CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

World energy demand is increasing continuously to meet the need of energy of the
developing countries. Increase in the energy consumption rates forces the scientists and
engineers to discover another ways of gathering energy or better ways to recover the sources
that we have been already using for years. Most of the worlds remaining prospects for
hydrocarbon resources will be more challenging to drill than those enjoyed in the past[1].
Most of the drilling practises now referred to as managed pressure drilling have their origins
in land based drilling operations. These drilling practises can be categorised as over balanced
or under balanced, with respect to pore pressure (PP), depending on the pressure regime
maintained in the wellbore while employing a particular method

In conventional drilling, a pretty wide margin is usually available between pore

pressure (PP) and fracture pressure (FP). Conventional drilling is often referred to as open
to atmosphere system. A weakness of open systems, such as the circulating system used in
conventional drilling, is lack of pressure control in the annulus. Particularly in case of a kick,
the rig mud pumps must be turned off in order to visually observe the mud flow out of the
well into the return line. If that confirms a kick, the well is immediately shut-in by closing
the blow out preventers (BOP), then the pressure in the annulus can be monitored. This
requires extra kick circulation work and ultimately causes longer non-productive time
(NPT). Another shortcoming of conventional overbalanced drilling is that it leads to a higher
cost of operation because of a lower rate of penetration (ROP), mainly due to heavier drilling
fluid selections[2].

Underbalanced drilling (UBD) technology, historically preceding the MPD, intends

to control the bottom hole pressure (BHP). The primary objective of UBD is to protect the
reservoir productivity against damage caused by mud and cuttings invasion into the
productive zones. Therefore, it can be the best technique when it comes to low pressure as
well as naturally- fractured reservoirs. However due to technical or economical barriers, the
application of UBD is not generally recommended. Thus, a new technique called Managed
Pressure Drilling (MPD) emerged out of the context of Underbalanced Drilling (UBD)
technology in 2004.

1
 Managed pressure drilling (MPD) is an adaptive drilling process to precisely control
the annular pressure profile throughout the well. MPD uses many tools to mitigate the risks
and costs associated with drilling wells by managing the annular pressure profile. These
techniques include controlling backpressure, fluid density, fluid rheology, annular fluid
level, circulating friction, and hole geometry in any combination[3]. The primary objective
of MPD, in contrast to other techniques, is to minimize the NPT by reducing the drilling-
related problems. Considering all these, MPD should now be regarded as a technology that
may provide a noteworthy increase in cost-effective drill-ability by reducing excessive
drilling-related costs typically related with conventional offshore drilling.

1.2 Motivation

A number of authors have presented studies of drilling non-productive time (NPT)

suggesting that some 20% to 30% of total time spent is non-productive. Further these studies
indicate that as much as 50% of this NPT is well bore pressure related. With the development
of MPD, the requirements of the wellhead back pressure control has gradually been transformed
form high pressure difference to high precision control, and the study of the variation between
the throttle pressure and the valve opening size has become the core problem. By solving many
of the technical challenges related to well bore pressure problems, MPD can significant ly
improve drilling efficiencies by minimizing the time spent for monitoring and interpreting well
conditions[4]. Further, having the ability to manage the wellbore pressure profile may enable
changes in well design, thus minimizing the requirement for close tolerance casing, and other
contingencies such as drilling liners and expandable casing. As the main component of adjusting
the throttle pressure in MPD, the shape curve of the valve core surface is directly related to the
precision of the wellhead back pressure control. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a new
throttle valve, in which the throttle pressure changes linearly with the valve opening.

1.3 Aim and Objective

As the world energy demand is increasing continuously to meet the need of energy
of the developing countries and Increase in the energy consumption rates forces the scientis ts
and engineers to discover another ways of gathering energy or better ways to recover the
sources that we have been already using for years. Thus, a new technique called Managed
Pressure Drilling (MPD) emerged and innovative out of the context of UBD technology. The
aim of this thesis is to achieve different demands for pressure control in Managed Pressure
Drilling (MPD) and the relationship between the pressure difference and the valve opening

2
was analysed in the working process of MPD throttle. This paper studies the relations hip
between the throttle pressure difference and the valve opening in the working process of
throttle valve in MPD and derives the throttle flow area equation and the flow area
isosurface equation. Then the mathematical model of the throttle valve surface shape is
established by solving the envelope curve of isosurface cluster. Furthermore, the shape
curve equation of the valve core surface is derived and modified by applying the
mathematical model. Finally, the objective is to verify the performance of this
investigation, a nd to compare the results of mathematical model values and design values.

1.4 Thesis Overview

Chapter 1 describes why managed pressure drilling has been preferred over other
drilling techniques and why it so important to the present drilling industry. The aim and
objective of this thesis is also summarized in this chapter. Chapter 2 summarizes various
research articles and presentations that are related to managed pressure drilling. Chapter 3
summarizes the basic concepts of MPD and its advantages, and in particular the
complications with this method, summarizes the background knowledge of Throttle valve
basics and also about mathematical modelling in brief.

Chapter 4 introduces the basic concepts of throttle valve and gives an overview about
how the pressure drops and some other characteristics of a throttle valve. Chapter 5
introduces the technical computing language called Matlab. It describes the other important
concept that is used in this research called curve fitting and also describes the necessary steps
that are required to perform curve fitting using the curve fitting toolbox.

Chapter 6 describes in detail about the working principle of the throttle valve and the
need for developing the mathematical model for the new valvecore. It then describes in detail
about deriving various equations that are required to develop a mathematical model and steps
that are required to obtain the curve that fits the obtained data. It also tells how to assess the
goodness of the fit that is best suitable for the obtained data.

Chapter 7 discusses and analyses the results obtained from the mathematical model
and from the design values separately and then compares the both results which shows the
effectiveness of the new curve fit equation developed from the mathematical model of the
throttle valve. Chapter 8 summarizes the most important conclusions of this research and
includes recommendations for future work.

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 CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

This thesis describes about precisely controlling the wellhead backpressure in MPD
by developing a new throttle valve with which the throttle pressure changes linearly with the
valve opening. A lot of research has been done and is going on this new technology called
managed pressure drilling because of its potential benefits and advantages over other drilling
technologies like conventional drilling and underbalanced technologies. Research articles
and papers that are related to MPD are summarized and discussed in this chapter.

2.1 Evolution of MPD

In the 1500s Leonardo da Vinci sketch a machine for boring wells. A spring-po le
cable rig was developed in 1806. In 1859 Drake used a steam engine driven cable tool rig to
drill the western hemispheres first economically viable oil well. In 1901 wells drilled
underbalanced in the Spindle top Field of S.E. Texas[4]. In the 1960s, Rotating Control
Devices (RCDs) enabled the practice of drilling with compressible fluids (gas, air, mist, and
foam) to flourish. Now referred to as performance drilling (PD) or simply air drilling, value
is realized primarily in the form of improved penetration rates, longer life of drilling bits,
and reduced overall costs of drilling the prospect[5]. Many of the ideas on which MPD is
predicted were first formally presented in three Abnormal Pressure Symposiums at
Louisiana State University between 1967 and 1972. The Equivalent Circulating Density
(ECD) was effectively used in well control practices develop in the 1970s. In the 1970s, a
major oil company was drilling from kick to kick in offshore Louisiana to increase drilling
rate and avoid lost returns. This was a clear case managed pressure drilling in the Gulf of
Mexico. Over time, other uses of the RCD evolveduses other than air drilling and
underbalanced operations. The industry learned to use the RCD to more precisely manipulate
the annular hydraulic pressure profile when drilling with a conventional mud system. In
2003, the assortment of techniques was recognized as a technology within itself and given
the label managed-pressure drilling. It was not until 2003 that the enabling characteristics of
the technology began to be more fully appreciated by offshore drilling decision makers[6].

Hannegan[1,4] in his papers describes why conventional drilling in deep water

environments becomes economically undrillable and why do we need an accurate annulus
pressure management technique. According to Hannegan, a narrow window between
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formation pore pressure (PP) and fracture pressure (FP) usually exists in deep water
environments as shown in Fig. 2.1. This is generally due to the lesser geostatic weight of the
water column, which reduces the overburden as compared to the onshore strata;
consequently the drilling window is narrow, i.e., smaller than what is usually seen on land.
Typically, there are uncertainties over a formations real PP and FP before any drilling
operation. In conventional drilling, there are also larger uncertainties over the BHP relative
to the formations PP and FP. If wellbore pressure is too close to the formation PP, well
control incidents can develop. Conversely, high bottom hole pressure (BHP) contributes to
stuck pipe and lost returns. Consequently, the economic burden associated with remedial
actions could surpass the planned drilling budget or force compromising the TD. This simply
implies that conventional drilling in those environments may potentially result in wells being
economically un-drillable. This becomes extremely critical with the knowledge that at
least half of all offshore potential prospects have narrow drilling margins.

Fig. 2.1: A typical narrow drilling window depiction in marine environments

An accurate annulus pressure management technique is required to keep BHP within

narrow downhole pressure limits; otherwise, potentially all of the drilling related issues are
prone to occur. Hence a strong drive for a newly innovative and pressure-conscious technology
to drill in trouble zones like in deep water environments safely, along with economic
efficiency, is necessary.

Lovorn and Shayeghi[6] in their paper said that a recent study has discovered that
drilling associated problems account for around one-third of Non-Productive Time (NPT),
encountered during drilling of gas wells in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).
The cost of the NPT associated with these drilling incidents can easily result in costs that

5
exceed a drilling programs Authorization For Expenditure (AFE) and thus leads to many
prospects being economically undrillable. As the drilling industry gains familiarity with
UBD and MPD , these techniques have proven to be effective solutions and other problems
inherent to conventional drilling, while both underbalanced and managed pressure drilling
provide means of controlling pressure during drilling, the methods differ significantly in how
they do it. The critical difference between the two drilling methods lies in how well each can
provide benefits for both drilling related and production elated problems. They have
described the MPD as a drilling with a controlled annulus and control returns to surface
using an equivalent mud weight that is maintained at, or marginally above formatio n
pressure by manipulation of dedicated choke device or other method. Rather, the main
purpose of managed pressure drilling is to enhance well construction by minimizing drilling
problems. As a drilling solution, MPD can improve ROP and extend bit life.

Zhang et al., [7] in their research concluded that the geometrical structure of valve
core equals to the exact relationship of opening size-wellhead pressure under certain working
condition. In other words, the throttling characteristics of one throttle valve could be
generally determined once the geometrical structure of valve core is ascertained. Many
advanced valve cores (needle, wedge, cylindrical, cage sleeve and hole plate, etc.) are widely
used now, but few of them could be used in MPD due to the extremely atrocious working
conditions (high temperature, high pressure and mud erosion)

Kitio et al., [8] in their work have concluded that the main component for adjusting
throttle pressure in MPD is the valve core design which is directly related to precisely control
the wellhead back pressure. Therefore, the study and development of the mathematica l
model for the shape curve of the throttle valve core surface becomes the key point

2.2 Mathematical Modelling Process

A mathematical model is a description of a system using mathematical concepts and

language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed mathematica l
modelling. Mathematical models are used not only in the natural sciences(such as physics,
biology, earth science, meteorology) and engineering disciplines (e.g. computer science,
artificial intelligence), but also in the social sciences (such as economics, psychology,
sociology and political science); physicists, engineers, statisticians, operations research
analysts and economists use mathematical models most extensively. A model may help to

6
explain a system and to study the effects of different components, and to make predictions
about behaviour.

According to Okubo[9] mathematical treatment is indispensable if the dynamics of

ecosystems are to be analysed and predicted quantitatively. The method is essentially the
same as that used in such fields as classical and quantum mechanics, molecular biology and
biophysics. One must not be enamoured of mathematical models; there is no mystiq ue
associated with them. Physics and mathematics must be considered as tools rather than
sources of knowledge, tools that are effective, but nonetheless dangerous if misused.
Mathematical models can take many forms, including but not limited to dynamical systems,
statistical models, differential equations, or game theoretic models. These and other types of
models can overlap, with a given model involving a variety of abstract structures. In general,
mathematical models may include logical models, as far as logic is taken as a part of
mathematics. In many cases, the quality of a scientific field depends on how well the
mathematical models developed on the theoretical side agree with results of repeatable
experiments. Lack of agreement between theoretical mathematical models and experimenta l
measurements often leads to important advances as better theories are developed.

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 CHAPTER 3
BASICS OF MANAGED PRESSURE DRILLING

3.1 Introduction

Managed-Pressure Drilling (MPD) is an advanced form of primary well control that

employs a closed and pressurizable drilling fluid system that allows potentially greater and
more precise control of the annular wellbore pressure profiles than mud weight and pump
rate adjustments alone. The Intentional Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) defines
MPD as, Managed Pressure Drilling is an adaptive drilling process used to precisely control
the annular pressure profile throughout the wellbore. The objectives are to ascertain the
downhole pressure environment limits and to manage the annular hydraulic pressure profile
accordingly.[10].

3.2 Definition of Basic Concepts

Formation Pore Pressure (PP): The formation fluid pressure, or pore pressure, is
the pressure exerted by the fluids within the formations being drilled. The
sedimentary rocks, which are of primary importance in the search for, and
development of oilfields, contain fluid due to their mode of formation. Sedimentar y
rocks contain water, usually sea-water, as an integral part of their make-up. As the
depth of sediment increases, the rocks are compacted, squeezing water out. The water
contained within the rocks becomes progressively more salty as the relatively small
molecules of water move through the pore spaces of the rock, while the larger salt
molecule is retained. The result of this is that the formation fluid pressure, or pore
pressure, exerted by the water in a normal, open, sedimentary sequence is equiva le nt
to that produced by a free-standing column of salt water, which is rather saltier and
heavier than typical sea water.
In the drilling industry, formation pore pressure is the primary variable while
designing a well to drill since measuring, estimating and predicting pore pressures
are important issues that lead the accurate hydraulic design of the well. Estimatio n
and prediction of the formation pressures by using the analyses of seismic, log,
production and test data, and evaluation of the drilling parameters are the most
common ways. Furthermore, the developing technologies bring the usage of real time
evaluation out.

8
 Overburden Pressure: Overburden pressure is the pressure at any point in the
formation exerted by the total weight of the overlying sediments. This is a static load
and is a function of the height of the rock column and the density of the rock column.
Hence, the pressure exerted by the weight of the rocks and contained fluids above
the zone of interest is called the overburden pressure.
Determination of the overburden pressure is an important concept because
the overburden stress distribution varies, depending on the assumptions while
predicting the pressures.
Fracture Pressure (FP): Fracture Pressure is the stress which must be overcome for
hydraulic fracturing to occur. This stress is known as the minimum lateral stress.
When fracturing occurs, the fracture orientation will usually be parallel to the greatest
stress (which is normally the over-burden pressure), which means the fractures will
be vertical. For horizontal fractures to occur, the overburden pressure will have to be
exceeded. This will occur in areas of large horizontal tectonic stresses. It can be also
defined as the pressure at which the formation fractures and circulating fluid is lost.
Fracture pressure (FP), which is the upper boundary of drilling window, is
known as the secondary control variable while designing the hydraulics of the well.
In order to eliminate the hazards, prediction of the FP is needed.
Collapse Pressure: Collapse pressure represents the minimum mud weight required
to maintain a gun barrel hole and keep the formation intact before potential
collapse. The formation collapse pressure should not be ignored. In some cases, the
collapse pressure is equal to or greater than pore pressure. Drilling operations
encroaching on the collapse pressure curve are likely to see large splinters of
formation popping off into the wellbore, as opposed to cuttings created by the drill
bit. Wellbore instability may cause the drill string to become stuck by packing off
the wellbore from collapse of the formation[11].

3.3 Advantages and Limitations of MPD

There are several major benefits in employing MPD, compared with conventio na l
drilling, including: a) improving ROP, b) minimizing differentially stuck pipe, c) minimizing
lost returns and associated mud costs, d) reducing well control incidents, e) reduction of
redundant casing seats so casing can be set deeper and f) reduction of wellbore instability by
less pressure cyclic changes. There is no actual intention of allowing formation influx,
therefore less surface equipment is required and associated costs are lower compared to

9
UBD. MPD provides much safer operations in H2 S and HPHT (high pressure, high
temperature) environments than UBD[12].

The application of MPD may not be possible if the drilling window is extremely
narrow or if the drilling margin varies significantly within the openhole interva l.
Nevertheless, the application of MPD shows an increasing growth. In Asia Pacific, over 100
wells have been successfully drilled using MPD methods[11].

3.4 MPD Equipment

MPD uses a combination of special tools and techniques to precisely control the
equivalent circulating density (ECD) within narrow drilling margins. This may be achieved
by designing hydraulics, and controlling surface back pressure, etc. Minimum equipment
required for the MPD practice includes a rotating control device (RCD), a drilling choke
manifold (DCM), and at least one non-return valve (NRV). These tools are briefly explained
below:

Rotating Control Device (RCD): The majority of MPD techniques use a close and
pressurized annulus by application of a RCD (Fig.3.1). A surface or subsea RCD is
used as the major safety and well control equipment that is deployed with the BOP
to divert the returning mud to a drilling choke manifold. A RCD has rubber elements
that permit the rotation and movement of drill pipe while the well is closed. The
RCD is a supplement to the blow out preventers (BOP) stack and is not designed to
replace it as a main well control device. Typically, API specification requires a RCD
to contain 2500 psi while circulating and stripping, and 5000 while static.
Drilling Choke Manifold (DCM): A DCM is a modular choke system (Fig.3.2)
with redundant legs that can be used to control the bottom hole pressure (BHP) by
manipulation of the mud return flow to create back pressure. Its control can be
manual, semi-automatic, or automatic. A DCM is not designed to replace the
complete functionality of the rigs choke manifold.
Non-return valve (NRV): An NRV or float valve (Fig.3.3) is used in many MPD
operations. It is installed in the bore hole assembly (BHA) and allows only a
downward flow of the mud. It provides safety against any possible fluid up-flow
migration in the BHA to the surface. Unfortunately, it does not allow any BHP
observation in a well control incident, due to the hydraulic isolation of bottomhole
and surface. The plunger and flapper types are most common[13].

10
 There are other optional tools that can be used, together with the basic ones
mentioned above to help improve the wellbore pressure management such as a throttle valve
(Fig. 3.4). Throttle valve works as a fluid velocity regulator and a wellhead pressure
controller in managed pressure drilling (MPD), the throttle valve can be used to control the
bottom hole pressure by adjusting the opening size of throttle valve to form different throttle
pressures. As the main component of adjusting the throttle pressure in MPD, it plays an
important role in precisely controlling the wellhead back pressure. Valve core is the key
component in throttle valve because it is in direct contact with the drilling fluid and can
adjust the flow area. Hence, the shape curve of the valve core surface of the throttle valve is
directly related to the precision of the wellhead back pressure control.

Fig. 3.1. RCD above the BOP Fig. 3.2. A typical automated DCM

Fig. 3.3. Non-return valve (float valve) Fig. 3.4. Throttle valve body and seat.
11
3.5 Complications in MPD

In addition to violating the circulation assumptions, MPD also violates the kiss
principal normally applied to drilling operations. Proper design and contingency planning
are needed to address the following potential MPD complications:

Blowouts: Because MPD allows drilling between narrow pore and fracture pressure
limits, there is little margin for error when walking the line. If bottomhole pressure
falls below the pore pressure of a permeable zone, a kick will occur. If the kick
contains a significant amount of gas, surface pressures while circulating the kick out
may exceed the pressure rating of surface MPD equipment or subsurface openhole
fracture limits, resulting in an underground blowout.

Fig. 3.5. Complications in MPD- Kicks

Pressure Transients: In addition to mud density, secondary pressures caused by

fluid friction and pipe movement must also be considered when managing annular
pressure profiles within close tolerances. For fluid induced transients created when
making DP connections, use of a continuous circulating device or temporarily
increasing surface annular pressure can eliminate this pressure transient. When
tripping pipe without circulation, density of the mud left in the well may need to be
adjusted to statically overbalance the well without losing returns[12].

12
 As MPD methods gain broader applications in offshore drilling, by solving these
technical problems and further having the ability to manage the wellbore pressure profile
may enable changes in well design, MPD methods can significantly improve the drilling
efficiencies by minimizing the time spent on monitoring and enable the wells to be drilled
where conventional drilling methods would not be technically and economically feasible.

13
 CHAPTER 4
BASICS OF THROTTLE VALVE

4.1 Introduction

A throttle is the mechanism by which the flow of a fluid is managed by constrictio n

or obstruction. An engine's power can be increased or decreased by the restriction of inlet
gases (i.e., by the use of a throttle), but usually decreased. The term throttle has come to
refer, informally and incorrectly, to any mechanism by which the power or speed of an
engine is regulated. What is often termed a throttle (in an aviation context) is more correctly
called a thrust lever. For a steam engine, the steam valve that sets the engine speed/power is
often known as a regulator.

Control valves are power-operated devices used to automatically modify fluid flow
or rate pressure in a process system. The terms 'control valve' and 'throttling valve' are often
used interchangeably but there is a distinction between the two. A throttling valve is a valve
whose closure element has the ability to start and stop flow as well as stop along any position
of the valve stroke to regulate the process of flow, temperature or pressure. Control valves
are the final control element in the system and are used in conjunction with an actuator or
actuation system. Control valves cannot act as standalone valves and therefore, while all
control valves are throttling valves, not all throttling valves are control valves. The control
valve is essentially an analogue device, the output of the control valve is controlled by an
analogue positioner. A 4-20ma signal is usually used in the positioning the control valve.

The difference between a "throttling valve" and any other valve is minimal. One
might suggest a throttling valve has a better ability to vary its restriction when compared to
a fast opening valve such as a flat faced globe valve, a ball valve or a gate valve, but from a
thermodynamic perspective, the first law can be applied to all these valves in exactly the
same way. So from a thermodynamic perspective there is no significant difference[14]. The
principles involved in a throttle valve are:

Bernoulli's principle (velocity increases, pressure falls, vice versa)

Joule Thompson effect (temperature decreases when fluid is forced through a valve)

Venturi effect (pressure decreases when flow is constricted)

Continuity equation (after all the phenomenon above, energy is conserved)

14
 Pressure drop across a valve is highly influenced by the area, shape, path and
roughness of the valve. Resistance to flow creates backpressure. Perforations, screens,
tubing, valves, chokes and regulators all contribute to both backpressure and pressure loss.
Pressure drop is created by flow rate. The higher the flowrate through a restriction, the
greater the pressure drop. Differential, Delta (), D, refers to the pressure drop across a flow
component valve, screen, etc. Delta is the 'change' in something; in this case a change, or
drop, in pressure. To determine the DP across a valve, simply subtract the outlet pressure
(P2) from the inlet pressure (P1) as shown in Fig. 4.1. The equation is P1 P2 = DP

Fig. 4.1. An illustrative example

The pressure drop is given by the fallowing equation:

1 2 = (22 12 ) (4.1)
2

Where,

= density of fluid

v1 , v2 = velocities at the narrow and wide side of the carb respectively.

4.2 Valve Coefficient (CV )

CV is a mathematical constant. The valve coefficient (CV) is a number which

represents the capability of a valve (or any flow component) to flow a fluid. The larger the
CV, the larger the flow at a given pressure differential. CV is the number of U.S. gallons per
minute (GPM) that will pass through a valve with press drop of 1 psi. For example, a CV of
150 would then equate to 150 gpm of water at 60 F with a differential pressure of one psi.
CV does not apply to modulating or regulating valves, spring loaded check valves, etc., that
incorporate a control spring or opposing gas charge or bellows since more than 1 psi is
required just to start positioning the valve mechanism[15]. Cv factors typically apply to full
open/full closed valves, e.g., solenoid valves, ball valves, etc.

15
 Cv is determined by counting the number of gallons that pass through the valve with
1 psi applied pressure between the valve inlet the outlet at 0 psi. For a pressure drop other
than 1 psi, a value can be calculated. The valve sizing coefficient (CV) defined for liquid as
follows:

P GPM
GPM = C or C = (4.2)
G
P
G

Where,

G = specific gravity of the fluid.

GPM = flow in gallons per minute

CV is commonly referred to as the flow coefficient and is the imperial equivalent of

KV. CV is used primarily in the US.

CV =1.96 KV (4.3)

4.3 Throttle Valve Flow Characteristics

The throttle valve flow characteristics refers to the relationship between the
volumetric flowrate Q (Y-axis) through the valve and the valve travel or opening position l
(Xaxis), as the valve is opened from its closed position to various degree of opening as shown
in the Fig. 4.2.

Trim describes the shape of the plug and seat arrangement. This arrangement affects
the capacity changes as the valve moves. Many valves do not have linear flow because of
the many differences in trim design. Therefore, valve trims are designed to suit the
application needs and adjust for the inherent non-linearity in many control loops. The curves
are based on constant pressure drop across the valve and graphs are usually available through
the manufacture. There are six inherent control valve characteristics, all shown in the Fig.
4.2.

16
 Fig. 4.2. Control Valve Flow Characteristics
The chart is plotted stem opening % vs. flow %. The stem opening describes how
much the valve is open. In this context, valve opening refers to the position of the disc to the
closed seat position. The three most common flow characteristics are linear, equal-
percentage and quick opening which are briefly described as follows:

A control valve is labelled linear, if its inherent flow characteristics can be

represented by a straight line on a rectangular plot of flowrate Q (or % Q, or Cv or
% Cv) versus % travel l (or Z for opening position) at the ideal condition of constant
valve pressure drop. Therefore, an equal increment of travel or opening l produce
equal increment of flow Q (or Cv) at constant valve pressure drop. If l represents
travel and Q represents flowrate, then:

dl = k dQ

Where, k is a proportional constant.

Thus the valve gain or sensitivity, which is change in flow Q divided by the
change in travel l is constant, whether at low flow or high flow. Therefore, valve gain
which is equal to dQ/dl is constant or independent of flowrate and valve opening.

A control valve is said to be equal percentage, if equal increment of valve travel or

opening l (or Z) produces equal percent (%) increment in flow Q. If this occurs at the
ideal condition of constant valve pressure drop, the valve is said to be inherently
equal percentage.

17
 In this case the valve gain is not constant but increases as flow increases.
Hence at low flow when the control valve is just opening, the valve gain is low and
its flow change is insensitive. At high flow at the upper portion of travel, the valve
gain is high which means that the flow increases rapidly (sensitively) for the same
increment in valve travel. On a rectangular plot (Fig. 4.2) of flowrate Q (Y-axis)
versus valve travel or position l (X-axis), the slope is flattish near the initial travel
position m (X-axis), but increases rapidly with flow as the valve opens at the upper
portion of travel.

The quick-opening characteristic control valve has a flat disk instead of a contoured
valve plug. Its flow (or Cv) increase rapidly to its maximum flow with minimum
initial valve opening. At the initial or lower portion of travel position, the valve gain
is too high for use in modulating control. Thereafter, the slope is flattish, where the
flowrate hardly increases with valve opening m. Therefore, such control valve is
limited to ON-OFF service and application or in specific application which requires
fast initial release or discharge of flow.

Other less common types of characteristics include the modified parabolic

which is approximately mid-way between the linear and equal % characteristics,
giving fine throttling action at low valve travel (like equal %) and approximate ly
linear characteristic for the upper portion of travel. The so-called hyperbolic
characteristic rectangular plot is bowed, below the linear characteristics. These two
characteristics (Quick-Opening, modified parabolic) are mentioned here for interest
sake only as the Linear and Equal % characteristics can meet almost all control
requirement[14].

4.4 Working Principle of the Throttle Valve

As a key equipment of controlling the wellhead back pressure accurately in MPD,
the regulating performance of throttle valve plays an important role in the control precision
of the wellhead back pressure. The below fig.4.3 shows the sectional view of the throttle
valve.

18
 1. Valve body 7. Coupling

2. Valve bonnet 8. Packing gland

3. Union nut 9. Combined seal

4. Connection flange 10. Valve core assembly

5. Screw drive assembly 11. Valve seat

6. Handwheel

Fig. 4.3. The sectional view of the throttle Valve

The throttle valve is mainly composed of a valve body, valve cover, screw drive
assembly, valve seat and a valve core assembly. The screw drive assembly is the central
drive of the throttle valve to perform an action, and the valve core assembly is the key
component to regulate the wellhead back pressure precisely. In the working process, the
hydraulic motor or a hand wheel rotates the screw drive assembly which gives the spool
assembly a vertical reciprocating motion, thus changing the valve opening. This provides
adjustment in the throttle pressure and ultimately controls the wellhead back pressure.

19
 CHAPTER 5
CURVE FITTING IN MATLAB

5.1 Introduction to Matlab

The name MATLAB stands for MATrix LABoratory. MATLAB was written
originally to provide easy access to matrix software developed by the LINPACK (linear
system package) and EISPACK (Eigen system package) projects. MATLAB, which is short
for Matrix Laboratory, incorporates numerical computation, symbolic computatio n,
graphics, and programming. As the name suggests, it is particularly oriented towards matrix
computations, and it provides both state-of-the-art algorithms and a simple, easy to learn
interface for manipulating matrices.

MATLAB is a high-performance language for technical computing. It integrates

computation, visualization, and programming environment. Furthermore, MATLAB is a
modern programming language environment: it has sophisticated data structures, contains
built-in editing and debugging tools, and supports object-oriented programming. These
factors make MATLAB an excellent tool for teaching and research.

MATLAB has many advantages compared to conventional computer languages (e.g.,

C, FORTRAN) for solving technical problems. MATLAB is an interactive system whose
basic data element is an array that does not require dimensioning. The software package has
been commercially available since 1984 and is now considered as a standard tool at most
universities and industries worldwide.

It has powerful built-in routines that enable a very wide variety of computations. It
also has easy to use graphics commands that make the visualization of results immedia te ly
available. Specific applications are collected in packages referred to as toolbox. There are
toolboxes for signal processing, symbolic computation, curve fitting, control theory,
simulation, optimization, and several other fields of applied science and engineering.

20
5.2 Introduction to Curve Fitting
Curve fitting, also known as regression analysis, is used to find the "best fit" line or
curve for a series of data points. Most of the time, the curve fit will produce an equation that
can be used to find points anywhere along the curve. In some cases, you may not be
concerned about finding an equation. Instead, you may just want to use a curve fit to smooth
the data and improve the appearance of your plot. The main purpose of curve fitting is that,
it matches mathematical models to data and it is a powerful tool if it can be used to make
accurate predictions[16].

Plotting a line of best fit in Matlab can be performed using either a traditional least
squares fit or a robust fitting method as shown in the Fig. 5.1. A least squares linear fit
minimizes the square of the distance between every data point and the line of best fit whereas
a robust fit is less effected by small numbers of outliers.

Fig 5.1. Robust Vs Least Squares demo

Polyfit can be used to calculate any polynomial fitting function of the form:

y = p1 xn + p2 xn-1 + + pn x + pn+1 ( 5.1)

y = polyval (p,x) returns the value of a polynomial of degree n evaluated at x. The

input argument p is a vector of length n+1 whose elements are the coefficients in descending

21
powers of the polynomial to be evaluated. x can be a matrix or a vector. In either case,
polyval evaluates p at each element of x. various types of polynomial fits for a particular set
of data are shown in the Fig. 5.2.

Fig. 5.2. Example of higher order fits for a set of data

5.2.1 Assessing goodness of fit

The tough part of polynomial regression is knowing that the "fit" is a good one.
Determining the quality of the fit requires experience, a sense of balance and some statistica l
summaries. One of the common goodness of fit methods involves the least-squares
approximation method. This describes the distance of the entire set of data points from the
fitted curve. And the other methods are:

The normalization of the residual error minimizing the square of the sum of
squares of all residual errors.

22
 The coefficient of determination (also referred to as the R2 value) for the fit
indicates the percent of the variation in the data that is explained by the model. This
coefficient can be computed by the fallowing commands:
ypred = polyval(coeff,x); % predictions

dev = y - mean(y); % deviations - measure of spread

SST = sum(dev.^2); % total variation to be accounted for

resid = y - ypred; % residuals - measure of mismatch

SSE = sum(resid.^2); % variation NOT accounted for

normr = sqrt(SSE) % the 2-norm of the vector of the residuals for the fit

Rsq = 1 - SSE/SST; % R2 Error (percent of error explained)

The closer that Rsq is to 1, the more completely the fitted model "explains" the data.

5.3 Curve Fitting Tool Box

Curve Fitting Toolbox (Fig. 5.3) provides an app and functions for fitting curves and
surfaces to data. The toolbox lets you perform exploratory data analysis, preprocess and
post-process data, compare candidate models, and remove outliers. You can conduct
regression analysis using the library of linear and nonlinear models provided or specify your
own custom equations. The library provides optimized solver parameters and starting
conditions to improve the quality of your fits. The toolbox also supports nonparametr ic
modeling techniques, such as splines, interpolation, and smoothing. After creating a fit, you
can apply a variety of post-processing methods for plotting, interpolation, and extrapolatio n;
estimating confidence intervals; and calculating integrals and derivatives. The key features
of the curve fitting tool box are:

Curve Fitting app for curve and surface fitting

Linear and nonlinear regression with custom equations
Library of regression models with optimized starting points and solver parameters

23
 Fig. 5.3. Curve fitting tool window
.

Smoothing techniques, including smoothing splines, localized regression, Savitzky-

Golay filters, and moving averages.
Preprocessing routines, including outlier removal and sectioning, scaling, and
weighting data.
Interpolation methods, including B-splines, thin plate splines, and tensor-product
splines.

5.3.1 Working with curve fitting tool box

The sequence of steps that are to be fallowed in order to obtain the desired curve fit
for a particular set of data is as follows:

Step 1. Loading Data Sets:

Before you can import data into the Curve Fitting Tool, the data variables must exist
in the MATLAB workspace. You can import data into the Curve Fitting Tool with
24
 the Data GUI. You open this GUI by clicking the Data button on the Curve Fitting
Tool.
The Data Sets pane allows you to:

Import predictor (X) data,

Response (Y) data, and
Weights. If you do not import weights, then they are assumed to be 1 for all
data points.
Specify the name of the data set.
Preview the data.
Click the Create data set button to complete the data import process.

Fig. 5.4. Command window and fitting editor in MATLAB

25
Step 2. Smoothing Data Points:

If your data is noisy, you might need to apply a smoothing algorithm to expose its
features, and to provide a reasonable starting approach for parametric fitting.

The Curve Fitting Toolbox supports three smoothing methods: (1) Moving Average
Filtering, (2) Lowess and Loess, (3) Savitzky-Golay Filtering.

Step 3. Excluding Data Points:

It may be necessary to remove outlier points from a data set before attempting a curve
fit.
Typically, data points are excluded so that subsequent fits are not adversely affected.
Can help improve a mathematical models predictability.

The Curve Fitting Toolbox provides two methods to exclude data: (1) Marking
Outliers, (2) Sectioning. For each of these methods, you must create an exclusio n
rule, which captures the range, domain, or index of the data points to be excluded.

Step 4. Plotting Fitting Curves:

You fit data with the Fitting GUI (Fig. 5.4). You open this GUI by clicking the
Fitting button on the Curve Fitting Tool.
The Fit Editor allows you to:
Specify the fit name, the current data set, and the exclusion rule.
Explore various fits to the current data set using a library or custom equation,
a smoothing spline, or an interpolant.
Override the default fit options such as the coefficient starting values.
Compare fit results including the fitted coefficients and goodness of fit
statistics.
Step 5. Saving Your Work:

You can save one or more fits and the associated fit results as variables to the
MATLAB workspace.
You can then use this saved information for documentation purposes, or to extend
your data exploration and analysis.
In addition to saving your work to MATLAB workspace variables,
you can also save the session and generate M-file.

26
 CHAPTER 6
DEVELOPMENT OF THE MATHEMATICAL MODEL

6.1 Need for Developing a New Throttle Valve

As one of the key equipment to achieve precise control of the wellhead back pressure
in MPD, the throttle valve can be used to control the bottom hole pressure by adjusting
the opening size of throttle valve to form different throttle pressures. With the
development of MPD, the requirements of the wellhead back pressure control has
gradually been transformed form high pressure difference to high precision control,

and the study of the variation between the throttle pressure and the valve opening size
has become the core problem. As the main component of adjusting the throttle
pressure in MPD, the shape curve of the valve core surface is directly related to the
precision of the wellhead back pressure control. At present, the valve core that is used
in the conventional drilling consists mainly of needle valve core, cylinder valve core

and wedge valve core, for which numerous studies have been carried out and has
already formed a perfect theory system. On account of the throttle valve that is used
in MPD, some manufacturers suggest the use of throttle valve in conventional drilling
and save the cost to a certain extent, but the throttle pressure with different openings
present a nonlinear relationship that is prone to failure, and hence cannot meet the
requirements of MPD. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a new throttle valve, in
which the throttle pressure changes linearly with the valve opening[17& 18].
The geometrical structure of valve core equals to the exact relationship of opening

size-wellhead pressure under certain working condition. In other words, the throttling
characteristics of a throttle valve can be generally determined, once the geometrical
structure of valve core is ascertained. Many advanced valve cores (needle, wedge,
cylindrical, cage sleeve and hole plate, etc.) are widely used now, but few of them could
be used in MPD due to the extremely atrocious working conditions (high temperature, high

pressure and mud erosion).

The cylinder valve core is one of the most stable and widely used valve cores in mud
MPD. It eliminates problems such as erosion damage to the top end of needle core, and

27
 short service life and blocking of cage sleeve core and hole plate core under mud condition.
In addition, the regular geometry of the cylinder valve core allows for better processability
and simpler assembly structure[19 & 20].

6.2 Mathematical Modelling Process

The Modeling Process is a series of steps taken to convert an idea first into a
conceptual model and then into a quantitative model[21].

A conceptual model represents our ideas about how the system works. It is
expressed visually in a model diagram, typically involving boxes (state variables)
and arrows (material flows or causal effects).
Equations are developed for the rates of each process and are combined to form a
quantitative model consisting of dynamic (i.e., varying with time) equations for
each state variable.
The dynamic equations can then be studied mathematically or translated into
computer code to obtain numerical solutions for state variable trajectories.

6.2.1 Pressure characteristic equation

According to the throttle pressure characteristics of throttle valve in MPD, the throttle
pressure has to change linearly with valve opening, and it is given by the following
equation[19]:

=K +C (6.1)

Where, is the chocking pressure at one valve opening, is the throttle

pressure at the minimum opening,( ) is the relative pressure, is the displaceme nt

of valve core at one opening, is the displacement of valve core at maximum opening,
( ) is the relative displacement of the valve core.

Following are the boundary conditions:

At l = lmax , p = pmin

28
 And at l = lmin , p = pmax

Substituting the boundary conditions into eq. 6.1, the values of the K and C can be
figured out as:

c = 1 and k = -1 (6.2)

Equation (6.1) can be rewritten by substituting the eq. (6.2) as follows:

= - +1 (6.3)

6.2.2 The flow area equation

According to the flow equation of throttle valve, as said in previous sections, is:

= (6.4)

2
Where, = 5.09 (6.5)
2
4 2 1

Where, Q is the volume flow rate, Kv is the coefficient of flow, Ar is the flow area
and A is the flow area at the maximum opening and is the destiny of fluid. Using the eqs.
(6.4) and (6.5), Ar can be derived as follows:

2 5.09 2
21=
4

2 2
2 4
(
1 = 5.09 )
2 162

2 2
2 4
= 1 + (5.09)
2 162

2 162 + (5.09)2 2 4
=
2 162

162 2
2 =
162 + (5.09)2 2 4

29
 162 2
=
162 + (5.09)2 2 4

Substitute the value of from the equation (6.4) in the above equation:

16 2 2
=
16 2
+ (5.09)2 2 4

2
Since A is the flow area at the maximum opening, it is equal to , hence the above
4

equation becomes:

16 2 2 2 1
= ( )
4 16 + (5.09)2 2 4
2

2 2 4
=
16 2 + (5.09)2 2 4

Now substitute the value of p from the equation (6.3) in the above equation and
then the flow area (Ar) equation of throttle valve can be written as:

2
2 4
= 2 2 4 2 (6.6)
5.09 1

+16

6.2.3 Derivation of the mathematical model for the valve core surface
As shown in Fig.6.1, LMN is the minimum distance between the valve core and
the valve seat, and the flow area at one opening. Ar is the lateral area of pyramidal face MNN1
M1 at the opening.

30
 Fig 6.1. Schematic Diagram of the flow Area
From the lateral area equation of pyramidal face, the flow area Ar can be
calculated as:

= ( + ) (6.7)
2

Where,

d=D2x (6.8)

= cos ; {, = / } (6.9)

Solving Eqs. (6.8) and (6.9) simultaneously, the flow area equation (6.7) becomes:

= ( + 2 )
2

= 2( )
2

= ( 2 )

On bringing all the terms to left side, the above equation becomes:

31

2 + cos = 0 (6.10)

Substituting Eq. (6.6) into Eq. (6.10), the flow area equation takes the form:

cos 2 2 4
2 + 5.092 2 4 1 =0 (6.11)
+162

Where, D is the maximum diameter, is the included angle, x and y are respectively
the transverse and longitudinal coordinates of N at the valve core curve.

Using M as the reference point at one opening, the level set curve is formed by the
circular truncated cone at different values, as shown in fig. 6.1, with the increase of the
opening, the equation for the level set curve cluster can be written as:

cos 2 2 4
= 2 + 5.092 2 4 1 (6.12)
+162

As an envelope curve cluster of F, the curve of the valve core must meet the
following conditions:

F=0 (6.13)

=0 (6.13)

From Eq. (6.13a), the level set curve cluster at different openings can be written as:

cos 2 2 4
2 + 5.092 2 4 1 =0 (6.14)
+162

From equations (6.12) and (6.13b), the equation can be written as:

32
 2 2 4
2 +
2 2 4 2
5.09 1 + 16

= =0

(6.15)

From Fig. 6.1, the displacement (l) of valve core at an opening can be written as:

l = y + x tan (6.16)

From Eqs. (6.8), (6.14), (6.15) and (6.16) represent the mathematical model of the
valve core which can be solved simultaneously

2 2 4
2 +

5.092 2 4 1 + 162

=0



cos 2 2 4
2 + =0
5.092 2 4 1 2
+ 16



= y + x tan

= 2

(6.17)

6.2.4 Solution and curve fitting

To verify the validity of the mathematical model of throttle valve core an example
problem is considered [22], the related numerical data of this example problem are shown in
table 6.1.

33
 Table 6.1. The design data

parameter Values
Density () 1700 kg/m3
Flow rate (Q) 20 L/s
Diameter (D) 38.1 mm
The maximum opening (lmax) 28 mm
The maximum throttle pressure( pmax) 10 MPa
Opening interval (l) 1 mm

The set of equations (6.17) that represent the mathematical model of the valve core
is solved simultaneously using Matlab and its coordinates (x, y) are calculated at differe nt
openings (l) and are tabulated in table 6.2.

Table 6.2: The coordinates of the valve core at different openings

openings coordinate coordinate

(mm) x y
1 1.59 -0.5044
2 1.60 -1.206
3 1.61 -1.963
4 1.62 -2.72
5 1.66 -3.489
6 1.69 -4.189
7 1.72 -4.933
8 1.78 -5.706
9 1.84 -7.199
10 1.9 -8.657
11 1.98 -10.18
12 2.06 -11.66
13 2.15 -13.12
14 2.26 -14.62
15 2.38 -16.08
16 2.53 -17.58
17 2.7 -19.02
18 2.92 -20.44
19 3.2 -21.95
20 3.52 -23.15
21 3.74 -23.75
22 4.33 -24.57
23 6.00 -26.97
24 6.12 -27.16
25 6.3 -27.48
26 6.54 -28.00
27 6.71 -28.5

34
 In order to get a curve that best fits the above data of table 6.2 using Matlab, the steps
that are fallowed are as follows, as explained in the previous sections:

Step 1-Loading Data Sets: Before you can import data into the Curve Fitting Tool, the data
variables must exist in the MATLAB workspace. You can import data into the Curve Fitting
Tool with the Data GUI, but GUI imports only .xlsx files, so first of all you have to load the
data in table 6.2 in MsExcel and save it in .xlsx format.

Open GUI by clicking the Data button on the Curve Fitting Tool.

The Data Sets pane (fig. 6.2) allows you to:

Import predictor (X) data,

Response (Y) data, and
Weights. If you do not import weights, then they are assumed to be 1 for all
data points.
Specify the name of the data set.
Preview the data.
Click the Create data set button to complete the data import process.

Fig. 6.2. Loading data set

Step 2- Smoothing Data Points: As it is said early that smoothing data points is required
only when If your data is noisy to expose its features, etc. But here we dont need any
smoothing as the data is not noisy.so now we can proceed to next step.

35
Step 3- Excluding Data Points: Since there are no significant outlier points from the data
set, there is no need of excluding any point. Hence we can move to next step.

Step 4- Plotting Fitting Curves:

You fit data with the Fitting GUI. You open this GUI by clicking the Fitting button
on the Curve Fitting Tool.

Fig. 6.3. Fitting GUI

In the Fit Editor (fig. 6.3) you :

Specify the fit name as valve core fit, the current data set, and the exclusio n
rule as none.

Now specify the type of fi as Polynomial to the current data set

Now select the 5th degree polynomial in the polynomial window and then hit
on the apply option, to get the following results (fig. 6.4):

36
 Fig. 6.4. The curve fit for the valve core using values from Table 6.2

Results of the fitting:

Linear model Poly5:

f (x) = p1*x^5 + p2*x^4 + p3*x^3 + p4*x^2 + p5*x + p6

Coefficients (with 95% confidence bounds):

p1 = -0.0378 (-0.07052, -0.004201)

p2 = 0.93484 (0.2467, 1.604)

p3 = -9.30336 (-14.5, -3.97)

p4 = 46.7535 (27.32, 65.72)

p5 = -120.2237 (-152.6, -87.05)

p6 = 103.5526 (82.35, 124.3)

Goodness of fit:

SSE: 2.124

R-square: 0.9988

Adjusted R-square: 0.99901

RMSE: 0.318

Hence, the curve fit equation of the valve core surface is:

37
 y = 0.03785x5 + 0.93484x4 9.30336x3 + 46.7535x2 120.2237x +103.5526 (6.18)

As said earlier, the closer that R-square and Adj R-square is to 1, the more completely
the fitted model "explains" the data. Here, R-square is 0.9988 and the Adj R-square value is
0.9991, which is close to 1, but a further investigation is done in search of a much more
better fit by increasing the degree of the curve fitting polynomial, which may yield a much
closer value of adj R-square. Hence, the above process is once again repeated for 6th degree
polynomial, thereby the modified values of the coordinates and the modified shape curve of
the valve core surface is shown in table 6.3 and fig. 6.5.

Table 6.3: The modified coordinates

openings coordinate coordinate

(mm) x y
1 1.591 -0.949
2 1.625 -1.961
3 1.659 -2.930
4 1.696 -3.937
5 1.734 -4.924
6 1.775 -5.937
7 1.817 -6.921
8 1.862 -7.918
9 1.910 -8.921
10 1.960 -9.901
11 2.014 -10.892
12 2.072 -11.883
13 2.134 -12.864
14 2.202 -13.854
15 2.275 -14.827
16 2.356 -15.806
17 2.446 -16.783
18 2.545 -17.739
19 2.657 -18.690
20 2.784 -19.624
21 2.929 -20.534
22 3.096 -21.411
23 3.287 -22.235
24 3.504 -22.986
25 3.741 -23.631
26 3.983 -24.141
27 4.217 -24.519

38
 Fig. 6.5. The higher order curve fit using values from Table 6.2
Results of the Fitting:

Linear model Poly6:

f (x) = p1*x^6 + p2*x^5 + p3*x^4 + p4*x^3 + p5*x^2 + p6*x + p7

Coefficients (with 95% confidence bounds):

p1 = 0.013587 (-0.02239, 0.04057)

p2 = -0.37747 (-1.011, 0.5005)

p3 = 4.341428 (-4.239, 10.25)

p4 = -26.77116 (-54.75, 16.07)

p5 = 94.91643 (-20.11, 165.5)

p6 = -187.7917 (-277.8, -30.59)

p7 = 141.19239 (55.84, 186.4)

Goodness of fit:

39
 SSE: 2.086

R-square: 0.9992

Adjusted R-square: 1

RMSE: 0.323

Hence, the new curve fit equation is:

y = 0.01358x6 0.37747x5 + 4.34142x4 26.77116x3 + 94.91643x2 187.7917x +141.19239 (6.19)

Now we get the R-square value =0.9992 and Adjusted R-square = 1, which shows
that it is a much better fit than the previous one. Therefore the above modified curve fit,
whose Adjusted R-square is 1, can be considered and using this new equation (6.19), a new
throttle valve core can be designed and manufactured.

40
 CHAPTER 7
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Now the most important results of this thesis are going to be discussed here. As the
main objective of the thesis is to verify the performance of the new valve core surface and
to compare the results of mathematical model values with the design values, firstly from the
design values of the valve, the relation of throttle pressure with valve opening is found and
then from the curve fit equation that is derived from the mathematical model of the new
valve core that got in the previous sections, the relation of throttle pressure with valve
opening is derived. Finally, the results obtained using both are compared.

7.1 Relationship of Throttle Pressure with Different Openings

As mentioned in the earlier sections, the flow equation of the throttle valve can be
written as:

= 5.09 (7.1)

2
1
2

From the above flow equation of the throttle valve, the throttle pressure is derived,
resulting in equation (7.2):

2 2
= 1 (7.2)
5.092 2

Now substitute the value of flow area from the equation (6.6) in the above
equation

2 2
= 1
5.092 2 2 4
2 2 4 2
5.09 1 + 16

41

2 2 5.092 2 4 1 +16 2

. = 1
5.092 2 2 4

2 2 5.092 16
= 1 + 1
5.092 2 2 4

2 2 5.092 2 5.092 16
= 2
2
2
+ 2 4 1
5.09

2 2 5.092 2 2 5.092 16
= 2
2
+ 2
2
+ 2 4 1
5.09 5.09

In the above equation, only p and l are unknowns and rest all can be substituted
from the design values table (6.1). Hence, the above equation can be said to be in the form
of:

p = +

Therefore, the relationship of throttle pressure with valve opening using the design
values is obtained by calculating the values of throttle pressure at different openings are
which are tabulated in the table 7.1 and a graph is also plotted for the same with throttle
pressure on y-axis and opening on x-axis which is shown in fig. 7.1.

Table 7.1: Values of throttle pressure at different openings using design values

Valve Throttle Valve Throttle

opening(mm) pressure(mpa ) opening(mm) pressure(mpa )
0 10.4 10 6.8865
1 10.0486 11 6.5351
2 9.6793 12 6.1838
3 9.3459 13 5.8324
4 8.9946 14 5.4811
5 8.6432 15 5.1297
6 8.2919 16 4.7784
7 7.9405 17 4.4271
8 7.5892 18 4.0757
9 7.2378 19 3.7243

42
 Valve Throttle
opening(mm) pressure(mpa )
20 3.373
21 3.0216
22 2.6703
23 2.3189
24 1.9676
25 1.6162
26 1.2649
27 0.9135

Fig. 7.1. The throttle pressure as a function of valve opening

As shown in fig. 7.1, with the increase of the valve opening, the throttle pressure
decreases linearly, thus making it easier to control the well head back pressure.

Now, by calculating the distance between the valve seat surface and valve core
curve, i.e LMN from the equation (6.9) and then the flow area (Ar) is calculated using the

43
equation Ar = LMN (D x), where the values of x are substituted from the table 6.3 for
different values of valve openings .

Table 7.2: Values of throttle pressure at different valve openings using the
mathematical model.

Valve Throttle Valve Throttle

opening(mm) pressure(mpa ) opening(mm) pressure(mpa )
0 8.8256 10 6.6177
1 8.6029 11 6.2597
2 8.3801 12 5.9016
3 8.1573 13 5.6191
4 8.1373 14 5.3367
5 8.1172 15 5.0542
6 8.0972 16 4.6912
7 7.7234 17 4.3282
8 7.3496 18 3.9652
9 6.9758 19 3.6326

Valve Throttle
opening(mm) pressure(mpa )
20 3.3001
21 2.9675
22 2.6416
23 2.3156
24 1.9897
25 1.5673
26 1.1449
27 0.7225

44
 Fig. 7.2. The throttle pressure as a function of valve opening (using the
mathematical model of the valve core surface)

Then the throttle pressure is calculated for different valve openings and is tabulated
in the table 7.2 with the help of the equation (7.2). From table 7.2, a graph depicting the
relationship of throttle pressure with valve opening is obtained as shown in fig. 7.2, which
is for new valve core.

The maximum throttle pressure is found to be 8.825 MPa at an opening of 0 mm,

and the minimum throttle pressure is 0.722 MPa at an opening of 27 mm. The throttle
pressure decreases as the valve is opened gradually and this decrease is approximately linear.

7.2 Comparison of Both the Results

To verify the feasibility of this design, the mathematical model results (simulation

results) of throttle pressure are compared with the design values as shown below:

45
 Fig. 7.3. The comparison of the design values with mathematical results at
different openings

Fig. 7.3 shows the variation of the designed throttle pressure with simula tio n
results at different openings. The mathematical model results of throttle pressure are a
little smaller than the design values when the opening is between 0 and 18 mm, they are
almost equal when the opening is between 21 and 24 mm, and is little smaller at an
opening of 27 mm. Therefore, the mathematical model results of throttle pressure with the
design values are nearly the same, which verifies the correctness of the design of the valve
core.

46
 CHAPTER 8
CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE SCOPE OF THE WORK

The objective of this thesis is to develop a mathematical model of a new valve core
that would produce a linear relation between throttle opening and pressure drop, since valve
core is the key component in throttle valve which is in direct contact with the drilling fluid
and can adjust the flow area. First of all a mathematical model is developed and then using
it a new curve fit equation that best fits the data is derived. For the sake of validation of the
mathematical model that has been developed, an example problem is considered. Finally,
the results of the relationship of the throttle pressure with the valve opening that has been
obtained from both the design values and mathematical model are compared. Hence, the
following conclusions are drawn out of this work.

8.1 Conclusions

The pressure characteristics of throttle valve in MPD are fully considered, and
the mathematical model of the valve core surface is derived.

The curve fit equation of a new valve core surface that best fits the data is derived
and solved by modification.

The throttle pressure of the throttle valve at different openings is obtained with the

modified model of valve core surface, and the variation of throttle pressure with
valve opening is approximately linear.

The mathematical model results of throttle pressure is compared with the

results that has been obtained using the design values. Both the results are

nearly the same, which verifies the correctness of the modified curved fit equation
and also the design of the valve core surface.

8.2 Future Scope of the Work

The mathematical model of a new valve core meets linear valve opening versus
pressure drop (l- P) relationship under given working conditions. Although the linear (l-

47
P) relationship is validated in mathematical calculation, the actual performance of the new
valve core remains to be experimentally verified.

48
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