Guar gels modified with single-walled carbon nanotubes for hydraulic fracturing

This work investigates the rheology of crosslinked fracturing gels modified with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Guar was used as a gelling agent. The SWCNT mass concentration in the gels varied from 0.01 to 0.1 wt%. Dependences of rheological characteristics on the SWCNT concentration were obtained. It was found out that nanotube additives can significantly change the effective viscosity of modified gels. It was shown for the first time that addition of a low concentration of single-walled nanotubes increases the microrheological elasticity index of crosslinked gels by two orders of magnitude and reduces their fluidity index by five times.