Improving oil well cement strengths through the coupling of metakaolin and nanosilica

Abstract

The research study aimed to investigate the effect of coupled metakaolin and nano-silica (nano-SiO₂) on improving the compressive and shear bond strengths of class G oil well cement. Samples curing was done at 80 °C for 3, 7, 14, and 28 days. XRD and TG-DSC techniques were used for cement phase characterization. The results indicated that the cement system with 2% nano-SiO₂ and 20% metakaolin increased the compressive strength by 20.0 and 21.4%, and shear bond strength by 205.5 and 90.8% for 3 and 28 days, respectively. This means the synergistic effect is more significant for cement-formation bond strength development. The results of this study, therefore, points to a potential ternary cement system for durable oil wells.