DC170713 DOI: 10.
2118/170713-PA Date: 17-May-16 Stage: Page: 106
Continuous High-Frequency
Measurements of the Drilling Process
Provide New Insights Into Drilling-System
Response and Transitions Between
Vibration Modes
Adam Bowler, Richard Harmer, Lojini Logesparan, Junichi Sugiura, Ben Jeffryes, and Maja Ignova, Schlumberger
Summary
The oil-and-gas industry has become increasingly interested in
drilling dynamics and vibration as causes of drilling inefficiency
and reduced drilling performance. Generally, drillstring vibration
is measured with shock-and-vibration sensors installed in mea-
surement-while-drilling (MWD) tools, logging-while-drilling
(LWD) tools, and rotary steerable systems (RSS). Although these
tools provide valuable real-time and recorded-mode information
on the dynamic conditions, they are not generally designed to cap-
ture continuous high-frequency (HF) mechanics and dynamics
data, and burst data may miss important information about the
evolution of the system response and state.
A downhole mechanics measurement tool has been developed
that makes a comprehensive suite of measurements of the drilling
process, including forces, accelerations, rotational speed, pres-
sures, and temperatures. In addition to providing information in
real time, the tool has the capability to capture long durations of
continuous data at frequencies between 50 and 2,000 Hz. The
recorded-mode information obtained has provided significant
insight into the response of the drilling system to starting rotation;
drilling procedures and parameter modifications; and exposure to
excitation from sources including, but not limited to, rig heave,
bottomhole-assembly (BHA) component imbalance, and bit/rock
interaction. A wide range of occurrences has been captured in
which the drilling system switches from a dominant vibration
mode, typically torsional (downhole rotation-velocity oscillations
or stick/slip) into a different mode, such as axial (bit bounce) or
lateral (whirl). Transitions between different types of whirl have
also been recorded.
Several cases were studied to investigate the evolution and
response of drilling-system behavior on the basis of in-depth
interpretation of relatively long durations (minutes to hours) of
HF data sets in the operational context. The findings verify the
value of using continuous HF vibration data to understand the
drilling system and to increase drilling performance.
Introduction
It is well-known that drilling dynamics and vibration are major
causes of bit and BHA damage and reduced drilling performance.
Lost productivity and increased drilling cost as results of failures
caused by downhole dynamics drive continuing research in this
area. Within this particular service company, operations failures
related to shock and vibration generated hundreds of millions of
dollars in loss in 2012, representing more than one-quarter of the
total loss reported.
Downhole dynamics has been a subject of intensive research
using various downhole sensors and instruments in the past deca-
Copyright V
C 2016 Society of Petroleum Engineers
This paper (SPE 170713) was accepted for presentation at the SPE Annual Technical
Conference and Exhibition, Amsterdam, 27–29 October 2014, and revised for publication.
Original manuscript received for review 12 June 2015. Revised manuscript received for
review 13 January 2016. Paper peer approved 25 January 2016.
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des. Different BHA whirl types have been identified with trans-
verse bending-moment sensors and transverse magnetometers
(Close et al. 1988; Shyu 1989; Vandiver et al. 1990; Macpherson
et al. 2001). Other researchers have used two sets of accelerome-
ters in an RSS to detect and quantify collar/stabilizer whirl
(Minett-Smith et al. 2010). With the same sensor, Stroud et al.
(2011) showed the motion of the collar in transition from “rolling-
sliding” to “backward whirl” in laboratory testing.
Torsional vibration of drillstrings has a long history of research,
starting in the 1960s (Cunningham 1968; Dareing and Livesay
1968). In recent years, HF downhole-vibration measurement pro-
vided a new insight that the dominant cause of polycrystalline-
diamond-compact (PDC) bit damage is stick/slip and torsional os-
cillatory vibration (Ledgerwood et al. 2010). Lines et al. (2013)
used a HF torsional-vibration sensor integrated in an RSS to show
two types of torsional-vibration phenomena, a low-frequency tor-
sional oscillation, and an HF torsional oscillation. Oueslati et al.
(2013) showed that HF torsional oscillation (HFTO) occurs com-
monly in harder and denser formations with different BHA.
This paper builds on past work and focuses on understanding
the transitions between different drilling-system vibration modes
(Leine et al. 2002; Lesso et al. 2011). Cases are presented and dis-
cussed in which long durations of continuous HF data, from a
comprehensive suite of downhole measurements made at one
point in the BHA, are interpreted in context, shedding new light
on the complex response of drilling systems.
Downhole-Data Acquisition
The downhole information in this paper was acquired with a sub
mounted in the BHA capable of providing real-time information
and continuously recording long durations of HF data (Lesso
et al. 2011). The sub contains a suite of 19 sensors.
All the data presented in this paper are taken from sensors
sampled at 10,000 Hz and decimated and filtered before recording
at 50 Hz, which, because of the Nyquist-Shannon theorem (Nyquist
1928), provides a usable bandwidth of 25 Hz. Fig. 1 shows a block
diagram of the sensors, digital signal processing, and recording to
HF memory. The coordinate system for the sensors is shown in
Fig. 2, where X is the axial direction (along the direction of the
drillstring) and Y and Z are in the lateral directions. The radial and
tangential directions are similar to Y and Z, but offset and rotated
about the tool center line (Brazil et al. 2002; Sugiura 2005).
In addition to the HF recording data, statistics and averages of
the 10,000 Hz measurements are recorded to low-frequency mem-
ory at 0.5 Hz. The sub may also be configured to record HF data
in burst format up to a frequency of 2,000 Hz, but this is not pre-
sented in this paper.
Oueslati et al. (2013 and 2014) report that HFTO resonances
may occur at frequencies above 300 Hz. HFTO could be captured
in the sensor data sampled at 10,000 Hz, and could influence the
low-frequency statistical data (such as average, minimum, and
maximum rotational acceleration and torque). But the recording
frequency of the continuous HF data means that torsional
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Sensors

Vibration Accelerometers
X, Y, Z, radial, and
tangential Raw
Digital-Signal Measurements
Shock Accelerometers Processing 50 Hz
X and Y High-
Frequency
Magnetometers Decimate Memory
Y and Z
Gyro rev/min Filter

Internal Pressure Low-

Calculate Statistics
Frequency
Internal Temperature Memory
Annular Pressure
Measurements
Annular Temperature and Statistics
Axial Load 0.5 Hz

Torque

Bending X and Y
Continuous Inclination

Fig. 1—Block diagram of the sensors, digital signal processing, and recording within the tool.

oscillation up to a maximum of 25 Hz can be recorded, because of
the Nyquist-Shannon theorem. The usable bandwidth of the con-
tinuous HF data will also affect the ability to detect other motions,
such as backwards whirl and lateral resonances. However, post-
run analysis of HFTO could be done with the recorded burst data.
Real-Time Diagnostics. The sub calculates real-time diagnostics
to characterize the motions, and sends the results up to the driller
on a rig-floor display by means of mud-pulse telemetry. This
allows the driller to mitigate the shock and vibrations in real time.
The whirl diagnostic uses the rate of the whirl-bending angle
given in Eq. A-7 to calculate the whirl type. It uses the magnitude
of the whirl bending, as given in Eq. A-3, to calculate the severity.
The bit-bounce diagnostic uses the force variation and skewness
statistics of the sub’s axial-load measurement. The stick/slip diag-
nostic utilizes the industry-standard method, which is to use the
mean, minimum, and maximum statistics of the collar revolutions
per minute (RPM) measured by the sub.
Post-Processing of HF Data. This paper contains plots that
show, in detail, the dynamic motion of the sub. These are gener-
ated by post-processing the 50 Hz HF data.
The whirl-motion crossplots are generated by first converting
the HF bending to a geostationary reference frame (referenced to
magnetic dip) with the magnetometers, as shown by Eq. A-6. A
schematic diagram of a geostationary-bending spectrum is shown
in Fig. 3. The bending contains components caused by the dogleg
at low frequencies, and these are removed by low-pass filtering.
Crossplots are then plotted for a 5-second snapshot of data. Con-
verting to a geostationary reference has the advantage that for-
ward whirl is at positive-bending frequencies where the collar is
moving clockwise around the borehole. Backward whirl is at neg-
ative bending frequencies where the collar is moving anti-clock-
wise around the borehole. Fig. 3 shows these whirl motions at the
different frequencies in the bending spectrum. Fig. 4 shows typi-
cal examples of whirl-motion crossplots for normal drilling, fully
developed synchronous forward whirl, fully developed backward
whirl, and developing chaotic whirl evaluated with the HF data
recorded with the sub during a run. In the plots, the lines are col-
ored either blue or red to indicate clockwise rotation or anti-clock-
wise rotation, respectively.
The axial-motion plots are generated by double-integrating the
axial accelerometer (Downton 2004). The channel is high-pass fil-
tered before each integration step to avoid integration errors
building up.
Bending energy

Y
Bending
caused by
DLS and
sag

Z Forward
Drilling-rotation Backward
X whirl
direction Radial whirl

–ω 0 ω
Bend rate
Tangential
Fig. 3—Schematic of geostationary frame bend spectrum show-
Fig. 2—Schematic of sensor-coordinate system looking ing bending caused by dogleg of the hole (DLS), BHA sag,
downhole. backward whirl, and forward whirl.

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100

Bend-y (ft.lbf x 1,000)

0

–100
–100 0 100
Bend-z (ft.lbf x 1,000)

Fig. 4—Whirl-bending crossplots examples. Top left: fully developed severe backward whirl. Top right: fully developed medium for-
ward whirl. Bottom left: developing chaotic whirl. Bottom right: normal drilling. Red lines indicate anticlockwise (backward) rota-
tion about the center of the plot and blue lines indicate clockwise (forward) rotation about the center of the plot.

Theory 4) Transition from low-level torsional oscillations into bit

Drillstrings can vibrate axially, laterally, or torsionally, and coupling
can exist between these different modes (Lesso et al. 2011). The
authors’ experience, on the basis of more than 50 bit runs with the
downhole-measurement sub, is that torsional oscillations (downhole
variations in rotational speed or fully developed stick/slip) are typi-
cally the dominant vibration mode, but that the system can switch
between torsional, axial (bit bounce), or lateral (whirl) modes.
The transition from one mode to another is driven by a range
of factors including, but not limited to, excitation from cutting-
structure bit/rock interaction, high-friction factor at contact points,
surface-drilling parameters and procedures, BHA resonances,
component-mass imbalance, and downhole-tool operation.
Methodology
Relatively long durations (minutes to hours) of HF data recorded
in the BHA, in a range of operational environments, were ana-
lyzed by looking for transitions between vibration modes or sig-
nificant changes in the amplitude of motions within a mode of
vibration. These were then interpreted considering the operational
context, with the objectives to gain insight into the way the transi-
tions take place and the factors driving the transitions, for exam-
ple, the role of changing excitation sources or modifications to
drilling parameters and procedures.
Results
Six cases are presented and discussed:
1) Transition from low-level chaotic whirl into forward whirl
2) Transition from low-level torsional oscillations into for-
ward whirl
3) Transition from forward whirl into chaotic whirl
bounce
5) Transition of underreaming-while-drilling assemblies from
stable to unstable when picking up off-bottom with rotation
6) Response of the system to axial excitation from rig heave
Figures are presented to illustrate each case and show real-
time and HF recorded data from the downhole sub, along with the
BHA configuration and well trajectory, where appropriate.
Case 1. Transition From Low-Level Chaotic Whirl Into
Forward Whirl (Vertical 16-in. Hole, Motor BHA Example).
Centrifugal force associated with BHA-component eccentricity is
believed to be the driver for forward whirl, especially at low incli-
nations. Dykstra et al. (1996) reported drillstring component-mass
imbalance as a major source of downhole vibrations. Sustained
periods of synchronous forward whirl can cause one-sided wear
of components in abrasive formations.
The case presented in Fig. 5 is a field example of perform-
ance when drilling vertically with a straight mud-motor BHA. A
clear correlation could be seen between surface rotation speed in
RPM and forward-whirl tendency, as would be expected if
driven by mass imbalance within the drillstring (Besaisow and
Payne 1988; Jansen 1992). Fig. 5 shows subplots of the block
position relative to the rig floor and the downhole data from the
first transition to the whirl, observed at the start of the run. The
subplots include downhole RPM, accelerations, bending, and the
result of real-time whirl-type identification-run downhole in the
measurement sub. The downhole weight-on-bit (WOB) showed
little variation and was approximately 20 klbf during the interval
but is not shown in the plot. Note that, as well as in this section
of drilling data (this was the first time the driller had gone to this
higher RPM in the run), the transition to this motion was

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60 16-in. hole size

BPOS

Relative to Rig
Block Position
Vertical
55

Floor (ft)
Straight mud motor
assembly
50
PDC bit
45

100 A_GYR
Speed (RPM)

90
Rotational
Downhole

80
70
60
50

A_ACCY
0.3
A_ACCZ
Acceleration

0.2
Lateral

(G)

0.1

–0.1

40
A_BNDMAX
Avg, Min, and Max
Bending Moment

A_BNDMIN
(ft.lbf x 1,000)

30
A_BND
20

10

16-in. roller reamer

19:40 19:42 19:44 19:46 19:48 19:50 19:52 19:54 19:56 19:58
Time (minutes)
Whirl
Type

A B

Chaotic whirl Synchronous forward whirl Measurement point

Low-severity chaotic whirl Transition into forward whirl
20 20
Bending moment (ft.lbf
A x 1,000) is measured in B
two directions (Y and Z ) 16-in. stabilizer
and crossplotted
using tool face over a
0 period of 5 seconds to 0
allow a visualization of
the lateral motion of the
measurement sub
collar. Mud motor
–20 –20 (straight and
–20 0 20 –20 0 20 no stabilizer)

153/4-in.
near-bit stabilizer

PDC bit

Fig. 5—Case 1, transition from low-level chaotic whirl into forward whirl (vertical 16-in. hole, motor BHA example). Top: transition
to forward whirl as a function of surface RPM. Bottom: whirl-bending crossplots (5 seconds of data) before and after the transition
to forward whirl (red indicates negative rotation about the hole centerline when looking downhole, blue indicates clockwise rota-
tion). Right: BHA configuration.

repeated when the driller went back to this RPM during later
parts of the run.
In Fig. 5, the decreasing block position shows the tool was
drilling ahead, and the downhole rotational speed shows the RPM
was increased from 50 to 80 and then from 80 to 100 by the driller
at 19:45 and 19:50, respectively. After these increases in the
RPM, the mean lateral accelerometer measurements showed devi-
ation from zero, and the deviation was larger at the higher RPM.
Also, at these times, the bending moments increased, and the min-
imum bending moment was greater than zero. These accelerome-
ter and bending measurements indicate that the collars were
bowing out and orbiting around the borehole at a rate similar to
the collar RPM. The real-time whirl type indicated that the system
was transitioning to forward whirl.

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The HF recorded data were used to give a novel insight into
these whirl motions. Fig. 5 also shows the HF-data whirl cross-
plots of the bending caused by whirl at 19:42 (A) and 19:59 (B).
The plots show, in detail, how the whirl evolved from low-sever-
ity chaotic whirl to transitional forward whirl. The whirl was pri-
marily forward, but also contained short-duration backward
components occurring consistently in five geostationary places
per revolution of the borehole. It is thought that this was caused
by the tool hitting the borehole wall when the steady-state radius
of the forward-whirl motion was larger than the hole clearance. It
should be noted that these backward components are very short in
time duration, and the average motion is forward. The whirl type
uses time-averaged motion and so indicates forward whirl. In this
case, the friction-contact forces in the borehole may not have
been large enough for the BHA to make the transition to fully
developed backward or chaotic whirl. However, the HF-whirl
crossplot at 19:59 (B) suggests that the system was at risk of tran-
sitioning into a potentially more-damaging whirl type that is not
easily detected from the real-time measurements.
This case highlights that, in environments where the trajectory
of the well is not changing, the onset of forward whirl driven by
component imbalance can be quite repeatable for the assembly. The
driller learned about the system response in this run and was able to
make pre-emptive motion avoidance in later runs with similar
BHAs. This was then shown to have a positive impact on drilling
operation with the usage of a real-time whirl-detection algorithm.
Case 2. Transition From Low-Level Torsional Oscillations
Into Forward Whirl (Vertical 18.125-in. 3 21-in. Hole,
Underreaming RSS BHA Example). The case presented in
Fig. 6 illustrates an example of performance when drilling verti-
cally with an 18.125-in.  21-in. underreaming-while-drilling
RSS BHA. In this case, the system switched from torsional oscil-
lations into sustained synchronous forward whirl several times in
a 20-min period when surface parameters [rotational speed,
weight on bit (WOB), and flow rate] were constant. The constant
surface parameters showed that the rig operations were not
involved in triggering the transitions into whirl. No borehole-cali-
per measurement was available, but using the method in Lesso
et al. (2011) to examine the stabilizer positions and rate of pene-
tration (ROP) suggested the transition was the result of two differ-
ent BHA contact points entering an interval of overgauge hole. In
this overgauge hole, the clearance was thought to be large enough
to allow the BHA to bow out because of centripetal forces and
enter into a steady state of whirl (Shyu 1989; Vandiver et al.
1990). Transition out of the whirl was caused by the stabilizers
moving back into an in-gauge hole. Fig. 6 shows subplots of the
block position relative to the rig floor and downhole data from the
transition, including RPM, accelerations, bending, and real-time
whirl type and severity.
In Fig. 6, the decreasing block position shows the tool drilled
ahead at constant ROP. The mean gyro RPM was constant, indi-
cating no change in the RPM at surface. At 08:11, the mean lateral
accelerometer measurements increased and showed a deviation of
approximately 2 G from zero. Also, at this time, the bending
moments increased from near zero to up to a maximum of 60,000
ft.lbf and a minimum of 20,000 ft.lbf. These accelerometer and
bending signatures are consistent with the collar bowing out simi-
lar to a skipping rope, which happens during forward whirl.
The HF recorded data were used to give greater understanding
in the development of these whirl motions. Fig. 6 shows the HF-
data whirl crossplots of the bending caused by whirl at 08:05 (A),
08:11 (B), and 08:16 (C). The plot at A shows how the whirl started
as low-severity chaotic whirl with bending amplitudes less than
5,000 ft.lbf and random forward (blue lines) and backward (red
lines) components. The plots at B and C show the synchronous for-
ward whirl develop (predominantly blue lines with constant ra-
dius), leading to bending magnitudes as high as 50,000 ft.lbf.
This case highlights how the HF whirl crossplots were used to
confirm transition into forward whirl. It also shows that the real-
time tracking of stabilizer locations relative to caliper measure-
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ments or borehole images may enable pre-emptive responses to
avoid the initiation of whirl motions.
Case 3. Transition From Forward Whirl Into Chaotic Whirl
(Vertical 18.125-in. 3 21-in. Hole Underreaming RSS BHA
Example). Lateral excitation and high friction at contact points
between the BHA and the wellbore are thought to be the main
drivers for chaotic whirl. Chaotic whirl creates high shock and
large fluctuations in bending moment, which can rapidly damage
downhole components, especially those containing electronics
(Jansen 1992). The following section of the paper describes a
transition to chaotic whirl triggered by borehole contact.
In Case 2, a run was described in which the BHA had a clear
tendency to switch from torsional oscillations into forward whirl.
In this same run, the system also transitioned into chaotic whirl
after some periods of forward whirl. Similar to Case 2, this hap-
pened twice within a short time interval during which surface pa-
rameters were constant and is the result of two different BHA
contact points entering intervals of overgauge hole. In this transi-
tion, however, the forward-whirl motions were large enough for
the BHA to bow outward, and ultimately a span made contact
with the borehole wall, leading to the development of chaotic
whirl. Fig. 7 shows subplots of the block position relative to the
rig floor and downhole mechanics data from the transition, in-
cluding RPM, accelerations, bending, and real-time whirl type
and severity.
In Fig. 7, the decreasing block position shows the tool drilled
ahead at constant ROP. The mean downhole RPM shows that
there was no change in the surface RPM over the interval
because the downhole RPM was approximately constant
(approximately 125 RPM though it fluctuated þ/–25 RPM with a
period of 5 seconds caused by torsional oscillations). At
04:32:15, the mean lateral accelerometers deviated away from
zero by 1 G, and the minimum, mean, and maximum 1-second
statistic of the bending magnitude increased, indicating a transi-
tion to forward whirl. During this period, the torsional oscilla-
tions decreased as a result of the energy of the system switching
from torsional to the lateral motions. At 04:32:45, the minimum
1-second statistic of the bending magnitude decreased to zero,
and the maximum bending increased to 120,000 ft.lbf, showing
the development of severe chaotic whirl. This pattern of events
repeated at 04:34:30. The whirl type and whirl severity also
showed the transitions to forward and chaotic whirl, confirming
the observations from the data.
The HF recorded data were used to give new insight into the
evolution of these whirl motions. Fig. 7 shows the HF-data whirl
crossplots of the bending caused by whirl at 04:32:15 (A),
04:32:30 (B), 04:32:45 (C), and 04:33:00 (D). The plots at A and
B show the forward-whirl motions (represented by blue lines)
gradually increasing in bending amplitude as the collars bow out.
In Plot C, the BHA was predominantly in forward whirl but was
starting to interact with the borehole wall, as indicated by the
backward motions (represented by red lines) at four angular posi-
tions for every revolution. The friction during the contact must
have been high to cause such a significant change in momentum.
In Plot D, the BHA has developed into chaotic whirl as the BHA
is moving across and colliding with the borehole with random
backward and forward motions.
This case highlights that knowledge of stabilizer outer diame-
ters relative to caliper measurements or borehole images may ena-
ble pre-emptive responses to avoid the initiation of chaotic whirl
motions from a forward-whirl state, which may have a positive
impact on drilling operation with the utilization of a real-time
whirl-detection algorithm.
Case 4. Transition From Torsional Oscillations Into Bit
Bounce (Low-Angle 17.5-in. RSS BHA Example). Bit bounce
is a type of axial BHA motion that can cause damage to the bit’s
cutting structure, depending on the formation strength. Bit bounce
was recognized with a downhole mechanics sensor in the past sev-
eral decades (Wolf et al. 1985). The transition into and out of bit
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100 181/8-in. x 21 in. hole size

Block Position
Vertical well

relative to rig
BPOS Push-the-bit RSS

Floor (ft)
Underreamer
50 PDC bit

Speed (RPM)
150 A_GYR
Rotational
Downhole

100

5
Bending Moment Acceleration

A_ACCY
Lateral

A_ACCZ
(G)

0
Avg, Min, and Max

–5
(ft.lbf x 1,000)

A_BNDMAX
50 A_BNDMIN
A_BND
0
Whirl
Type

Chaotic whirl Synchronous forward whirl

Severity

A B C
Whirl

08:05 08:10 08:15 08:20 08:25 08:30 08:35

Low risk Severe risk Time (minutes)

Low-severity chaotic whirl

100 100 Transition into forward whirl 100 Forward whirl
B C 18-in. stabilizer
A

0 0 0

181/8-in. x 21-in.
08:05 08:11 08:16 underreamer
181/8-in. roller reamer
–100 –100 –100
–100 0 100 –100 0 100 –100 0 100

1,600
Measurement point
1,400
MWD
1,200
X-axis time from
1,000
08:05 to 08:35
Bending moment (ft.lbf x 1,000) is Stabilizer
800
measured in two directions (Y and Z )
(sleeve on MWD)
600 and crossplotted using tool face to
Time (seconds) allow a visualization of the lateral motion Resistivity LWD
400
50 of the measurement sub collar.
0
–50 200
50
0
–50 0
Stabilizer
RSS

PDC bit

Fig. 6—Case 2, transition from low-level torsional oscillations into forward whirl (vertical 18.125-in. 3 21-in. hole underreaming
RSS BHA example). Top: system transitioning into forward whirl as a function of surface RPM. Middle: whirl-bending crossplots (5
seconds of data) before and after the transition to forward whirl (red indicates negative rotation about the hole centerline when
looking downhole, blue indicates clockwise rotation). Bottom: whirl-bending crossplot over time period (30 minutes of data).
Right: BHA configuration.

bounce has been identified in assemblies with roller-cone bits stronger interval of formation, as evident from the plot of time vs.
with the axial-force variation measured with the downhole sub. depth in Fig. 8. The event was not well-captured by root-mean-
Fig. 8 shows a field example of this type of transition when dril- square (RMS) axial vibration levels but could be observed in the
ling at low angle with a 17.5-in. RSS BHA. In this case, it is downhole weight. Fig. 8 shows the downhole weight recorded by
believed that the transition is triggered by the bit encountering a the downhole mechanics-measurement sub and the real-time bit-

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Bending Moment Acceleration Rotational Relative to Rig

Downhole Block Position

Speed (RPM) Floor (ft)

80
181/8-in. x 21 in. hole size
BPOS
Vertical well
60 Push-the-bit RSS
Underreamer
A_GYR PDC bit
150

100

2 A_ACCY
Lateral

(G)

0 A_ACCZ

18-in. stabilizer
Avg, Min, and Max

150
(ft lbf x 1,000)

100 A_BNDMAX
A_BNDMIN 181/8-in. x 21-in.
50 A_BND underreamer
.

0 181/8-in. roller reamer

A C
Whirl
Type

B D Measurement point
Chaotic whirl Synchronous forward whirl
MWD
Severity
Whirl

Stabilizer (sleeve on MWD)

Resistivity LWD
18-in. stabilizer
04:29 04:30 04:31 04:32 04:33 04:34 04:35 04:36 04:37 04:38 RSS
Low risk Severe risk Time (minutes)
PDC bit
Transition into forward whirl Forward whirl Transition into chaotic whirl Chaotic whirl
100 100 100 100
A B C D

0 0 0 0

04:32:15 04:32:30 04:32:45 04:33:00

–100 –100 –100 –100
–100 0 100 –100 0 100 –100 0 100 –100 0 100

Bending moment (ft.lbf x 1,000) is

measured in two directions (Y and Z )
and crossplotted using tool face to
allow a visualization of the lateral motion
of the measurement sub collar.
180

50 160
140
0
120
–50 100 X-axis time from
80 04:31 to 04:34
60
50 40 Time (seconds)
0
–50 20
–100 0

Fig. 7—Case 3, transition from forward whirl into chaotic whirl (vertical 18.125-in. 3 21-in. hole underreaming RSS BHA example).
Top: system transitioning from forward whirl into chaotic whirl as BHA contact points move into overgauge hole. Middle: whirl-
bending crossplots (5 seconds of data) during transition to forward and chaotic whirl (red indicates negative rotation about the
hole center line when looking downhole and blue indicates clockwise rotation). Bottom: whirl-bending crossplot over time period
(3 minutes of data). Right: BHA configuration.

bounce severity in a 1.5-hour period. The figure shows that there (Downton 2004), was approximately 0.1 in RMS and 0.6 in peak
were 12 periods of bit bounce during which the axial-load maxi- to peak, which is consistent with roller-cone insert size. The axial
mum was high relative to the mean; the most significant of these load variation was very large at 90,000 lbf, and its waveform had
periods were at 20:46, 20:55, 21:13, 21:30, and 21:45. sharper peaks than troughs, which suggests that the bit is coming
Fig. 8 shows a snapshot of the axial displacement and axial off-bottom. The main frequency of the variations was approxi-
load measured with the HF data from the downhole sub during mately 4 Hz, which has not yet been fully explained but is thought
the interval of high-severity bit bounce at 21:30 (A). The displace- to be related to the roller-cone bit geometry and bit RPM. It
ment, found by double-integrating the axial accelerometer should be noted that these measurements are at the sub, which is

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171/2-in. hole size

Bit and Hole

Depth (mm)
1780 Push-the-bit RSS
Roller-cone-bit
1790 Low-angle S-type well

1800

Downhole Weight
DWOB

Avg and Max

(kfg x 1,000)
40
DWOB_MAX

20

A
0
Severe
BOUNCE_IND
Bit-Bounce
Diagnostic
High
Medium

Low
0

20 5
20 0
20 5
0

21 5
21 0
5
0

21 5
21 0
5
0

21 5
21 0
21 5
0

22 5
0
:3
:3
:4
:4
:5
:5
:0
:0
:1
:1
:2
:2
:3
:3
:4
:4
:5
:5
:0
20
20

20

21
21

21
21

21
Time (minutes)
0.3
A
Displacement (in.)

0.2
0.1
Axial

0
–0.1
–0.2
–0.3
5-second window of data
–0.4
120
5-second window of data
Axial Load (Klbf)

100
80
60
40 171/4-in. stabilizer
20
0
0 0.71 1.42 2.14 2.86 3.57 4.29 5.00 Measurement point
Time (seconds)
171/4-in. stabilizer
Vertical Section Plane
(4.96 m N, –6.17 m E) @ 297.15˚
Vertical Section (m) WEST (m) EAST
–1200 –600 0 600 1200 1800 2400 –800 –600 –400 –200 0
0

Vertical 600 MWD

Plan View
600 Section

1200
SOUTH (m) NORTH

400
Stabilizer
TVD (m)

1800

200
2400 RSS

3000
0

3600

–200

Fig. 8—Case 4, transition from torsional oscillations into bit-bounce (low-angle 17.5-in. RSS BHA example). Top: system transition-
ing into and out of bit-bounce as bit encounters stronger formations. Middle: axial displacement and axial load measured with
downhole sub HF data during interval of high-severity bit-bounce at 21:30 (5 seconds of data). Bottom: Vertical section and plan
view of the trajectory. Right: BHA configuration.

49 ft back from the bit, and so axial displacements and forces at Case 5. Transition of Underreaming-While-Drilling Assemblies
the sub are not necessarily the same as at the bit. From Stable to Unstable When Picking Up Off-Bottom With
This analysis was used to improve rig-parameter selection Rotation (High-Angle 17.5-in. 3 20-in. Underreaming RSS
when encountering stringers during drilling. These parameters BHA Example). Drilling practices, and especially connection
were then shown to have a positive impact on drilling operation procedures, are very important with large-hole-size underreaming-
with the use of a real-time bit-bounce detection algorithm. while-drilling assemblies. Experience with the downhole sub has

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171/2-in. x 20 in. hole size

Moment Relative to Rig
Block Position
20
Point-the-bit RSS
(ft lbf × 1,000) Floor (m)
BPOS
15 Underreamer
10 Roller-cone bit

5
200
Bending

A_BNDMAX
100
.

0
Speed (RPM)

400
Rotational
Downhole

200 A_GYR
0 GYR (High Res Time Data)

–200
05:00 05:05 05:10 05:15 05:20 05:25 05:30
Time (minutes)
A B 171/4-in. stablizer
Whirl
Type

Chaotic whirl Backward whirl Synchronous forward whirl No rotation

Under-reamer
Low risk Severe risk

Chaotic whirl Backward whirl

100 100 171/4-in. stabilizer
A Bending moment B
(ft.lbf x 1,000) is Measurement point
measured in two
directions (Y and Z )
and crossplotted Resistivity LWD
using tool face to
0 allow a visualization 0 171/4-in. stabilizer
of the lateral motion
of the measurement
subcollar.
MWD

RSS
–100 –100
–100 0 100 –100 0 100
Roller-cone bit

NS (m) WE (m)
0
300 500 500
0 1000
250
TVD (m)

500
200
50
0 150
–50 X-axis time from 1000
100 05:06 to 05:11
1500
100
50 Time (seconds) A, B
0
–100
0

Fig. 9—Case 5, transition of underreaming-while-drilling assemblies from stable to unstable when picking up off-bottom with rota-
tion (high-angle 17 1=4-in. 3 20-in. underreaming RSS BHA example). Top left: initiation of whirl at a 45 8 inclination as stabilizer
below underreamer moves out of pilot hole into opened hole. Middle left: whirl-bending crossplots (5 seconds of data) during tran-
sition to backward whirl (red indicates negative rotation about the hole center line when looking downhole, blue indicates clock-
wise rotation). Bottom left: whirl-bending crossplot over time period (6 minutes of data). Top right: BHA configuration. Bottom
right: 3D view of the trajectory.

indicated that these assemblies can be significantly more unstable
off-bottom and when stabilization points change during off-bottom
reaming operations. Fig. 9 illustrates a case when drilling at high
angle with a large-hole-size underreaming-while-drilling assembly.
In this case, the downhole-measurements sub was able to character-
ize the off-bottom instability of the system during drillstring con-
nections and was used to refine procedures.
Fig. 9 shows the block position relative to the rig floor and
downhole data during a connection, including RPM, accelera-
tions, bending, and real-time whirl type and whirl severity. The
block position shows that the traveling block was moving up
between 05:07 and 05:13, when the driller was backreaming the
hole in preparation for a connection. Six periods of very-high
bending moments up to 190,000 ft.lbf were observed when the bit
was more than 5 ft off-bottom. The real-time whirl-type diagnos-
tic from the sub showed that these periods of high bending were
caused by backward whirl. This transition into high-severity back-
ward whirl correlated with the stabilizer below the underreamer
moving from the pilot hole into the opened hole. Similar whirl
transitions were observed in the same part of the hole when

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171/2-in. hole size

40 Push-the-bit RSS

Relative to Rig
Third-party bit
Block Position
BPOS

Floor (ft)
Vertical well
30

20
1535
DEPT
1530
Bit Depth and

HDTH
Hole Depth

1525
(m)

1520

1515
200
Acceleration (g) Speed (RPM)
Rotational
Avg, Min, and Max Avg, Min, and Max Downhole

A_GYR

100

0 A
Downhole Axial

A_ACCX
2 A_ACCXMAX
A_ACCXMIN
0
Load (kgf x 1000)

50 A_LOAD
Downhole Axial

A_LOADMAX
A_LOADMIN
0
08:10 08:12 08:14 08:16 08:18 08:20 08:22 08:24
Time (minutes)

1
Axial displacement
Weight
A
Displacement (m)

Force (lbf x 100,000)

0.5

Downhole Axial
Axial

171/4-in. stabilizer

0
Measurement position

60-second window of data

–0.5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 MWD
Time (seconds)

173/8-in. stabilizer

RSS

Third-party bit

Fig. 10—Case 6, response of the system to axial excitation from rig heave (low-angle 17.5-in. RSS BHA example). Top: bit-bounce
excited by rig heave. Bottom: downhole axial displacement and axial load during severe rig heave (60 seconds of data). Right,
BHA configuration.

forward reaming between 05:20 and 05:23 before drilling ahead
with the next stand.
Fig. 9 shows the whirl-bending crossplots obtained from the
HF data during the instability at 05:07 (A) and 05:11 (B). The
plot at A shows low-severity chaotic whirl motions (represented
by blue and red lines). In the plot at B, the BHA has transitioned
into fully developed backward whirl represented by the red lines,
with consistent radius of 50,000 to 80,000 ft.lbf from the center of
the plot.
It is interesting to note that the assembly was operating at a
50  inclination (see 3D trajectory view in Fig. 9) during the tran-
sition to backward whirl. At this inclination, the component of

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 DC170713 DOI: 10.2118/170713-PA Date: 17-May-16
gravity in the lateral plane of the BHA was significant and would
act to keep the BHA resting on the bottom of the borehole and
dampen any lateral motions. However, in backward whirl, the lat-
eral motion of the collars rotated and rolled about the full circum-
ference of the borehole (Vandiver et al. 1990), oscillating from
bottom to top of the borehole and back again. The measurements
suggest that the damping effect from the force of gravity with this
heavy BHA at this inclination was overcome, with enough force
generated to lift the assembly off the bottom of the hole and into
backward whirl.
This case highlights that the location of stabilization below the
underreamer should be considered in the planning phase when
defining the connection procedures.
Case 6. Response of the System to Axial Excitation From Rig
Heave (Low-Angle 17.5-in. RSS BHA Example). Rig heave is
a common excitation source on offshore floating rigs (Cayeux
et al. 2011a). Axial string movements are induced by the move-
ment of the rig. If no heave compensation is used, the string is
constantly subjected to high velocities and accelerations. Even
if heave compensation is used, small axial heave-induced
movements affect the downhole drillstring motion, adding extra
acceleration and velocity to the lower part of the BHA (Cayeux
et al. 2011b).
The case shown in Fig. 10, is from a low-angle 17.5-in. section
and shows an extreme example of rig heave where the bit was lift-
ing off-bottom by up to 3 ft and crashing back down. There was a
large deviation of the maximum downhole axial load from the av-
erage, as the assembly became excited and started to bounce.
Also during these periods, the maximum axial accelerometer
reached up to 4 G, and the downhole RPM showed a considerable
amount of oscillation. There were few oscillations before 8:12:45
because the drillstring was off-bottom, as shown by the plots of
bit depth and hole depth.
Fig. 10 shows a 60-second snapshot of HF data from the sub at
08:21 (A), displaying the axial load and an estimate of the axial
displacement obtained by double-integrating the axial accelerom-
eter (Downton 2004). The figure shows the period of the bit
bounce was 14 seconds, which was consistent with the swell of
the waves. The estimated displacement at which the bit touched
bottom is not consistent because of the low-frequency noise-
amplification effect of double-integration. However, the coinci-
dence in time between the end of the smooth, parabolic motion
(with constant, zero, axial load) and the high axial-load spikes
was clear. Multiple axial load spikes and bumps were caused by
axial waves propagating to the traveling block and back, and the
elasticity of the motion-compensator. The downward spikes seen
in the downhole rotation speed occurred each time the bit hit bot-
tom, as the bit-torque slowed the drillstring, which then acceler-
ated to high speed when the bit came off-bottom.
This shows how post-run analysis of the HF data is essential to
gain new insight into the performance of motion-compensator
systems, to improve drilling efficiency and reduce damage to
downhole equipment during rig heave.
Discussion
Continuous information about the loading history of downhole
equipment caused by damaging motions is useful for making
more-accurate predictions of the life of downhole components
and for developing better measures to avoid downhole failures
such as tool design and more-efficient schedules for inspection
and maintenance of downhole tools. This is not mentioned in the
case studies but will be a future topic of research.
It should also be mentioned that continuous HF data enable
better design and development of the diagnostic algorithms to pre-
vent shock and vibration occurring or to mitigate vibration
quickly when it occurs, because downhole software can be
injected with real data. The data from the drilling mechanics tool
can also be used to tune drilling-system models and to speed up
technical development of drilling-optimization solutions.
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Conclusions
Information from a new real-time downhole-measurements sub
with the capability to record long durations of HF data has rein-
forced our understanding that torsional oscillations (downhole
RPM variations or fully developed stick/slip) are typically the
dominant vibration mode, but that the system can switch between
torsional (stick/slip), axial (bit bounce), and lateral (whirl) modes.
Interpretation of relatively long durations (minutes to hours) of
HF data sets in the operational context is valuable to increase our
understanding of the precursors and triggers to changes in BHA
vibration modes.
The measurements from the downhole sub provided a clearer
understanding of the loading placed on downhole equipment by
backward and chaotic whirl motions and bit-bounce.
The understanding developed from post-run analysis of the HF
data was used to refine drilling procedures and practices, which
were then proved to have a positive impact on the drilling opera-
tions with the use of real-time downhole diagnostic algorithms.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Schlumberger for their willing-
ness to publish the data obtained with the downhole mechanics-
measurements sub. We are grateful to the management of
Schlumberger for permitting the publication of this work.
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Appendix A: Theoretical Equations for
Bending Caused by Whirl
Assume the deflection of the collar is given by (Shyu 1989):
p  x
vðxÞ ¼ R1  sin ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ðA-1Þ
L Logesparan’s research interests include signal-processing
where vðxÞ is radial deflection of collar (whirl radius), R1 is a con-
stant, x is distance along collar, and L is length of collar. Bending
moment MðxÞ corresponding to vðxÞ is given by the moment-cur-
vature relationship (Shyu 1989):
d2 v0 E  I  p2  p  x
MðxÞ ¼ E  I  ¼  R 1  sin ; . . . . . ðA-2Þ
dz2 L2 L
where E is the Young’s modulus and I is the second moment of
area of the collar. MðxÞ is measured by two perpendicularly
mounted strain gauges that rotate with the collar (Shyu 1989):
My ðxÞ ¼ MðxÞ  sinðx  XÞ  t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ðA-3aÞ
and
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Mz ðxÞ ¼ MðxÞ  cosðx  XÞ  t; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ðA-3bÞ
where x is the drillstring rotary speed and X is the whirl rate. The
whirl phase angle / is given by (Shyu 1989; also in Vandiver
et al. 1990):
 
My
/ ¼ tan1 ¼ ðx  XÞ  t: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ðA-4Þ
Mz
0 0
Converting to geostationary bending, My and Mz , allows the
collar-rotation component to be removed:
!
0
My
0 1
/ ¼ tan ¼ X  t; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ðA-5Þ
Mz0
where the geostationary whirl bending is generated with the nor-
malized magnetometers, Hy and Hz in a rotation matrix:
 0     
My Hy Hz My
0 ¼  : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ðA-6Þ
Mz Hz Hy Mz
From Eq. A-5, X can be calculated by differentiating the
whirl-phase angle:
d/
X¼ : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ðA-7Þ
dt
The rotation direction indicates the type of whirl: Positive X is
forward whirl and negative X is backward whirl. For example, the
theoretical frequency for backward whirl is given by (Vandiver
et al. 1990; Stroud et al. 2011):
rcollar
Xb ¼ x  ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ðA-8Þ
ðrhole  rcollar Þ
where Xb is the whirl frequency, rcollar is the radius of the collar,
rhole is the radius of the borehole.
Adam I. Bowler is a Senior Mechanical Engineer at Schlum-
berger. He has been with the company for 5 years. Bowler’s
research interests include drilling dynamics and mechanics
and directional drilling. He has authored and/or coauthored
more than 10 technical papers and holds 4 patents. Bowler
holds a PhD degree in mechanical engineering from the Uni-
versity of Bristol in the UK and is a member of SPE.
Richard J. Harmer is an Automation Program Manager at
Schlumberger. He has been with the company for more than
15 years. Harmer’s research interests include drilling mechan-
ics and dynamics, drilling automation, and drilling interpreta-
tion and inference. He has authored and/or coauthored
more than 5 technical papers and holds 4 patents. Harmer
holds an MS degree in mechanical engineering from Lough-
borough University and is a member of SPE.
Lojini Logesparan is a Senior Software Engineer at TomTom.
Previously, she worked as an Electrical Engineer at Schlum-
berger focusing on algorithms for drilling-dynamics monitoring.
algorithm design, development and testing across a range of
applications including oil-and-gas drilling, body-sensor net-
works, and wearable devices for sports and fitness. She has
authored and/or coauthored 14 technical papers. Loges-
paran holds a PhD degree in electrical and electronic engi-
neering from Imperial College London.
Junichi Sugiura is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Insti-
tution of Engineering and Technology. He was formerly a
Schlumberger Principal Engineer in UK. Sugiura’s research
interests include drilling mechanics and directional drilling. He
is the author/coauthor of 40 external publications and holds
40 US patents/pending patents in downhole technology. From
2012 to 2016, he served as a session chair and as Drilling Pro-
gram Committee chair for the IADC/SPE Drilling Conference
and the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition.
Sugiura holds a BS degree in Electrical Engineering Honors
from the University of Texas at Austin.
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Ben Jeffryes is a Scientific Adviser at Schlumberger Gould
Research. He joined Schlumberger in 1990. His research interests
include drilling dynamics and mechanics, acoustics, seismics,
and signal processing. Jeffryes has authored or coauthored
more than 10 technical papers, and has more than 50 patents
granted or under applications. Jeffryes holds a Bsc degree in
mathematical physics from the University of Sussex and a DPhil
degree in mathematics from the University of Oxford.
Maja Ignova is a Senior Control Engineer at Schlumberger. She
has been with the company for 15 years. Her research interests
are in the field of automation and trajectory control for rotary-
steerable systems, and downhole-drilling dynamics interpreta-
tion and data analytics. She has authored and coauthored
more than 10 technical papers and holds 2 USA granted pat-
ents. Ignova holds a PhD degree in process modeling, optimi-
zation and control from University of Newcastle, UK.

118 June 2016 SPE Drilling & Completion

ID: jaganm Time: 14:47 I Path: S:/DC##/Vol00000/160004/Comp/APPFile/SA-DC##160004