Apparatus and method for measuring the characteristics of a drilling mud or analogous fluid

摘要

The present invention concerns an apparatus for measuring certain characteristics of a petroleum industry fluid, in particular the tendency of a drilling mud to stick, constituted by a cell (1), one wall of which is constituted by a porous surface (3) in contact with the mud, means (7) for applying pressure to the fluid and forcing it through said porous surface, a ball (9) immersed in the fluid, drive means (10, 11, 12) for turning ball (9), and means for measuring the resistance torque, the distance between the ball and the porous surface being maintained at a low but non-zero value. The apparatus can be transformed into a rheometer for rheological measurements, in particular for measuring the gel time under pressure.