NON-NEWTONIAN NATURE OF DRILLING FLUIDS: FROM VISCOSITY TO THIXOTROPY

Abstract

The paper presents a fundamental physical analysis of the rheological behavior of drilling fluids as complex disperse systems. Based on the principles of continuum mechanics, the author investigates the transition between viscoplastic flow and thixotropic structure recovery. The study highlights that conventional steady-state models, such as the Bingham-Plastic model, often neglect the time-dependent relaxation spectra, leading to significant errors in hydraulic pressure predictions for deep well construction.
Special attention is paid to the energetic nature of particle interactions within bentonite-polymer suspensions. By integrating recent findings from high-impact international journals (Category A), the author proposes a conceptual vision for "smart" drilling fluids with controlled rheological responses. The results demonstrate that effective hole cleaning and wellbore stability depend on the kinetic balance between shear-induced structure breakdown and Brownian-driven coagulation. The research outlines future perspectives for implementing digital twins in rheological monitoring.