Morphology and Rheological Properties of Polyacrylamide/Bentonite Organic Crosslinking Composite Gel

The use of polymer gel for water control and oil addition is a common technical method in oilfield development. The polymer and hydrated bentonite react under the action of an organic crosslinking agent to form a composite gel. The particle-size change and microstructure of the composite gel were analyzed via shear thinning, thixotropic, viscoelastic, and start-up stress rheology experiments. The experimental results show that the polyacrylamide/bentonite organic crosslinked composite gel was a gel system with bentonite as the core aggregate structure, and the large particle-size distribution was mostly increased with increasing crosslinker content. The composite gel presented shear thinning characteristics, the content of bentonite or crosslinking agent was increased, and the shear resistance was stronger at a high shear rate. The composite gel exhibited positive thixotropic properties, and the thixotropy increased with increasing bentonite content. The composite gel had good viscoelastic characteristics, the elastic characteristics of the composite gel showed more significantly with bentonite increases, and the viscosity of the composite gel showed its characteristics more significantly with the crosslinking agent increased. After loading at a rate on the composite gel, the shear stress increased significantly with time and reached its maximum value, and then the shear stress decreased and gradually stabilized.