IMAGE PROCESSING-BASED ANALYSIS OF MUD-BARITE SEDIMENTATION IN AN EXPERIMENTAL PIPE SETUP

Sedimentation phenomena are common in directional drilling operations within the oil and gas industry. These events can lead to non-productive time and increased operational costs due to the sagging of residual solids. Sagging typically occurs when drilling fluids are stationary in the wellbore, causing solids and cuttings to settle at the bottom. Given the operational challenges associated with sedimentation and the current limitations in predicting and analyzing sagging behavior, there is a clear need for the development of new techniques to better assess these effects. This study proposes the construction of an innovative and non-invasive visualization method, combining Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids with varying mud-barite particle sizes to simulate conditions near the wellbore. By incorporating fluid rheology and pipe inclination, the method aims to predict and track sedimentation bed velocity and concentration profiles.