AADE-18-FTCE-115

Mud Tank Arrangements

Sam Bridges, Derrick Equipment Company; Leon Robinson, Retired

Copyright 2018, AADE

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2018 AADE Fluids Technical Conference and Exhibition held at the Hilton Houston North Hotel, Houston, Texas, April 10-11, 2018. This conference is
sponsored by the American Association of Drilling Engineers. The information presented in this paper does not reflect any position, claim or endorsement made or implied by the American Association of
Drilling Engineers, their officers or members. Questions concerning the content of this paper should be directed to the individual(s) listed as author(s) of this work.

Abstract density throughout the drill pipe. The drilling fluid has many
In the recovery from this major ‘downturn’ in the petroleum functions to fulfill in addition to the homogeneity of the mud
industry, most companies are seeking ways to save money and weight.
operate more efficiently. New technology is appearing in This presentation will concentrate on the removal the
drilling operations but one lucrative method for saving money detrimental drilled solids from the drilling fluid. Evaluation of
is paying attention to proven, well-established techniques. a surface system requires calculation of the fraction of drilled
Many drilling fluid surface systems are not properly arranged. solids reporting to the surface that are presented to the solids
Contactors purchase “top of the line” equipment but then the removal equipment.
system is frequently modified and plumbed so only about 50%
of the drilling fluid coming from the hole is processed. The Tank Arrangements
retained drill solids can greatly impact the visible and the The drilling fluid has many functions to perform when
invisible Non Productive Time. drilling a well. The surface mud tank arrangement on all
This paper discusses how to analyze and evaluate the drilling rigs must be arranged properly to assist in the
fraction of drilling fluid processed on any rig and how to make performance of some of the functions required for a quality
simple modifications to guarantee that all of the drilling fluid is drilling fluid. A surface mud tank system must consist of three
processed properly. Some field examples are shown – with separately identifiable sections:
names eliminated to protect the guilty. In addition to looking at 1. Removal Section: Gas and the evil drilled solids
improperly plumbed system processing, this paper will also should be removed to prevent visible and invisible Non-
take into consideration cuttings drying applications and the Productive time [NPT].
proper processing of recovered drilling fluid from drilled 2. Addition Section: Drilling fluid components are added
cuttings. in this section downstream from the removal section to adjust
This is a ‘DO IT YOURSELF’ project. The guidelines for the drilling fluid properties.
calculating the fraction of drilling fluid processed are simple 3. Suction Section: The fluid in this section must be
and should be followed as soon as the rig arrives at a location. well-blended to continuously keep the fluid in the drill pipe
The investment is small: the rewards can be great. homogeneous in anticipation of a kick.

Introduction
As profit margins decrease, operators continue to seek ways
to decrease costs. This can be done in two ways: increase safety
to prevent costly accidents and improve efficiency. One way to
do both is frequently overlooked on drilling rigs and that is to
examine the surface drilling fluid processing procedures. For
at least the last fifty years, many contractors are told that the
centrifugal pumps in the surface systems should be able to
pump fluid from any tank to any other tank. This is a bonanza
for valve companies but is almost always guaranteed to
decrease drilled solids removal efficiency and create problems Figure 1: Surface Drilling Fluid Processing Plant
with handling kicks.
When an influx of formation fluid is detected in the well A typical mud tank arrangement for a weighted drilling fluid
bore, the blowout preventers are closed. The drill pipe and using fine screening shale shakers might be arranged as shown
casing pressures are measured. The drill pipe pressure indicates
how much underbalanced the pressure is at the bottom of the
hole BUT only if the fluid in the drill pipe has a homogeneous
density. The surface system must be able to blend and maintain
a sufficient quantity of homogeneous fluid to ensure uniform
2 S. Bridges, L. Robinson AADE-18-FTCE-115

in Figure 2. The fraction of drilled solids processed can be calculated by

dividing the processed flow rate by the flow rate of fluid
entering the suction tank. This can be more easily observed by
considering the tank arrangement in Figure 3. Each dot
represents 100gpm. From the shale shaker, four hundred
gallons per minute enters Tank #1. The centrifugal pump is
moving four hundred gallons per minute through the
hydrocyclones and this flows into Tank #2. The ‘dirty’ dots
change to ‘clean’ dots in Figure 3. No fluid will flow through
the equalizing line between Tank #1 and Tank #2.

Figure 2: Weighted Drilling Fluid Processing Plant With Fine

Screening Shakers

The removal section typically uses agitators to blend the

drilling fluid, while often times addition and suction sections
use mud guns as well as agitators to blend the drilling fluid. Figure 3: Adequate Arrangement
The suction section volume depends upon the extreme
length and inside diameter of the drill string dependent upon the The fraction of drilling fluid processed, or cleaned, is the
well program. The other two sections are typically smaller in volume cleaned by the hydrocyclone divided by the volume
volume. This discussion will concentrate on the plumbing and entering the suction tank of the hydrocyclone. In this case, the
arrangement of equipment in the removal section. During the answer is obvious by observing the ‘dirty dots’.
life of the authors, correct plumbing systems are rarely
𝑄𝑄ℎ𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦
observed. Unfortunately, most removal sections seldom process 𝜂𝜂𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = × 100 (1)
𝑄𝑄𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖
100% of the drilled solids reaching the surface.
Removal of drilled solids starts at the bottom of the
400𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔
borehole. Cuttings should be transported out of the hole 𝜂𝜂𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = × 100 = 100%
without tumbling and grinding into smaller pieces. Larger 400𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔
cuttings are more easily removed from the active drilling fluid
than very small cuttings. In this example, all the drilling fluid is cleaned. No fluid
Plumbing arrangements are frequently incorrect and enters tank #2 unless it passes through the hydrocyclone. This
frequently can be corrected with relatively minor changes. assumes that no cones on the hydrocyclone bank are plugged
Sometimes the correction required is extensive and costly. In from solids which could have by-passed the shale shaker. Note,
one field case, a platform was drilling on the sixth well of generally, when 4” hydrocylones process 50gpm input, the
twelve planned. The drilling fluid system was a incorrectly overflow is only 49gpm which 1gpm being discarded (2% of
plumbed on several levels. After finishing the sixth well, 10% the processing rate). For purposes of estimating the process
of the cost of the 6th well was spent revising the plumbing. The efficiency of the system, this small discard can be ignored. In
seventh well saved more than this amount compared to the cost Figure 3, the smaller hydrocyclone overflow would actually
to drill any of the preceding six wells because of the elimination decrease the removal process efficiency to less than 100%.
of visible and invisible NPT.

Calculating Drilling Fluid Process Efficiency

One of the major problems in drilled solids removal is the

inability to process all the drilling fluid. The fluid processing
efficiency can be calculated by dividing the volume of drilling
fluid treated by the volume of drilling fluid entering the suction
compartment. This equation applies only to compartments Figure 4: Better Tank Arrangement with Back Flow from Tank
where the drilling fluid is well blended and homogeneous. If #2 to Tank #1.
the drilling fluid is not well mixed, the processing efficiency
Processing Considerations
will be significantly lower than the calculated value. Both
systems will be discussed.
1) The Flow Rates in the Well May Not Always Be
AADE-18-FTCE-115 Mud Tank Arrangements 3

Constant: predicts the fraction of drilling fluid processed.

Occasionally, someone on the rig will route the overflow
To provide a degree of flexibility, the hydrocyclones should from the hydrocyclones back into the same tank with the
process more fluid than is arriving in their respective suction concept that the hydrocyclones will process the drilling fluid
tank. In the diagram above, four hundred gallons per minute twice and provide a cleaner drilling fluid, (Figure6). Consider
are arriving at the surface. If the bank of hydrocyclones process the case where 400gpm is coming from the well and the bank
five hundred gallons, there will be a back flow between tank #2 of hydrocyclones is cleaning 500gpm and discharging into the
and tank #1. This insures that all of the fluid in tank #2 has been tank downstream (like the first arrangement). In this case the
processed through the hydrocyclones - or 100% processing hydrocyclones are processing 500gpm but 900gpm
efficiency. (500gpm+400gpm) is entering tank #1. The process efficiency
would be:
The fraction of drilling fluid processed, or cleaned, is the 500𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔
𝜂𝜂𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑔𝑔 = × 100 = 56%
volume cleaned by the hydrocyclone divided by the volume 900𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔
entering the suction tank of the hydrocyclone. In this case, the Instead of the hydrocyclones “looking at the mud twice”, it
answer is obvious by observing the ‘dirty dots’ in Figure 4. only processes about one-half of the fluid entering tank #1.

400𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔 + 100𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔
𝜂𝜂𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = × 100 = 100%
500𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔

2) Insufficient Processing:

The calculation can be better explained using the next tank

arrangement, (Figure 5). In this case, the flow entering Tank
#1 from the well is 400gpm; however the hydrocyclones are Figure 6: Incorrectly Returning the Overflow From Desilters
processing only 300gpm. There will be 100gpm flowing from Back To The Suction Compartment
Tank #1 to Tank #2. Counting the “dirty dots” in Tank #2,
If the flow from the well was reduced to 350gpm and
reveals that three hundred gallons per minute are clean but one
processing 400gpm should obviously provide a good
hundred gallons per minute have not been cleaned.
processing plant; but not if the clean fluid from the
hydrocycones is put back into the suction tank. In this case,
only 56% of the drilling fluid is processed, (Figure 6).
Frequently, the hydrocyclone discharge is located upstream
from the suction, (Figure 7). In one case, the discharge was a
hose that could easily be moved from one tank to another. In
the plumbing arrangement in Figure 7, 600gpm is entering tank
#1 from the well and the hydrocyclones are cleaning 600gpm.
The total flow entering the suction tank #2 of the hydrocyclones
Figure 5: Insufficient Processing Capability is 1200gpm. The processing flow rate is 600gpm. The process
efficiency is 50%.
Cleaning process efficiency is the ratio of the fluid volume
being cleaned divided by the volume entering the suction tank
of the equipment. From the shale shaker, 400gpm is entering
tank #1 and only 300gpm is being processed.

300𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔
𝜂𝜂𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 =
× 100 = 75%
400𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔
In Figure 5, tank #2 contains three clean dots and one dirty
dot – or three out of every four gallons is being cleaned. This
is a 75% cleaning efficiency. Figure 7: Discharge Upstream from the Hydrocyclone
Usually, however, keeping an exact balance is difficult.
More fluid should be processed by the equipment than is Another incorrect plumbing situation has been observed on
flowing from the well. The general rule of thumb for in-line several rigs. The desilter and desander suctions are in the same
solids control equipment in the removal section is to process tank and the discharge from both hydrocyclones is into the same
125% of the active circulating volume. In tank #2, three cleaned tank, (Figure 8).
dots and one dirty dot indicate that only 75% of the fluid is
being processed through the hydrocyclones. The equation
4 S. Bridges, L. Robinson AADE-18-FTCE-115

Figure 8: Parallel Processing of Desander and Desilter

In Figure 8, the fluid entering tank #1 from the well is

400gpm. The desilter is processing 600gpm and the desander
is processing 600gpm. This probably meets the contract Figure 10: Field Example of the Desliter and Desander in
agreement when the solids removal equipment is processing Parallel with Feed From The Same Pump
much more than the flow rate downhole. However, the flow
rate returning to tank #1 from tank #2 is 800gpm. The desilter The total number of cones cannot be counted in the picture
processing efficiency is calculated by the equation: Figure 10. Assuming that only 400gpm of fluid was coming
from the well, the desanders are processing 600gpm and the
𝑄𝑄𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 desilters are processing 500gpm (perhaps by contract), the
𝜂𝜂𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = × 100 (2) system looks good. However, using the equation for the
𝑄𝑄𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖
fraction cleaned, the desilter is only processing about 45% of
600𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔 the fluid from the well.
𝜂𝜂𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = × 100 = 50%
400𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔 + 800𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔 Another bad field example came from a location that wanted
to decrease their problems with centrifugal pumps. The
The desander processing efficiency is also 50%. The Company Man connected all the equipment up to one pump.
hydrocyclones should process fluid sequentially from one tank This pump was connected into the suction tank, (Figure 11).
to the next tank as illustrated in Figure 9. If a fine mesh screen But only one centrifugal pump needed to be used. Several spare
is being used on the main shale shaker, the desander could be pumps meant that pumps could be sent in for repair without
eliminated from the processing plant. shutting the system down. As an interesting exercise, note that
removing the desanders from the system will increase the total
fraction of fluid processed by the desilters.

Figure 11: Mud Tank Arrangement Using Only One Pump

Entering the suction tank#1: 500gpm from the well, 700gpm

Figure 9: Unweighted Drilling Fluid with Desanders and from the degasser jet pump, and 800gpm from the desanders or
Desilters 2000gpm. [The 600gpm through the degasser leaves and re-
enters the same tank.] The desanders are processing 800gpm.
One field example of the plumbing shown in Figure 8 is The process efficiency for the desanders is:
shown in the picture in Figure 10. Notice that the desander bank
(just behind the top of an agitator) is connected to the same line 800𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔
which is feeding the bank of desilters. What is wrong with this 𝜂𝜂𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = × 100 = 40%
2000𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔
system? A sketch of the flow paths reveals a significant
problem. The desilter feed and the desander feed lines are from The process efficiency for the desilters is:
the same pipe. These are in parallel and neither can process
100% of the fluid just like the drawing in Figure 8. 900𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔
𝜂𝜂𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = × 100 = 31%
2900𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔
AADE-18-FTCE-115 Mud Tank Arrangements 5

Clearly the drilled solids are going to build in this drilling During this interval of time, the derrick man is responsible
fluid. The contract might read that the hydrocyclones must for maintaining constant drilling fluid properties. For this
process at least 100gpm more than the fluid being pumped example, barite is dumped into the tank for only 5 minutes and
downhole. Clearly, in this case, that is insufficient to guarantee the resulting mud weight is 13.0ppg. In 5 minutes, the volume
good clean drilling fluid. pumped into the drill string would be 3250gal or 77.4bbl
(volume = (650gpm)x(5min). The capacity of the 5 ½ drill pipe
Suction Section is 21.19bbl/1000ft or 3653ft. The pressure at the bottom of the
Consider a 12 ¼” hole being drilled with a 5 ½”, 24.7 lb/ft drill pipe would be created by a 6947ft column of 12.0ppg
drill string and 600ft of bottom hole assembly (BHA) at a depth drilling fluid plus a 3653ft column of 13.0ppg drilling fluid. The
of 10,600ft with a 12.0ppg drilling fluid being circulated at resulting downhole pressure would be:
650gpm. In this case, the operator is attempting to decrease the
drilling fluid cost and wanted the minimum volume on the 𝑃𝑃 = 0.052 × 12.0𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 × 6947𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓
surface. The suction compartment had a 200bbl volume. How + 0.052 × 13.0𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 × 3653𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 = 6804𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝
will this affect the kill procedures when handling a kick?
The actual resulting downhole pressure would be 190psi
Conventional Well Control: (6804psi – 6614psi) higher than the original pressure with the
12.0ppg drilling fluid. The shut-in pressure in this case would
When a kick is detected, the blowout preventers are closed. be 637psi (7441psi – 6804psi) instead of the 827psi if the fluid
The pressure in the drill pipe at the surface is measured and used in the drill pipe was homogeneous at 12.0ppg.
to determine the underbalanced pressure at the bottom of the Using the shut-in pressure to calculate the kill weight
hole. For example, if a kick was detected in the well described drilling fluid, the 637psi requires an increase in mud weight of:
above and the drill pipe pressure was 827psi, the amount of mud
weight increase needed would be calculated from the following 637𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝
𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = = 1.0𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝
equation: (0.052) × (10600𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓)
𝑃𝑃𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = (2) Resulting required mud weight would be 13.0ppg (increase
(0.052)×(𝐷𝐷)
from 12.5 from previous increase). After pumping the kick out
827𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 with the incorrect mud weight, the well control procedures
𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = = 1.5𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 would have to be repeated. The suction section needs to be
(0.052) × (10600𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓)
larger to allow slugs of over or under weight drilling fluid to be
blended in order to provide a continuous supply of
This assumes the drill string is filled with a homogeneous
homogeneous fluid.
fluid. The pressure at the bottom of the drill string before the
kick was:
Summary
Complex plumbing in the drilling fluid processing system
𝑃𝑃 = 0.052 × 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 × 𝐷𝐷 (3)
and multiple valves seems pervasive throughout the industry
and has for many years. The picture of the plumbing in Figure
𝑃𝑃 = 0.052 × 12𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 × 10600𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 = 6614𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 12 was taken many years ago.
The pressure at the bottom of the drill string after the kick
was 827psi higher or 7441psi. The kill weight drilling fluid
would need to be 13.5ppg.

Potential Problem with Small Suction Section

With the 650gpm flow rate, the residence time of the fluid
in the suction tank would be:
𝑉𝑉𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡
𝑡𝑡 = (3)
𝑄𝑄𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐

𝑔𝑔𝑎𝑎𝑙𝑙
200𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 × 42
𝑡𝑡 = 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 = 13𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚
650𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔 Figure 12: Old Picture of Typical Incorrect Plumbing on a
Jack-up Rig
6 S. Bridges, L. Robinson AADE-18-FTCE-115

The picture of the incorrect plumbing in Figure 13 was taken

just recently on a new drilling rig. 𝑃𝑃𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 = 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 (𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝)
𝑃𝑃 = 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 (𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝)
𝑡𝑡 = 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 (min )
𝑉𝑉𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 = 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 (𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔)

Figure 13: Picture of Incorrect Plumbing on a New Rig

Some of these complex pumping systems require

hours of study of the piping diagram (which may be
incorrect) to decide which valves should be opened and
which ones closed to properly process the drilling fluid.
Even if there is a possible correct setting for all valves, the
likelihood of a roughneck getting it correct is very small.

Guidelines to Follow:
1. The drilling fluid processing arrangement in the
Removal Section should have one pump, one switch, and
process the fluid into the next tank downstream.
2. Pumps in the Removal Section should not have
multiple manifolding so that they can pump from any tank
to any other tank. (If this is desirable, install other pumps.)
3. The equipment should process more flow than is
entering the suction tank of the removal equipment.
4. The Removal Section should overflow into the
Addition section. This will keep a sufficient head on the
processing pumps to prevent cavitation and also make
the pit level indicators more sensitive to kicks or lost
circulation problems.
5. No mud guns should be used in the Removal
Section, unless additional equipment is installed to
account for the increase in flow into the suction tanks of
the equipment or each pump can stir its own suction tank.

Nomenclature
𝜂𝜂𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 (%)
𝑄𝑄𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 (𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔)
𝑄𝑄𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 = 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟ℎ 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 (𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔)
𝑄𝑄ℎ𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟ℎ ℎ𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 (𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔)
Qcirculating = rig circulating rate (gpm)
𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤ℎ𝑡𝑡 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 (𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝)
𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 = 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊ℎ𝑡𝑡 (𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝)
∆𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤ℎ𝑡𝑡 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 (𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝)
𝐷𝐷 = 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑ℎ (𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓)