Study on the Thermal Stability of Viscoelastic Surfactant-Based Fluids Bearing Lamellar Structures

Abstract

A detailed study has been done on the phase behavior and rheological properties of viscoelastic surfactant (VES)-based fracturing fluids bearing lamellar liquid crystal structures that are developed from two surfactants (SDS and NaOA) and three co-surfactants (propan-2-ol, <i>iso</i>-amyl alcohol, and 2-ethyl hexanol) in the presence of clove oil as the organic phase and water as the aqueous phase. Lamellar liquid crystals prepared from NaOA/2-ethyl hexanol/clove oil/water system demonstrated the best viscoelastic properties among all the developed fluids, because it exhibited resistance to high temperature and shear conditions. The addition of alkali and nanoparticles enhanced the viscoelastic properties, which were observed from static and dynamic rheological tests