High Temperature Elastomer/Clay Nanocomposites for Oilfield Applications

Layered silicate polymer nanocomposites have gained great importance in the recent years because they can greatly improve properties of polymers, much more significantly than fillers used in conventional composites. In this research, elastomer/clay nanocomposites were made from high temperature elastomers for potential utilization in Progressive Cavity Pumps (PCPs). PCPs are used as an artificial lift method to pump oil from several thousand feet depths to the surface. The integral components of a PCP are the stator, which is usually made of elastomer, and a rotor, usually made of metal. The pumps are exposed to severe conditions during operation and the elastomer has to withstand the high temperatures, high solids content, high viscous dissipation, etc. PCP's currently cannot be used for higher temperature oil production because these temperature levels are not accessible using hydrocarbon elastomers.

In this presentation, mechanical properties and other relevant properties of these high temperature elastomer nanocomposites will be compared with carbon black composites containing the same curing system. In addition, hybrid compounds, with both carbon black and nanoclay will be analyzed and their results reported. Rheological characterization was performed on these materials and the results were analyzed to understand the micro-/nano-structure.