Wenjun Hu, Liquan Zhang^*

Journal of Polymer Materials, Vol.42, No.4, pp. 1159-1179, 2025, DOI:10.32604/jpm.2025.072450 - 26 December 2025

Abstract Addressing the persistent challenge of shale hydration and swelling in water-based drilling fluids (WBDFs), this study developed a smart thermo-responsive shale inhibitor, Hyperbranched Polyethyleneimine-Propylene Oxide-N-isopropylacrylamide (HPN). It was synthesized by grafting hyperbranched polyethyleneimine (HPEI) with propylene oxide (PO) and N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM), creating a synergistic hydration barrier through hydrophobic association and temperature-triggered pore plugging. Structural characterization by Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) confirmed the successful formation of the HPN terpolymer, revealing a unique “cationic–nonionic” amphiphilic architecture with temperature-responsive properties. Performance evaluation demonstrated that HPN significantly outperforms conventional inhibitors, including potassium chloride (KCl),… More >

Xuyang Yao^1,*, Kecheng Liu¹, Zenan Zhou¹, Jun Zhou¹, Xianbin Huang², Tiemei Lu¹, Yongsheng Yu¹, He Li²

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.19, No.7, pp. 1775-1787, 2023, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2023.025843 - 08 March 2023

Abstract Water-based drilling fluids can cause hydration of the wellbore rocks, thereby leading to instability. This study aimed to synthesize a hydrophobic small-molecule polymer (HLMP) as an inhibitor to suppress mud shale hydration. An infrared spectral method and a thermogravimetric technique were used to characterize the chemical composition of the HLMP and evaluate its heat stability. Experiments were conducted to measure the linear swelling, rolling recovery rate, and bentonite inhibition rate and evaluate accordingly the inhibition performance of the HLMP. Moreover, the HLMP was characterized through measurements of the zeta potential, particle size distribution, contact angles,… More > Graphic Abstract