Repairing wellbore cement structures and related compositions
A self-healing cement structure may be used for repairing defects. An example method of using such a cement structure includes: providing a cement structure in a wellbore, wherein the cement structure includes: a cement and elastomer particles at 1% by weight of the cement (bwoc) to 25% bwoc; applying heat to the cement structure to heat at least a portion of the elastomer particles above a melting point of an elastomer of the elastomer particles to cause at least a portion of the elastomer to melt and infiltrate into a defect in the cement structure; and allowing the elastomer to cool below the melting point of the elastomer to yield a repaired cement structure.
1. A method comprising:
providing a cement structure in a wellbore, wherein the cement structure comprises: a cement and elastomer particles at 1% by weight of the cement (bwoc) to 25% bwoc;
applying heat to the cement structure to heat at least a portion of the elastomer particles above a melting point of an elastomer of the elastomer particles to cause at least a portion of the elastomer to melt and infiltrate into a defect in the cement structure; and
allowing the elastomer to cool below the melting point of the elastomer to yield a repaired cement structure.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the repaired cement structure has a compressive strength of 1500 psi or greater.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cement structure has a compressive strength of 2000 psi to 4000 psi.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cement structure is located in an annulus between a tubular and a wellbore.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the defect is a crack.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the defect is a microannulus.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cement structure further comprises: 30% bwoc to 70% bwoc of a crystalline silica; 1% bwoc to 100% bwoc of a weighting agent; 0.1% bwoc to 5% bwoc of a retarder; 0.1% bwoc to 5% bwoc of a viscosifier; and 0.1% bwoc to 10% bwoc of a fluid loss control agent.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the elastomer comprises one or more compositions selected from the group consisting of: poly(acrylonitrile), poly(6-aminocaproic acid), poly(trans-butadiene), poly(l-butene), poly(caprolactam), poly(decamethylene adipamide), poly(decamethyleen sebacamide), poly(hexamethylene adipamide), poly(hexamethylene sebacamide), poly(hexamethlyeen suberamide), poly(co-undecanamide), poly(etheretherketone), poly(ethylene adipate), poly(ethylene oxide), poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene), poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(methylene oxide), poly(4-methylpentene), poly(propylene), poly(styrene), poly(tetramethylene oxide), poly(trans-1,4-butadiene), poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(vinyl chloride), poly(vinyl fluoride), poly(vinylidene chloride), poly(vinylidene fluoride), and any combination thereof.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the elastomer particles have a weight average diameter of 0.1 micron to 1 mm.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the applying of the heat comprises: positioning a heater within the wellbore at or near the cement structure; and causing the heater to apply the heat.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the heater is a mineral insulated heater, a Currie heater, or a thermite heater.
12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the positioning of the heater uses a wireline.
13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the positioning of the heater uses a coiled tubing.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the applying of the heat comprises: moving a heater along the wellbore at or near the cement structure; and causing the heater to apply the heat while moving the heater.