Automated mud sampling system for measuring viscosity and density

Abstract

Drilling fluids are perhaps the most important feature of a drilling operation, it is a multipurpose fluid that also functions as an information channel to the surface. Traditionally drilling fluid properties like density and viscosity were usually measured manually by taking samples, but in the last couple of years the drilling operation is evolving to be more and more automated. The theme of this thesis was to look into the possibility of having continuously measurement of viscosity and density of drilling fluid. To solve this task, a measuring system consisting of a viscosity and density sensor was designed. This included both hardware and software programming. The software has been simulated and verified, while the hardware is due for production. This thesis is a part of the global vision of making the drilling operation fully automated, to reach this goal the rig needs real-time monitoring for every variable in the drilling operation. To make the system as efficient as possible, an automatic flushing system is implemented, and communication with existing sensors is established. It is emphasized that this thesis is a preliminary design with a vision of a future commercial product.