Real-Time Measurement of Drilling Fluid Rheological Properties: A Review

The accurate and frequent measurement of the drilling fluid’s rheological properties is essential for proper hydraulic management. It is also important for intelligent drilling, providing drilling fluid data to establish the optimization model of the rate of penetration. Appropriate drilling fluid properties can improve drilling efficiency and prevent accidents. However, the drilling fluid properties are mainly measured in the laboratory. This hinders the real-time optimization of drilling fluid performance and the decision-making process. If the drilling fluid’s properties cannot be detected and the decision-making process does not respond in time, the rate of penetration will slow, potentially causing accidents and serious economic losses. Therefore, it is important to measure the drilling fluid’s properties for drilling engineering in real time. This paper summarizes the real-time measurement methods for rheological properties. The main methods include the following four types: an online rotational Couette viscometer, pipe viscometer, mathematical and physical model or artificial intelligence model based on a Marsh funnel, and acoustic technology. This paper elaborates on the principle, advantages, limitations, and usage of each method. It prospects the real-time measurement of drilling fluid rheological properties and promotes the development of the real-time measurement of drilling rheological properties.