Process for rapidly determining the solids content in drilling fluids

Claim 1

A method for determining the content of formation solids present in drilling fluids by dielectric measurements, comprising the steps of: (a) cleaning a drilling fluid sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water; (b) separating the solids and liquid in the drilling fluid sample by means of centrifuging, thus creating a drilling fluid-solids sample and a drilling fluid-liquid sample; (c) washing the drilling fluid-solids sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water to which a cation has been added; (d) packing the washed drilling fluid-solids sample into a sample cell suitable for dielectric measurement; (e) measuring the dielectric constant of the washed drilling fluid-solids sample at a preselected frequency; (f) grinding a sample of drill cuttings from the same formation to a size suitable for testing; (g) repeating the washing step (c) and the packing step (d) for the drill cuttings sample; (h) measuring the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample at the same preselected frequency used in step (e); (i) for each solids-additive type which has been added to the drilling fluid, grinding a sample of each such solids-additive type to sizes suitable for testing; (j) repeating the washing step (c) and the packing step (d) for each such solids-additive type samples; (k) measuring the dielectric constant of each of the solids-additive samples at the same preselected frequency used in steps (e) and (h); (1) obtaining the amount of formation solids present in the drilling fluid sample in accordance with the following relationship: ##EQU10## where: a is amount of solids from the formation expressed as a fraction of total solids in the drilling fluid; DCM(ms) is the dielectric constant of the drilling fluid-solids sample obtained in step (e); DCM(dc) is the dielectric constant of the drilling cuttings sample obtained in step (h); ##EQU11## is the weighted average of the dielectric constant for all solids-additive samples obtained in step (k), where DCM(add i ) is the dielectric constant of solids-additive type i, i=1 to n; n is the number of solids-additive types; and b i is the weight factor of of solids-additive i as a fraction of the total solids weight.

Claim 2

A method for determining the content of formation solids present in drilling fluids by dielectric measurements, comprising the steps of: (a) cleaning a drilling fluid sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water; (b) separating the solids and liquid in the drilling fluid sample by means of centrifuging, thus creating a drilling fluid-solids sample and a drilling fluid-liquid sample; (c) washing the drilling fluid-solids sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water to which a cation has been added; (d) packing the washed drilling fluid-solids sample into a sample cell suitable for dielectric measurement; (e) measuring the dielectric constant of the washed drilling fluid-solids sample at a preselected frequency; (f) grinding a sample of drill cuttings from the same formation to a size suitable for testing; (g) repeating the washing step (c) and the packing step (d) for the drill cuttings sample; (h) measuring the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample at the same preselected frequency used in step (e); (i) for each solids-additive type which has been added to the drilling fluid, grinding a sample of each such solids-additive type to sizes suitable for testing; (j) repeating the washing step (c) and the packing step (d) for each such solids-additive type samples; (k) measuring the dielectric constant of each of the solids-additive samples at the same preselected frequency used in steps (e) and (h); (1) obtaining the amount of formation solids present in the drilling fluid sample in accordance with the following relationship: ##EQU10## where: a is amount of solids from the formation expressed as a fraction of total solids in the drilling fluid; DCM(ms) is the dielectric constant of the drilling fluid-solids sample obtained in step (e); DCM(dc) is the dielectric constant of the drilling cuttings sample obtained in step (h); ##EQU11## is the weighted average of the dielectric constant for all solids-additive samples obtained in step (k), where DCM(add i ) is the dielectric constant of solids-additive type i, i=1 to n; n is the number of solids-additive types; and b i is the weight factor of of solids-additive i as a fraction of the total solids weight.

Claim 3

A method for determining the content of formation solids present in oil-base drilling fluids, with known types and quantities of solids-additives, by dielectric measurements, comprising the steps of: (a) cleaning a drilling fluid sample with an organic solvent having a water activity substantially less than that of water; (b) separating the solids and liquid in the drilling fluid sample by means of centrifuging, thus creating a drilling fluid-solids sample and a drilling fluid-liquid sample; (c) washing the drilling fluid-solids sample with a solvent miscible in both water and the organic solvent and centrifuging said sample to separate out the organic solvent; (d) washing the drilling fluid-solids sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water to which a cation has been added and centrifuging said sample to separate out said fluid; (e) packing the washed drilling fluid-solids sample into a sample cell suitable for dielectric measurement; (f) measuring the dielectric constant of the washed drilling fluid-solids sample at a preselected frequency; (g) grinding a sample of drill cuttings from the formation to a size suitable for testing; (h) repeating the washing step (d) and the packing step (e), for the drill cuttings sample; (i) measuring the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample at the same preselected frequency used in step (f); (j) for each solids-additive type which has been added to the drilling fluid, grinding a sample of each such solids-additive type to sizes suitable for testing; (k) repeating the washing step (d) and packing step (e) for each such solids-additive sample; (l) measuring the dielectric constant of each of the solids-additive samples at the same preselected frequency used in steps (f) and (i); (m) obtaining the amount of formation solids present in the oil-base drilling fluid sample in accordance with the following relationship: ##EQU12## where: a is amount of solids from the formation expressed as a fraction of total solids in the drilling fluid; DCM(ms) is the dielectric constant of the drilling fluid-solids sample obtained in step (f); DCM(dc) is the dielectric constant of the drilling cuttings sample obtained in step (i); ##EQU13## is the weighted average of the dielectric constant for all solids-additive samples obtained in step (l), where: DCM(add i ) is the dielectric constant of solids-additive i, i=1 to n; n is the number of solids-additive types; and b i is the weight factor of of solids-additive i as a fraction of the total solids weight.

Claim 4

A method for determining the content of formation solids present in oil-base drilling fluids, with known types and quantities of solids-additives, by dielectric measurements, comprising the steps of: (a) cleaning a drilling fluid sample with an organic solvent having a water activity substantially less than that of water; (b) separating the solids and liquid in the drilling fluid sample by means of centrifuging, thus creating a drilling fluid-solids sample and a drilling fluid-liquid sample; (c) washing the drilling fluid-solids sample with a solvent miscible in both water and the organic solvent and centrifuging said sample to separate out the organic solvent; (d) washing the drilling fluid-solids sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water to which a cation has been added and centrifuging said sample to separate out said fluid; (e) packing the washed drilling fluid-solids sample into a sample cell suitable for dielectric measurement; (f) measuring the dielectric constant of the washed drilling fluid-solids sample at a preselected frequency; (g) grinding a sample of drill cuttings from the formation to a size suitable for testing; (h) repeating the washing step (d) and the packing step (e), for the drill cuttings sample; (i) measuring the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample at the same preselected frequency used in step (f); (j) for each solids-additive type which has been added to the drilling fluid, grinding a sample of each such solids-additive type to sizes suitable for testing; (k) repeating the washing step (d) and packing step (e) for each such solids-additive sample; (l) measuring the dielectric constant of each of the solids-additive samples at the same preselected frequency used in steps (f) and (i); (m) obtaining the amount of formation solids present in the oil-base drilling fluid sample in accordance with the following relationship: ##EQU12## where: a is amount of solids from the formation expressed as a fraction of total solids in the drilling fluid; DCM(ms) is the dielectric constant of the drilling fluid-solids sample obtained in step (f); DCM(dc) is the dielectric constant of the drilling cuttings sample obtained in step (i); ##EQU13## is the weighted average of the dielectric constant for all solids-additive samples obtained in step (l), where: DCM(add i ) is the dielectric constant of solids-additive i, i=1 to n; n is the number of solids-additive types; and b i is the weight factor of of solids-additive i as a fraction of the total solids weight.

Claim 5

A method for determining the content of formation solids present in water-base drilling fluids, with known types and quantities of solids-additives, by dielectric measurements, comprising the steps of: (a) cleaning a drilling fluid sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water; (b) separating the solids and liquid in the drilling fluid sample by means of centrifuging, thus creating a drilling fluid-solids sample and a drilling fluid-liquid sample; (c) washing the drilling fluid-solids sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water to which a cation has been added; (d) packing the washed drilling fluid-solids sample into a sample cell suitable for dielectric measurement; (e) measuring the dielectric constant of the washed drilling fluid-solids sample at a preselected frequency; (f) grinding a sample of drill cuttings from the same formation to a size suitable for testing; (g) repeating the washing step (c) and the packing step (d), for the drill cuttings sample; (h) measuring the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample at the same preselected frequency used in step (e); (i) for each solids-additive type which has been added to the drilling fluid, grinding a sample of each such solids-additive type to sizes suitable for testing; (j) repeating steps (c) and (d) for each such solids-additive type sample; (k) measuring the dielectric constant of each of the solids-additive samples at the same preselected frequency used in steps (e) and (h); (l) obtaining the amount of formation solids present in the drilling fluid sample in accordance with the following relationship: ##EQU14## where a is amount of solids from the formation expressed as a fraction of total solids in the drilling fluid; DCM(ms) is the dielectric constant of the drilling fluid-solids sample obtained in step (e); DCM(dc) is the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample obtained in step (h); ##EQU15## is the weighted average of the dielectric constant for all solids-additive samples obtained in step (k); where: DCM(add i ) is the dielectric constant of solids-additive i, i=1 to n; n is the number of solids-additive types; and b i is the weight factor of solids-additive i as a fraction of the total solids weight.

Claim 6

A method for determining the content of formation solids present in water-base drilling fluids, with known types and quantities of solids-additives, by dielectric measurements, comprising the steps of: (a) cleaning a drilling fluid sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water; (b) separating the solids and liquid in the drilling fluid sample by means of centrifuging, thus creating a drilling fluid-solids sample and a drilling fluid-liquid sample; (c) washing the drilling fluid-solids sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water to which a cation has been added; (d) packing the washed drilling fluid-solids sample into a sample cell suitable for dielectric measurement; (e) measuring the dielectric constant of the washed drilling fluid-solids sample at a preselected frequency; (f) grinding a sample of drill cuttings from the same formation to a size suitable for testing; (g) repeating the washing step (c) and the packing step (d), for the drill cuttings sample; (h) measuring the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample at the same preselected frequency used in step (e); (i) for each solids-additive type which has been added to the drilling fluid, grinding a sample of each such solids-additive type to sizes suitable for testing; (j) repeating steps (c) and (d) for each such solids-additive type sample; (k) measuring the dielectric constant of each of the solids-additive samples at the same preselected frequency used in steps (e) and (h); (l) obtaining the amount of formation solids present in the drilling fluid sample in accordance with the following relationship: ##EQU14## where a is amount of solids from the formation expressed as a fraction of total solids in the drilling fluid; DCM(ms) is the dielectric constant of the drilling fluid-solids sample obtained in step (e); DCM(dc) is the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample obtained in step (h); ##EQU15## is the weighted average of the dielectric constant for all solids-additive samples obtained in step (k); where: DCM(add i ) is the dielectric constant of solids-additive i, i=1 to n; n is the number of solids-additive types; and b i is the weight factor of solids-additive i as a fraction of the total solids weight.

Claim 7

A method for determining the content of formation solids present in water-base polymer drilling fluids, with known types and quantities of solids-additives, by dielectric measurements, comprising the steps of: (a) cleaning a drilling fluid sample with a fluid having a pH in the acid range; (b) separating the solids and liquid in the drilling fluid sample by means of centrifuging, thus creating a drilling fluid-solids sample and a drilling fluid-liquid sample; (c) washing the drilling fluid-solids sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water to which a cation has been added; (d) packing the washed drilling fluid-solids sample into a sample cell suitable for dielectric measurement; (e) measuring the dielectric constant of the washed drilling fluid-solids sample at a preselected frequency; (f) grinding a sample of drill cuttings from the same formation to a size suitable for testing; (g) repeating the washing step (c) and the packing step (d), for the drill cuttings sample; (h) measuring the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample at the same preselected frequency used in step (e); (i) for each solids-additive type which has been added to the drilling fluid, grinding a sample of each such solids-additive type to sizes suitable for testing; (j) repeating the washing step (c) and the packing step (d) for each such solids-additive sample; (k) measuring the dielectric constant of each of the solids-additive samples at the same preselected frequency used in steps(e) and (h); (l) obtaining the amount of formation solids present in the drilling fluid sample in accordance with the following relationship: ##EQU16## where: a is amount of solids from the formation expressed as a fraction of total solids in the drilling fluid; DCM(ms) is the dielectric constant of the drilling fluid-solids sample obtained in step (e); DCM(dc) is the dielectric constant of the drilling cuttings sample obtained in step (h); ##EQU17## is the weighted average of the dielectric constant for all solids-additive samples obtained in step (k), DCM(add i ) is the dielectric constant of solids-additive i, i=1 to n; n is the number of solids-additive types; and b i is the weight factor of solids-additive i as a fraction of the total solids weight.

Claim 8

A method for determining the content of formation solids present in water-base polymer drilling fluids, with known types and quantities of solids-additives, by dielectric measurements, comprising the steps of: (a) cleaning a drilling fluid sample with a fluid having a pH in the acid range; (b) separating the solids and liquid in the drilling fluid sample by means of centrifuging, thus creating a drilling fluid-solids sample and a drilling fluid-liquid sample; (c) washing the drilling fluid-solids sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water to which a cation has been added; (d) packing the washed drilling fluid-solids sample into a sample cell suitable for dielectric measurement; (e) measuring the dielectric constant of the washed drilling fluid-solids sample at a preselected frequency; (f) grinding a sample of drill cuttings from the same formation to a size suitable for testing; (g) repeating the washing step (c) and the packing step (d), for the drill cuttings sample; (h) measuring the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample at the same preselected frequency used in step (e); (i) for each solids-additive type which has been added to the drilling fluid, grinding a sample of each such solids-additive type to sizes suitable for testing; (j) repeating the washing step (c) and the packing step (d) for each such solids-additive sample; (k) measuring the dielectric constant of each of the solids-additive samples at the same preselected frequency used in steps(e) and (h); (l) obtaining the amount of formation solids present in the drilling fluid sample in accordance with the following relationship: ##EQU16## where: a is amount of solids from the formation expressed as a fraction of total solids in the drilling fluid; DCM(ms) is the dielectric constant of the drilling fluid-solids sample obtained in step (e); DCM(dc) is the dielectric constant of the drilling cuttings sample obtained in step (h); ##EQU17## is the weighted average of the dielectric constant for all solids-additive samples obtained in step (k), DCM(add i ) is the dielectric constant of solids-additive i, i=1 to n; n is the number of solids-additive types; and b i is the weight factor of solids-additive i as a fraction of the total solids weight.

Claim 9

A method for determining the content of formation solids present in oil-base drilling fluids, with known types of solids-additives but unknown quantities of said solids-additives, by dielectric measurements, comprising the steps of: (a) cleaning a drilling fluid sample with an organic solvent having a water activity substantially less than that of water; (b) separating the solids and liquid in the drilling fluid sample by means of centrifuging, thus creating a drilling fluid-solids sample and a drilling fluid-liquid sample; (c) washing the drilling fluid-solids sample with a solvent miscible in both water and the organic solvent; (d) washing the drilling fluid-solids sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water to which a cation has been added; (e) packing the washed drilling fluid-solids sample into a sample cell suitable for dielectric measurement; (f) measuring the dielectric constant of the washed drilling fluid-solids sample at a preselected frequency; (g) grinding a sample of drill cuttings from the same formation to a size suitable for testing; (h) repeating the washing step (d) and the packing step (e), for the drill cuttings sample; (i) measuring the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample at the same preselected frequency used in step (f); (j) for each solids-additive type which has been added to the drilling fluid, grinding n+1 samples of each such solids-additive type to sizes suitable for testing, where n is the number of types of solids-additives added to the drilling fluid; (k) for each solids-additive sample obtained in step (j), washing each such solids-additive sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water to which a cation has been added, whereby a different type of cation is used for each such n+1 samples of solids-additive type, thus resulting in n+1 washings for each of the n types of solids-additives added to the drilling fluid; (l) repeating the washing step (d) and the packing step (e) for each such solids-additive type; (m) measuring the dielectric constant of each of the n+1 solids-additive samples for each of the solids-additive types added to the drilling fluid at the same preselected frequency used in steps (f) and (i); (n) obtaining the amount of formation solids present in the oil-base drilling fluid sample and the quantities of each solids-additive type added to the drilling fluid in accordance with the following relationship, which will result in a total of m=n+1 equations and m=n+1 unknowns which can be resolved mathematically to obtain the amount of formation solids present in the oil-base drilling fluid sample and the quantitities of each solids-additive type added to the drilling fluid: ##EQU18## where: a is amount of solids from the formation expressed as a fraction of total solids in the drilling fluid; DCM(ms) is the dielectric constant of the drilling fluid-solids sample obtained in step (f); DCM(dc) is the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample obtained in step (i); j is the type of cation used in step k; DCM(add i ) is the dielectric constant of solids additive i, i=1 to n; n is the number of solids-additive types; and b i is the weight factor of solids-additive type i as a fraction of the total solids weight.

Claim 10

A method for determining the content of formation solids present in oil-base drilling fluids, with known types of solids-additives but unknown quantities of said solids-additives, by dielectric measurements, comprising the steps of: (a) cleaning a drilling fluid sample with an organic solvent having a water activity substantially less than that of water; (b) separating the solids and liquid in the drilling fluid sample by means of centrifuging, thus creating a drilling fluid-solids sample and a drilling fluid-liquid sample; (c) washing the drilling fluid-solids sample with a solvent miscible in both water and the organic solvent; (d) washing the drilling fluid-solids sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water to which a cation has been added; (e) packing the washed drilling fluid-solids sample into a sample cell suitable for dielectric measurement; (f) measuring the dielectric constant of the washed drilling fluid-solids sample at a preselected frequency; (g) grinding a sample of drill cuttings from the same formation to a size suitable for testing; (h) repeating the washing step (d) and the packing step (e), for the drill cuttings sample; (i) measuring the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample at the same preselected frequency used in step (f); (j) for each solids-additive type which has been added to the drilling fluid, grinding n+1 samples of each such solids-additive type to sizes suitable for testing, where n is the number of types of solids-additives added to the drilling fluid; (k) for each solids-additive sample obtained in step (j), washing each such solids-additive sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water to which a cation has been added, whereby a different type of cation is used for each such n+1 samples of solids-additive type, thus resulting in n+1 washings for each of the n types of solids-additives added to the drilling fluid; (l) repeating the washing step (d) and the packing step (e) for each such solids-additive type; (m) measuring the dielectric constant of each of the n+1 solids-additive samples for each of the solids-additive types added to the drilling fluid at the same preselected frequency used in steps (f) and (i); (n) obtaining the amount of formation solids present in the oil-base drilling fluid sample and the quantities of each solids-additive type added to the drilling fluid in accordance with the following relationship, which will result in a total of m=n+1 equations and m=n+1 unknowns which can be resolved mathematically to obtain the amount of formation solids present in the oil-base drilling fluid sample and the quantitities of each solids-additive type added to the drilling fluid: ##EQU18## where: a is amount of solids from the formation expressed as a fraction of total solids in the drilling fluid; DCM(ms) is the dielectric constant of the drilling fluid-solids sample obtained in step (f); DCM(dc) is the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample obtained in step (i); j is the type of cation used in step k; DCM(add i ) is the dielectric constant of solids additive i, i=1 to n; n is the number of solids-additive types; and b i is the weight factor of solids-additive type i as a fraction of the total solids weight.

Claim 11

A method for determining the content of formation solids present in water-base clay drilling fluids, with known types of solids-additives but unknown quantities of said solids-additives, by dielectric measurements, comprising the steps of: (a) cleaning a drilling fluid sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water; (b) separating the solids and liquid in the drilling fluid sample by means of centrifuging, thus creating a drilling fluid-solids sample and a drilling fluid-liquid sample; (c) washing the drilling fluid-solids sample with fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water to which a cation has been added; (d) packing the washed drilling fluid-solids sample into a sample cell suitable for dielectric measurement; (e) measuring the dielectric constant of the washed drilling fluid-solids sample at a preselected frequency; (f) grinding a sample of drill cuttings from the same formation to a size suitable for testing; (g) repeating the washing step (c) and the packing step (d), for the drill cuttings sample; (h) measuring the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample at the same preselected frequency used in step (e); (i) for each solids-additive type which has been added to the drilling fluid, grinding n+1 samples of each such solids-additive type to sizes suitable for testing where n is the number of types of solids-additives added to the drilling fluid; (j) for each solids-additive sample obtained in step (i), washing each such solids-additive sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water to which a cation has been added, whereby a different type of cation is used for each such n+1 sample of solids-additive type, thus resulting in n+1 washings for each of the n types of solids-additives added to the drilling fluid; (k) repeating steps (c) and (d) for each such solids additive type; (l) measuring the dielectric constant of each of the n+1 solids-additive samples for each of the solids-additive types added to the drilling fluid at the same preselected frequency used in steps (e) and (h); (m) obtaining the amount of formation solids present in the drilling fluid sample and the quantities of each solids-additive type added to the drilling fluid in accordance with the following relationship, which will result in a total of m=n+1 equations and n+1 unknowns which can be resolved mathematically to obtain the amount of formation solids present in the drilling fluid sample and the quantities of each solids-additive type added to the drilling fluid: ##EQU19## where: a is amount of solids from the formation expressed as a fraction of total solids in the drilling fluid; DCM(ms) is the dielectric constant of the drilling fluid-solids sample obtained in step (e); DCM(dc) is the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample obtained in step (h); j is the type of cation used in step (j); DCM(add i ) is the dielectric constant of solids-additive i, i=1 to n; n is the number of solids-additive types; and b i is the weight factor of solids-additive type i as a fraction of the total solids weight.

Claim 12

A method for determining the content of formation solids present in water-base clay drilling fluids, with known types of solids-additives but unknown quantities of said solids-additives, by dielectric measurements, comprising the steps of: (a) cleaning a drilling fluid sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water; (b) separating the solids and liquid in the drilling fluid sample by means of centrifuging, thus creating a drilling fluid-solids sample and a drilling fluid-liquid sample; (c) washing the drilling fluid-solids sample with fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water to which a cation has been added; (d) packing the washed drilling fluid-solids sample into a sample cell suitable for dielectric measurement; (e) measuring the dielectric constant of the washed drilling fluid-solids sample at a preselected frequency; (f) grinding a sample of drill cuttings from the same formation to a size suitable for testing; (g) repeating the washing step (c) and the packing step (d), for the drill cuttings sample; (h) measuring the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample at the same preselected frequency used in step (e); (i) for each solids-additive type which has been added to the drilling fluid, grinding n+1 samples of each such solids-additive type to sizes suitable for testing where n is the number of types of solids-additives added to the drilling fluid; (j) for each solids-additive sample obtained in step (i), washing each such solids-additive sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water to which a cation has been added, whereby a different type of cation is used for each such n+1 sample of solids-additive type, thus resulting in n+1 washings for each of the n types of solids-additives added to the drilling fluid; (k) repeating steps (c) and (d) for each such solids additive type; (l) measuring the dielectric constant of each of the n+1 solids-additive samples for each of the solids-additive types added to the drilling fluid at the same preselected frequency used in steps (e) and (h); (m) obtaining the amount of formation solids present in the drilling fluid sample and the quantities of each solids-additive type added to the drilling fluid in accordance with the following relationship, which will result in a total of m=n+1 equations and n+1 unknowns which can be resolved mathematically to obtain the amount of formation solids present in the drilling fluid sample and the quantities of each solids-additive type added to the drilling fluid: ##EQU19## where: a is amount of solids from the formation expressed as a fraction of total solids in the drilling fluid; DCM(ms) is the dielectric constant of the drilling fluid-solids sample obtained in step (e); DCM(dc) is the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample obtained in step (h); j is the type of cation used in step (j); DCM(add i ) is the dielectric constant of solids-additive i, i=1 to n; n is the number of solids-additive types; and b i is the weight factor of solids-additive type i as a fraction of the total solids weight.

Claim 13

A method for determining the content of formation solids present in water-base polymer drilling fluids, with known types of solids-additives but unknown quantities of said solids-additives, by dielectric measurements, comprising the steps of: (a) cleaning a drilling fluid sample with a fluid having a PH in the acid range; (b) separating the solids and liquid in the drilling fluid sample by means of centrifuging, thus creating a drilling fluid-solids sample and a drilling fluid-liquid sample; (c) washing the drilling fluid-solids sample with fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water to which a cation has been added; (d) packing the washed drilling fluid-solids sample into a sample cell suitable for dielectric measurement; (e) measuring the dielectric constant of the washed drilling fluid-solids sample at a preselected frequency; (f) grinding a sample of drill cuttings from the same formation to a size suitable for testing; (g) repeating the washing step (c) and the packing step (d), for the drill cuttings sample; (h) measuring the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample at the same preselected frequency used in step (e); (i) for each solids-additive type which has been added to the drilling fluid, grinding n+1 samples of each such solids-additive type to sizes suitable for testing; (j) for each solids-additive sample obtained in step (j), washing each such solids-additive sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water to which a cation has been added, whereby a different type of cation is used for each such n+1 sample of solids-additive type, thus resulting in n+1 washings for each of the n types of solids-additives added to the drilling fluid; (k) repeating the washing step (c) and the packing step (d) for each such solids-additive type; (l) measuring the dielectric constant of each of the n+1 solids-additive samples for each of the solids-additive types added to the drilling fluid the same preselected frequency used in steps (e) and (h); (m) obtaining the amount of formation solids present in the drilling fluid sample and the quantities of each solids-additive type added to the drilling fluid in accordance with the following relationship, which will result in a total of m=n+1 equations and n+1 unknowns which can be resolved mathematically to obtain the amount of formation solids present in the drilling fluid and the quantities of each solids-additive type added to the drilling fluid: ##EQU20## where: a is amount of solids from the formation expressed as a fraction of total solids in the drilling fluid; DCM(ms) is the dielectric constant of the drilling fluid-solids sample obtained in step (e); DCM(dc) is the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample obtained in step (h); j is the type of cation used in step (j); DCM(add i ) is the dielectric constant of solids-additive i, i=1 to n; n is the number of solids-additive types; and b i is the weight factor of solids-additive type i as a fraction of the total solids weight.

Claim 14

A method for determining the content of formation solids present in water-base polymer drilling fluids, with known types of solids-additives but unknown quantities of said solids-additives, by dielectric measurements, comprising the steps of: (a) cleaning a drilling fluid sample with a fluid having a PH in the acid range; (b) separating the solids and liquid in the drilling fluid sample by means of centrifuging, thus creating a drilling fluid-solids sample and a drilling fluid-liquid sample; (c) washing the drilling fluid-solids sample with fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water to which a cation has been added; (d) packing the washed drilling fluid-solids sample into a sample cell suitable for dielectric measurement; (e) measuring the dielectric constant of the washed drilling fluid-solids sample at a preselected frequency; (f) grinding a sample of drill cuttings from the same formation to a size suitable for testing; (g) repeating the washing step (c) and the packing step (d), for the drill cuttings sample; (h) measuring the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample at the same preselected frequency used in step (e); (i) for each solids-additive type which has been added to the drilling fluid, grinding n+1 samples of each such solids-additive type to sizes suitable for testing; (j) for each solids-additive sample obtained in step (j), washing each such solids-additive sample with a fluid having a water activity substantially less than that of water to which a cation has been added, whereby a different type of cation is used for each such n+1 sample of solids-additive type, thus resulting in n+1 washings for each of the n types of solids-additives added to the drilling fluid; (k) repeating the washing step (c) and the packing step (d) for each such solids-additive type; (l) measuring the dielectric constant of each of the n+1 solids-additive samples for each of the solids-additive types added to the drilling fluid the same preselected frequency used in steps (e) and (h); (m) obtaining the amount of formation solids present in the drilling fluid sample and the quantities of each solids-additive type added to the drilling fluid in accordance with the following relationship, which will result in a total of m=n+1 equations and n+1 unknowns which can be resolved mathematically to obtain the amount of formation solids present in the drilling fluid and the quantities of each solids-additive type added to the drilling fluid: ##EQU20## where: a is amount of solids from the formation expressed as a fraction of total solids in the drilling fluid; DCM(ms) is the dielectric constant of the drilling fluid-solids sample obtained in step (e); DCM(dc) is the dielectric constant of the drill cuttings sample obtained in step (h); j is the type of cation used in step (j); DCM(add i ) is the dielectric constant of solids-additive i, i=1 to n; n is the number of solids-additive types; and b i is the weight factor of solids-additive type i as a fraction of the total solids weight.

Claim 15

The method of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 wherein said fluid is a mixture of alcohol and water.

Claim 16

The method of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 wherein said mixture is 70% (volume) isopropyl alcohol and 30% (volume) water.

Claim 17

The method of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 wherein said packing is accomplished by centrifuging the sample cell.

Claim 18

The method of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 wherein the preselected frequency of measurement is about 1 megahertz.