Abstract
Cement is used in the oil industry to line oil wells. The major component of oilwell cement is tricalcium silicate (C3S), which is responsible for the initial thickening of the cement slurry. It is important to control the time that it takes for this slurry to thicken, and this is achieved in practice by the addition of chemical retarders, which delay the onset of thickening. In this paper, the action of a retarder whose main effect is to form a complex with calcium ions is investigated by use of a model for the hydration of C3S previously investigated by Preece, Billingham and King (2001). It is found that such a retarder can significantly increase the thickening time of pure tricalcium silicate.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 367-377 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Journal of Engineering Mathematics |
Volume | 45 |
Issue number | 3/4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2003 |
Keywords
- oil wells
- asymptotics
- cement hydration
- modelling
- mathematical chemistry