Flaked calcium carbonate plugging performance

Flaked calcium carbonate has a better plugging performance compared to other flaky
materials like mica. The material was able to seal a fracture size of 5.0 mm. After the
material was sheared with the fluid, the sealing capability dropped to 3.0 mm. The material
plugging efficiency performance was remarkable, especially with the high size degradation of
the material. The median size of the dry phase was 2,074 μm; the mixed sample’s phase
median size dropped to 973 μm due to size degradation. The new mathematical relationship
equation for flaked calcium carbonate is developed. The median particle size over the
fracture size must be equal to or greater than 0.7 to form the bridging.

Particle Size Distribution for Loss Circulation Material

Material Description D10 D50 D90 Source
FLAKE COARSE 1251 1983 2832 Sieve Analysis
FLAKE MEDIUM 310 713 1455 Sieve Analysis
FLAKE FINE 103 223 519 Sieve Analysis

PPT Results @ 2000 psi & 300 deg F using 50 microns ceramic disc

10 ppg Oil Base Mud + Mud (b) + Mud (c) + 10 Mud (d) + 3
Base Mud 20 ppb sized 10 ppb ppb FLAKE % Latex
(a) Calcium Graphite Fine
Carbonate medium (d)
(b) (c)

Spurt Loss 2 1.5 1.2 0.8 0.3

ml
Total Fluid 9 7 6.4 5.8 3
loss, ml for
30 min