Solutions Of High Molecular Weight Polymers Research Articles

Rheological properties of highly swollen hydrogel suspensions

AbstractThe shear rheology of diluted to concentrated suspensions of weakly cross‐linked sodium polyacrylate hydrogels were investigated by concentric cylinder rheometry. The size of the swollen gel particles is dependent on the initial size of the dry particle and on the nature of the added salt. Polyvalent salts are more efficient for contracting the swollen particles than monovalent ones. When suspended in water or in monovalent salt solutions, the viscosity at low concentrations shows a behaviour very similar to the one of flexible polymer solutions. Below the critical overlap concentration, the viscosity is independent of shear rate. The intrinsic viscosity is very large, on the order of 10–15 dL/g. This is in agreement with the large size of these swollen particles. Suspensions of such swollen gel particles are thus a good model for extremely high molecular weight polymer solutions. In polyvalent salt solutions different behaviour of the viscosity curves versus concentration was observed. This effect is caused by chemical cross‐linking of the hydrogel by polyvalent ions. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

A quantitative model for the formation of adsorption-entanglement layers

The formation of thick adsorption-entanglement layers at foreign surfaces during the flow of high molecular weight polymer solutions is now well documented. This paper presents a quantitative model which describes the formation of such layers in terms of the polymer molecular weight and radius of gyration, the solution concentration and the local flow velocity. The model is tested against experiments using capillary flow of atactic polystyrene solutions. The agreement between theory and experiment is very good.

Adsorption-entanglement layers in flowing high molecular weight polymer solutions IV. The rates of layer formation and decay

Adsorption-entanglement layers are thick (i. e. multimolecular) layers which form at solid surfaces during flow of high molecular weight polymer solutions. This publication, the final part of the present series, is concerned with the rates at which such layers are formed and at which once formed they decay. It is shown that the rate of layer formation depends linearly on the shear rate applied. It is also demonstrated that the rate at which the layers decay is much slower than the rate at which they form. From the results presented in this paper, together with those in previous parts of this series [1–3], a qualitative model which accounts for the observed behaviour is deduced.

Adsorption-entanglement layers in flowing high molecular weight polymer solutions III: Solution concentration and solvent power

Adsorption entanglement layers are thick, i. e. multimolecular layers formed at solid surfaces during the flow of high molecular weight polymer solutions. The present publication is concerned with the influence of solution concentration and solvent power on the formation of these layers. Three polymers have been used, polyethylene, polymethylmethacrylate and atactic polystyrene in various solvents. The formation and thickness of layers were monitored from their effect on flow behaviour. Two flow geometries were used: Couette flow — where the layers cause peaks in the shear stress during continuous shearing, and capillary flow where the layers reduce the flow rate. The results indicate that there is a critical concentration below which no layers form, and that this critical concentration is an order of magnitude less than the conventionally defined overlap concentration. It is also deduced that the layers form more quickly, and grow to be thicker when better solvents are used.

Adsorption-entanglement layers in flowing high molecular weight polymer solutions II. The effect of the nature of the surface

Adsorption-entanglement layers are thick, i.e. multimolecular, layers formed at solid surfaces from solutions of high molecular weight polymers in a state of flow. This publication, the second part of a series of four, is concerned with the effect that the chemical nature of the surface has on formation of these layers. It is shown that for the solutions of polyethylene (PE) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) the layers form most readily on carbon surfaces. Further it is shown that in the case of PE, addition of aluminium stearate can prevent formation of the layers along steel surfaces.These and other effects reported in the paper all bear on actual situations encountered in rheological practice and in particular on the measurement of viscosities. It is concluded that the marked dependence of layer formation on the chemical nature and treatment of the surface is responsible for the differences in viscosity measurements featuring in earlier works by different authors.

The dynamics and dissolution of gas bubbles in a viscoelastic fluid

This paper reports an experimental study of the motion of dissolving and non-dissolving gas bubbles in a quiescent viscoelastic fluid. The objective of the investigation was to determine the influence of the abrupt transition in bubble velocity, which had been observed at a critical radius of approx. on the rate of mass transfer. Thus, a range of bubble sizes from an equivalent (spherical) radius of 0.2–0.4 cm was employed using CO 2 gas, and five different fluids, including one Newtonion glycerine/water solution and four viscoelastic solutions of Separan AP30 in water (0.1, 0.5, 1% by weight) and in a water/glycerine mixture. The experimental data on bubble velocity shows that the discontinuous increase with bubble volume observed previously for air bubbles in viscoelastic fluids, does not occur for dissolving CO 2 bubbles—presumably due to the continuous decrease in bubble volume. Instead, a very steep but definitely continuous transition is found. Mass transfer rates are found to be significantly enhanced by viscoelasticity, and comparison with available theoretical results shows that the increase is greater than expected for purely viscous, power-law fluids. We conclude that a fully viscoelastic constitutive model would be necessary for a successful analysis of the dissolution of a gas bubble which is translating through a (high molecular weight) polymer solution.

Rheological properties of high molecular weight polymer solutions

The possibility of using known techniques of study of the physicochemical characteristics of high weight polymers to obtain information on the structure of solutions of high polymers in which reduction in turbulent resistance occurs is shown.

Laser Velocimeter Measurement of Reynolds Stress and Turbulence in Dilute Polymer Solutions

Measurements of Reynolds stress and axial and transverse turbulence intensities have been made in drag-reducing turbulent pipe flow of a dilute solution of high molecular weight polymer and compared to measurements made with pure water. A newly developed laser velocimeter capable of measuring these turbulence parameters has been utilized and is described in detail. Axial turbulence intensities measured in polymer solution are consistent with previous polymer results and viscous sublayer thickening is observed. New results include demonstration that the turbulent shearing stress is reduced in the turbulent core by an amount proportional to the observed decrease in pressure gradient at the wall, and extrapolates to a wall value in agreement with calculated local wall shear. Near the wall polymer solution Reynolds stress is reduced below that measured for water consistent with observed velocity profiles. Polymer radial turbulence intensities are comparable with those for water in the turbulent core, but exhibit similar dramatic suppression near the wall. These and other recent results strongly suggest that dilute polymer solution drag reduction is primarily a wall phenomenon. Polymers appear to have little or no effect on turbulent flow away from a solid boundary where turbulent velocities scale with u_τ, the shear velocity based on the observed wall shear.

Polymer Solution Flow in Porous Media

Abstract A method is described for the analysis of rate-dependent effects in the flow of polymer solutions through unconsolidated porous media. Experimental data are presented for solutions of polyacrylamide, polyethylene oxide, and polyacrylamide, polyethylene oxide, and polysaccharide. Introduction A major obstacle to wider use of polymer flooding seems to be the lack of a satisfactory method for predicting the performance of this oil recovery predicting the performance of this oil recovery process. Although it is frequently possible to process. Although it is frequently possible to predict that a polymer flood would recover more oil predict that a polymer flood would recover more oil from a reservoir than could be produced with a waterflood, it is difficult to make a realistic economic comparison of the two processes. Waterflood prediction techniques which consider areal sweep and reservoir stratification have been used to evaluate the effect of improved mobility ratio on oil recovery. If accurate relative permeability data are available and if stratigraphic permeability data are available and if stratigraphic variations in the reservoir are known, then these prediction techniques may lead to a rough prediction techniques may lead to a rough approximation of the performance of a polymer flood. However, such prediction techniques fail to consider that the apparent flow resistance to a polymer solution depends on flow velocity as well polymer solution depends on flow velocity as well as permeability. These rate-dependent effects may be significant in a pattern flood, since fluid velocity is not constant. They may also be significant in a heterogeneous reservoir. Under favorable conditions some rate-dependent fluids will tend to even out the flood front in a stratified reservoir and thereby increase oil recovery. This effect cannot be anticipated with conventional waterflood prediction techniques. The basis for much of the difficulty in predicting the performance of a polymer flood is a lack of understanding of the behavior of high molecular weight polymer solutions flowing through porous materials. Until we are able to predict how these solutions will flow through a simple system such as a glass bead pack, it seems unlikely that we will be able to develop a realistic mathematical model to describe the much more complex problem of flow in an oil reservoir. It is the purpose of this study to develop a method for investigating the flow of these high molecular weight polymer solutions through unconsolidated porous media and to study the rheologic properties of solutions of certain polymers which, are of interest from the standpoint of possible application to polymer flooding.

Flow of Polymer Solutions Through Porous Media

Abstract This paper discusses the physical parameters involved in the slow flow of high molecular weight polymer solutions in porous media. The interacting erects of polymer properties and porous media properties on flow performance are considered. Experiments were conducted with the polyethylene oxides, with molecular weights ranging from 200,000 to over 5,000,000. Frontal advance velocities ranged from 1 to 30 ft/day. The porous matrix consisted of a flow cell packed with glass beads. Polymer solutions were characterized by viscosity and normal stress measurement. Under certain condition, unexpectedly high Row resistance was observed. This behavior was observed to be a function of flow rate, pore size, polymer molecular weight and concentration. The polymer solutions exhibit "dilatant" flow behavior in porous media in contrast with the pseudo plastic behavior in simple flow systems. A theoretical explanation of such behavior is presented. Introduction The use of polymers in the injected water of a waterflood increases oil displacement efficiency by reducing the mobility (kw/uw) of the driving phase. A reduced driving phase mobility results in improvements in the areal sweep efficiency and in the vertical coverage in stratified reservoirs. This mobility reduction may be achieved by a permeability reduction, a viscosity increase or by a combination of the two. Early attempts at increasing the injected water viscosity were not successful because of the poor economics involved. The use of such materials as glycerin, sugar or glycols to increase water viscosity was not economically feasible. Attempts in using certain naturally occurring polymers were not too successful because of the high polymer losses to the rock. A high molecular weight, partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide was introduced 3 years ago as a waterflood additive. Initial work by Pye indicated that the presence of these polymers in dilute concentrations decreases the water mobility 5 to 20 times more than would be expected from measurements of the solution viscosity. Such an effect would be of obvious economic value since only a small polymer concentration would be required to accomplish a large reduction in water mobility. This research was designed to study the basic flow mechanisms of polymer solutions in porous media. The interacting effects of polymer properties and porous media properties on flow performance are considered. This study indicates some of the conditions under which these interactions can lead to significant mobility effects. DEFINITION OF PROBLEM The Darcy equation ........................................(1) is valid only for Newtonian fluids. For polymer solutions and other non-Newtonian fluids the equation must be modified to consider that viscosity is a variable quantity. Modification of the Darcy equation to include non-Newtonian effects has been the subject of several recent investigations. The modifications generally adopt a rheological model, such as an Ellis or power law model, to porous media by defining some characteristic channel radius. Most of these studies showed the porous media flow behavior to be predictable from viscometric data. Investigations involving the flow of high molecular weight polyacrylamide solutions through cores have generally encountered the high flow resistances reported previously by Pye. This high flow resistance has generally been attributed to an in-depth permeability reduction, as evidenced by a reduced permeability to water which has displaced polymer solution from the porous media. Marshall and Metzner report high flow resistances, which they attribute to viscoelastic effects. In this paper, the effects of polymer molecular weight. pore size, flow rate and concentration are considered. The polymers used are the polyethylene oxides known as Polyox. This class of polymers was used because of its availability in a wide range of molecular weights and because of its known ability to propagate well through porous media. THEORY PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF POLYMER SOLUTIONS The polymer molecule dissolves in water by means of hydrogen bonding, but retains some of its own structural identity while in solution. Nonionic polymers, such as polyethylene oxide, are generally considered to have a random coiling configuration. This type of molecule has the ability to "sequester" or hold a large volume of solvent within its coils in a manner similar to that of a sponge. JPT P. 1065ˆ

Rheological Properties of Pseudoplastic Fluids in Porous Media

Abstract With flow of non-Newtonian fluids in porous media, effective viscosities are needed for use in the Darcy equation. These viscosities depend on the rock parameters and flowing conditions. In this investigation, rheological and flow results were correlated to develop an expression for calculating effective viscosities. Surfactant-stabilized dispersions of water in hydrocarbon were used with consolidated sandstone cores of different permeabilities. The average shear rate in a core was related to the permeability and porosity of the core and the frontal velocity through the core. By using the correlation obtained for determining effective viscosity, experimental and theoretical values were compared for each fluid system by determining average and maximum errors. For the fluid system showing the largest average error, the correlation fit 38 experimental points with an average and maximum percentage error of 4.3 and 14.8, respectively. For the fluid system showing the least error, average and maximum percentage errors of 1.8 and 4.3, respectively, were calculated using 29 experimental points. Introduction Use of non-Newtonian fluids in the petroleum industry is not new. Fluids of this type have been used for many years as fracturing agents and drilling muds. Recently, attention has focused on the use of high molecular weight polymer solutions for secondary recovery. Results have been reported on studies relating to the flow behavior of polymer solutions in porous media. Each study gives the viscosity in the Darcy equation as a function of the rheological properties of the fluid, the characteristics of the porous medium and the pressure gradient. The functional forms of the reported expressions differ somewhat in each study.