e niroomand - Sahand Oil and Gas Research Institute, Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran
m simjoo - Sahand Oil and Gas Research Institute, Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran
s.a tabatabae njad - Sahand Oil and Gas Research Institute, Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran

Efficient drill cuttings transport to the surface is one the main parameters to reduce drilling time. Foam is potentially one of the efficient drilling fluids for the cuttings transport. In this paper the performance of foam for cuttings transport was investigated through an experimental study. The effect of particle size, foam velocity and viscosity of foaming solution on the cuttings transport capacity was studied. The results showed that the generated foam was able to remove cuttings with an average diameter from 1300 to 3000 μm. A polymer enhanced foam was also successfully generated that significantly increased the capacity of cuttings transport

Cuttings transport, Hole cleaning, Foam, Polymer