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DRLG SRNG Design PDF
DRLG SRNG Design PDF
This Topic covers simple drill string design steps for vertical and directional wells, including some
considerations for extended reach drilling. Loads applied by tension, torsion, combined tension and torsion,
burst pressure, collapse pressure, slip crushing and stability forces are considered. It does not cover techniques
for vibration analysis, torque and drag modelling, hydraulics design, directional control or jar placement.
Proprietary software programs for performing the calculations described in this Topic is now available in
most OUs. As always, however you should be aware of what data they are using and what they are doing with
it.
Tension is approximated using the "Buoyed Weight" method when doing manual calculations. Although
this method ignores the effects of circulating pressure on tension, it continues to be very popular for
tensile design. This is no doubt due to the following:
o It's the way we've always done it (Tradition!),
o It's simpler than the more exact "Pressure-Area" method, which is used by Torque/Drag
Buckling is assumed to occur only below the point where buoyed string weight equals weight on bit.
This point will be called the "Neutral Point". This assumption ignores some pressure forces in order to
simplify design calculations. In fact, unless the drill pipe is stuck, the neutral point will never be above
this point except temporarily when pump rate is increased with the bit on bottom.
Increasing hole angle at the BHA reduces the fraction of BHA weight available for bit weight.
Tension calculations assume the string is hanging vertically. For high angle and extended reach drilling,
this assumption will be modified as it would otherwise result in too conservative a design.
Material yield strength is the specified minimum for the component being considered.
Drill pipe tube wall thickness is the minimum for the stated drill pipe class.
Connection torsional strength and makeup torque are calculated using the A.P. Farr formula from API
RP 7G.
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Burst pressure
Collapse pressure
Combined loading
Slip crushing
Fishability considerations.
Hydraulics.
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One
frequently
overlooked
connection is the one between the
top drill collar and the bottom joint
of HWDP. If a straight (nonbottleneck) crossover sub is used,
and the collar OD is larger than the Table 2.1.5 : Recommended BSR ranges
HWDP tool joint OD, the resulting
BSR of that one connection will be
exceedingly high. Pin failures in the
bottom joint of HWDP are not
uncommon, and this is the probable
reason. The problem is helped by
using a bottleneck sub to smooth
the change in cross section.
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Stabilisers
The size and placement of stabilisers is often determined by directional considerations. However, stabilisers
also impact other important design concerns:
In a vertical hole, the lower part of the BHA will be buckled and supported by the sides of the hole. Stabilisers
reduce connection stress by restricting the freedom of lateral drill collar movement. This lengthens connection
fatigue life, other things constant.
If mechanical sticking is a concern, more or larger stabilisers may increase the chance of becoming stuck. On
the other hand, stabilisers can reduce the probability of differential sticking by holding drill collars away from
the side of the hole.
When considering contact between drill collars and the wellbore wall both the stabiliser spacing and the collar
OD should be taken into account. It is common to use the same stabiliser spacing in BHAs regardless of the
collar size (OD). For example, 90ft stabiliser spacing in a 175" BHA with 9" collars will give much less wall
contact than 90ft stabiliser spacing in a 6" BHA with 43/4" DCs. It is important to remember this fact when
designing BHAs with a low risk of differential sticking.
Tables 2.1.7 & 2.1.8 give an indication of the stabiliser spacing required to minimise contact between drill
collars and the wellbore wall. Above 50 inclination the results would be substantially similar to Table 2.1.8.
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Jars
The two main considerations for jar placement are preventing jar fatigue failure and maximising jar impact at
the probable sticking location.
For fatigue failure prevention in vertical or near vertical wells, the "rule of thumb" is to run jars in "tension" (or
more precisely, above the axial neutral point - see Topic 1.3). More recently, jar companies say that it's
acceptable to run jars in "compression" (below the axial neutral point) but not at the "axial neutral point" itself.
To simplify matters, we should apply the following rule: Don't run jars buckled at any time. Obviously, this
rule prohibits running jars in compression (below the buckling neutral point) in vertical or near vertical hole
sections. In high angle holes, the compressive load a jar may carry without buckling will depend on many
factors, but can be easily estimated using jar dimensions and the Dawson-Pasley relationship for drill pipe
buckling.
Regarding the prohibition against running jars at the "axial neutral point", this will not always be practical in
high angle holes. For example, in a recent North Sea extended reach well, with a hole inclination of 75, bit
weights varied between 5,000 and 25,000 lbs as stringers were drilled. In the soft formations it was necessary to
limit the ROP to clean the hole, thus the lower bit weight. The higher bit weight was necessary to drill the
harder rock. The upshot was that the "axial neutral point" was constantly moving over a range of about 1,800
feet in the string (and past the jars). Although the jars cycled from open to closed, the change in position
occurred at low energy levels because care was taken not to add bit weight too fast, and no problem occurred
with the jars. If you expect a situation like the one above, you should discuss the circumstances with your jar
company and develop operating limits to prevent cycling the jar while too much energy is stored in the drill
string.
For maximising jar impact see Section 5, Part 1 - Stuckpipe prevention and fishing operations.
Type A: This configuration uses heavy weight drill pipe above the
drill collars as a transition to smooth the abrupt section change. Full
weight on bit is still applied with drill collars.
Type C: The Type C configuration has more than one drill collar size
but still applies bit weight with both collars and HWDP.
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Type A BHAs
If the Type A BHA configuration is used, the minimum length of the drill collar section is calculated as follows:
The design factor for excess BHA weight (DFBHA) is chosen to ensure that the neutral point stays below the top
of the BHA. This factor is assigned a value of 115 in most Shell applications. Hard drilling conditions may
require higher values. After the minimum drill collar section length is calculated, it is usually rounded to the
next full stand of collars for convenience.
Type B and C BHAs
If a Type B or Type C BHA configuration is used, the number of drill collars is determined by directional
control, equipment availability or other considerations. The amount of HWDP required to apply the necessary
WOB and keep the neutral point in the BHA can be determined by Equation 3.
Type A BHAs
For a type A BHA configuration, the amount of HWDP for transition is determined by past experience.
Anywhere from 12 to 30 joints is common.
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Where:
LHWDP
WOB
LDC1
WDC2
LDC2
KB
= Buoyancy factor
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DRLG STRG DESIGN
Drilling contractors and rental companies often order non-API standard dimensions in tool joints; it is therefore
essential to base the torsional performance limit on measured dimensions and not on an assumed standard.
Recommended values of tool joint makeup torque are tabulated in the Well Engineers Notebook (pages C-8 to
C-12). These are based on a tensile stress of 50% of the minimum tensile yield strength for Class I (new) tool
joints and 60% for the other classes.
When high operating torsion is expected, makeup torque may be increased above the standard recommended
value. However, this must not be done without checking the tool joint combined tension/torque capacity to
ensure that the increased make-up torque doesn't reduce pin tensile strength below an acceptable level. This is
discussed further in Topic 1.4.2.16.
Always be sure to confirm connection dimensions and check the accuracy of torque gauges, whether or not you
plan to exceed standard makeup torque.
Calculate Stiffness Ratio
The Stiffness Ratio (SR) of the sections above and below each transition must be compared to help quantify the
abruptness of the section change and determine the need for transition pipe. This is accomplished by dividing
the section modulus (Z) of the lower section tube by the section modulus of the upper.
Like BSR, stiffness ratio is not a strictly quantitative performance limit, and experience should be a major
determinant in setting the desired maximum SR. If drill pipe failures are occurring near the top of the BHA
despite adequate drill collar weight for applied WOB, transition pipe may be needed to smooth the section
change. Criteria for permissible stiffness ratio varies between different operators and areas. The following
maximums are typical:
For routine drilling or very low failure rate experience, keep SR below 5.5.
For severe drilling or for significant failure rate experience, keep SR below 3.5
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.
Figure 2.1.31 : Drill pipe tension design nomenclature
Tensile Load Capacity (PT) : This is the calculated tensile pull to yield the pipe body. Values for the
different sizes and grades of drill pipe are given in the Well Engineers Notebook.
Design Factor in Tension (DFT) : The factor used to derate the tensile load capacity to obtain allowable
load (PA).
Allowable Load (PA) : This is the maximum load we are comfortable placing on the pipe, including an
allowance for possible trouble. It is the tensile capacity derated by the design factor.
Margin Of Overpull (MOP): The design excess pull capacity above working load (PW) to compensate
for expected drag, possible sticking, slip crushing and the effect of circulating pressure on tension.
Working Load (PW): Working load is the expected maximum tension that will occur during normal
operations.
Drill pipe weight : Like the "IF" connection, the "nominal weight" of drill pipe is what we call it,
not what it is. For example, "1950 lb/ft" drill pipe doesn't actually weigh 1950 lb/ft. - its
approximate real weight (in air) is called "adjusted weight" or just "air weight" and will be
something between 20.89 and 22.60 lb/ft, depending on the grade of pipe, the tool joint, and
whether or not the contractor bought standard tool joint diameters. This "adjusted weight"
(estimates of which are available in the IFP Drilling Data Handbook) is the one to use for design
and displacement calculations. Nominal weights are useful only to communicate the type of pipe
with which we're dealing.
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Refer to Topic 1.4.2.18 for instructions on how to include slip crushing forces when setting MOP.
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