbon-based drilling fluids. The rheology, viscoelastic properties, thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of drilling fluids with different hydrocarbon phase contents modified with SWCNTs were studied for the first time. The study showed that the SWCNT additive can significantly improve the functional properties of hydrocarbon-based drilling fluids. The introduction of nanotubes into the drilling fluid allows increasing the effective viscosity by an order of magnitude in some cases and increasing the consistency measure and yield point values many times over, as well as almost doubling the thermal conductivity. This opens up broad prospects for using single-wall nanotubes as a regulator of drilling fluid properties.