Rheology of suspensions of h-BN nanoparticles in xantham gum

Several industries are applying efforts to develop smart fluids, and rheology is an important tool to be used. In the oil & gas industry, new oilfields are being identified in complex reservoir environments, with high pressure and high temperature conditions. The development of smart drilling fluids with better properties to comply with the environmental requirements in deeper offshore regions are needed to improve the drilling and completion operations of oil wells. This work aims to study the rheology of oxidized nanostructures of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN-oxi) directly dispersed in a polymeric system composed of deionized water and xanthan gum (XG). The effect of h-BN concentration, temperature and pressure on the nanofluid rheology is analyzed. The viscoelastic properties of the suspensions are obtained using a rotational rheometer. The thermal properties are acquired by the Modified Transient Plane Source. Techniques such as Transmission Electronic Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Raman Spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Thermogravimetric Analysis, Dynamic Light Scattering, Fourier Transform Infrared and Zeta Potential characterized morphologically and structurally the h-BN-oxi nanosheets. The experimental results helped to investigate the particle-particle and particle-fluid interactions mechanisms in the nanofluid, and allowed to understanding their effects on the rheological and thermal properties of the nanofluids.