Accurate and frequent mud checking is essential for optimum drilling operations. Careful measurement and maintenance of drilling fluid properties (density and rheology) maintain the primary well control barrier and optimize fluid hydraulics and hole-cleaning ability. However, a full mud report while drilling is provided only once or twice a day. Moreover, the measurements are mostly performed using traditional equipment. Test interpretation is subjective and might be biased and difficult to verify independently.

In this paper, we present an automated mud skid unit (MSU), which performs continual drilling fluid sampling and measurements at variable temperatures. The unit provides the non-Newtonian rheological constants characterizing a yield-power law fluid as well as the real-time friction factor and critical Reynolds number using a pipe-viscometer measurement approach. Other important fluid properties such as pressurized density, oil/water ratio, and temperature are provided using high-quality in-line sensors. The unit is controlled by a programmable logic controller coupled with a Linux operating system for data analysis. The system sends real-time data to WITSML data servers and provides detailed mud reports to engineers working either on-site or remotely.

The MSU was deployed in the Permian Basin by an independent operator for automated mud monitoring during unconventional shale drilling operations. Rheology, density, and phase content measurements were compared with conventional mud reports provided by the on-site mud engineer. High accuracy (error<5%) was observed in mud rheology tests. The pressurized mud-density measurements provided by the MSU proved to be more accurate than nonpressurized mud balance measurements, which were affected by mud aeration. Moreover, the MSU provided mud check data 25 times more frequent than those generated by the mud engineer at temperatures of 50 and 65.5°C. Drilling-fluid-related issues, such as chemical overtreatment as well as sudden changes in mud density, rheology, and oil/water ratio, were reported immediately to the drilling crew. This paper provides details about the measurement technology as well as the results from the field deployment of the MSU.

准确频繁地检查泥浆对于最佳钻井作业至关重要。仔细测量和维护钻井液的特性（密度和流变性）可保持主要的井控屏障，并优化钻井液的水力和井眼清洁能力。但是，每天仅提供一次或两次钻井过程中的完整泥浆报告。此外，测量大多使用传统设备进行。测试解释是主观的，可能有偏见且难以独立验证。

在本文中，我们介绍了一种自动泥浆防滑装置（MSU），该装置可在可变温度下进行连续的钻井液采样和测量。该单元使用管式粘度计测量方法提供非牛顿流变常数，以表征屈服力定律流体，以及实时摩擦系数和临界雷诺数。使用高质量的在线传感器可提供其他重要的流体特性，例如加压密度，油/水比和温度。该单元由与Linux操作系统耦合的可编程逻辑控制器进行控制，以进行数据分析。该系统将实时数据发送到WITSML数据服务器，并向现场或远程工作的工程师提供详细的泥浆报告。

MSU由一名独立运营商部署在二叠纪盆地，用于在非常规页岩钻探作业期间自动监控泥浆。流变，密度和相含量的测量结果与现场泥浆工程师提供的常规泥浆报告进行了比较。在泥浆流变测试中观察到高精度（误差<5％）。MSU提供的加压泥浆密度测量结果比受泥浆曝气影响的非加压泥浆平衡测量结果更为准确。而且，MSU提供的泥浆检查数据的频率是泥浆工程师在50和65.5°C的温度下产生的数据的25倍。与钻井液相关的问题，例如化学过度处理以及泥浆密度，流变学和油/水比的突然变化，已立即报告给钻井人员。