~~ sTucK@Pre, ww Jars, Jarring and Jar Placement {A ja® is an impact tool installed in the drillstring to free stuck pipe. Essentially unchanged for 20 years, jars are among the least glamorous devices in the oil field. But some rules of thumb about jarring dynamics can lead to improper application. This introduction covers the latest on the technology, use and placement of jars. Denny Adelung Warren Askew Jaime Bernardini AT. (Buck) Campbell, Jt Sugar Land, Texas, USA Mike Chattin (Onyx Energy Co. Houston, Texas, USA Rodney Hensley Buiish Peoleum Exploration Co. Houston, Texas, USA Bill Kinton British Petroleum Exploration Co, ‘Anchorage, Alaska, USA Randy Reese Don Sparing (Onyx Energy Co. Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA Cilfield professionals have long recognized that preventing stuck pipe is always less expensive than unsticking pipe. Successful prevention lies in understanding the mecha- nisms of pipe sticking. These mechanisms hhave long been known, but only in the past few years have some operators converted this knowledge into a usable form, reducing fishing time and hole cost. Despite these improvements there is con- sensus, although no statistical proof, that the incidence of stuck pipe across the industry has remained relatively unchanged. This isa “technical fi": the smarter we become at preventing stuck pipe, the more risks we take. We drill high-angle and horizontal wells, multiple targets or formations consid cred too risky in the past, oF use topdrive 10 make hole faster than cuttings can be Cleared. The incidence of stuck pipe there fore remains stable. The means of lowering this figure, according to experience at British Petroleurn (BP), lie as much in tech hique as in technology. Teach drillers to di smarter, BP found, and less pipe will become stuck inthe first place. But because no prevention program is uarantced, research has continued into jars And jaring physics. Because jar location in the drillstring can mean the difference between success and failure, work is under ‘way to streamline jar placement programs, making them faster, more powerful and eas- jer to use. Jars themselves have been sub- mitted to objective testing! and the limits of their performance are being extended. ‘What are Jers? From the outside, a diiling jar looks about the same as a drill colar, having the same ‘ulside diameter (OD) and being hollow to permit the passage of mud. Inside, a jar is basically a sliding mandrel that allows a brief and sudden axial acceleration of the dillsting above the jar (next page, above). “Tavel oF this mandrel is limited by a stop {the hammer that strikes a stop on the outer sleeve the anvil. ‘Most jars release—called a trip, hit or lick—both up and down; afew work in one ditection only. Between the end of upstroke and end of downstioke is the cocked pos: tion. In jarring up, for example, the driller pulls and stetches the drillpipe. When the jar releases, the dillpipe contracts and the ‘mass of drillstring above the jar accelerates ‘up the length of the wip mandel for 5 10.9 in, (13 to 23 centimeters crm), depending ‘on jar design and diameter. When the ham- mer hits the anvil, the mass stops and trans- mits a shock wave that travels up and down the drillsring several times (next page, befow). The intention is to break the drill: string loose from the stuck point 'A properly designed jatring up assembly usually exerts more force than jarring down, llfield ReviewOctober 1991 ‘Shook wave travel Jar hammer velocity Frcton sleeve Tip rmandtol Tip | fal Mi ‘Tipped Down = Compression wave = Compression wave | invcalere naallppe — Tension wave Impact reaches stuck pont ° a a @ Velocity added trom ‘contraction of dele Ss Veto from Contraction of ‘ra colar | var hits ° z a Tre oe Cross section of Anadril's mechanical BARTHQUAKER jar, showing the tripped up, cocked (or neutral) nd tripped down positions. Dillsring dynamics in the time ‘between jar release and when the ham- ‘mer hils the cmvil. Ia this example, 1 is length of collars above the jar and 1/2 is the distance between the jar and the stuck point, taxon avbitrarily as'/2, but it ‘could be any distance. In the fop diagram, ‘Cis the speed of sound in steel, and #/e is the time of the fist shock wave round.tip >botwoen the jar and the top of the dell collars. The lower diagram shows jar ham ‘mer velocity over the same time inforvel intr anicle CAP Computed Ara pd Pace tae eARQUAR oH DRAQUGH as For hp n prepaaion of is ance thanks ton {alc Bash Peolcum poration, Heo, Tes, USA Rene Baus ar Phare Pore, See atonal Er aguae, Pau, ances el, evr us, ches nga, oa Kos, ons snr, More ge Samantha ile, Mary Poor an Robt Noung, Ane, Sapo Lane Tear, OSA Roger Cancer, Cort, Hb, lem USA ‘Maoh Kaan Wang Kl Epc Sig tard, Yao, USA 1 ling A and Hae GW: “Peixmance sig has peeer ADCP 201, preset a 1990, THOCSPe Ding Cretan en, Tess, USA Febuary 27 rh 2, 1990, 53Ratio of jar force to up hit setting Ratio of jar force to down hit setting J Neoative impact —>}«— Posttve impact —>} 54 je impact —e|+— Posie impact —>{ be Nese Up Jar Impact i Up hit eotting=117,000 to Maximum foroe=47 1836 lb Graph is for stuck point at bit ‘Multiply ratio tmos up hit siting to obtain the force atthe stuck point in, 0 “Time aftr jr tps, msec 700 Down Jar impact 700 LJanting force at the stuck point, chosen as the bit, showing an example in own hit setting =26,000 tb Maximum force 164,818 Ib ‘Graph is for stuck point at bit "Mustipy ratio times down hit setting to obtain the foroe at the stuck point in, =25 moo Eo} Time ater ar trips, meee 300 ‘which the up jesring force Cop) fs about threo times that of down jarring Gottom). Note that ie productive jaring force lasts about 25 milliseconds, (which Is directly related fo the length of collars moving above the feu. Jar- zing magnitude changes betwoen up and down jarring but not duration. (From Askow. reference 6.) a Tis is because the diller can pull on the dillpipe with a greater force than can be exerted by compression from slacking off ailpipe weight (le) “Thete are jars for fishing and jars for these have similar designs but are construct and used diferent Fishing jars ate not standard drillpipe length, are not designed to withstand the stesses of dling land are run inthe hole only ater backing Off, Drilling jars are standard drillpipe lengths, ae curable enough to withstand dling stresses and are tun in the bottom hole assembly (811). “There ave two main types of cling jars, mechanical and hycaulic. Mechanical jars ‘operate using a series of springs, lock and release mechanisms. Hydraulic jas operate Using the contolled passage of hydraulic fluid. Hydromechanical jars are 9 hybrid of both designs, usually hydraulic up and mechanical down ‘A mechanical a ips up ata preselected tensile force, and down at a preselected compressional force The jar ips only atthe Set threshold, which i normally beyond the forces reached while dling. The postion ‘ofthe mechanical jr during dilling ether cocked or extended (ripped up); is a mate ter of driller preference. Driling is never conducted with the jar tripped down because unnecessary down jarring might damage the bit and measurement while- ling (WWD) equipment “The release threshold of a mechanical jar is set either downhole or at the surface, depending on jar design. There are two tain designs, One uses the principle of the torsion spring, and its release force can be varied downhole by 10 to 15% by applying torque to the dillpipe Left torque decreases felease tension; right torque increases i ‘Another design uses an expanding sleeve ‘with slots, fags and aneillary springs (next age). The overall necessary 1 tip the jar Can be reduced downhole by increasing red flowrate ‘Mechanical ciling jars predate hydraulic cones, bt the idea of a hydraulic jar is not new. Hyerauic jars fr fishing first appeared inthe 1950s, but were troubled by seal fail tres and were not sturdy enough for ailing ‘pplications. With advances in seal technoh ony, a second generation for drilling Sppeated In the 1970s and 1980s. Today, tydaulic and mechanical jars have compa rable life expectancies (ee “Comparison of Mechanical and Hydraulic Drilling Jas” next pase) “The main difference between the to jas is thatthe hydraulic jar does not trp. at a ollfield Review