Over the last few years, the popularity of pre-packaged, bentonite-free liquid polymer drilling fluid products has grown in the horizontal directional drilling industry.
This column goes over a few more ways to evaluate mixed-metal hydroxide (MMH) fluids, and touches on troubleshooting when contractors don't get the results they want.
Back in early 2000, when I first started working with mixed-metal hydroxide, very few drillers had ever heard this type of fluid and even fewer had ever seen it used.
The grout serves as an integral part of a properly functioning heat loop system, and also creates a low-permeable seal through the length of the borehole. Follow these steps to ensure a good sample of grout for thermal conductivity testing.