Lecture #17 PET ENG 4210

Drilling Hydraulics

Drilling Hydraulics
• So far, we have learned:
• Hydrostatic Pressure in Liquid Columns
• Hydrostatic Pressure in Mixed Columns
• Forces on Submerged Body
• Effective (buoyed) Weight of Submerged
Body

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 Drilling Hydraulics Applications
• Calculation of subsurface hydrostatic pressures that
may tend to burst or collapse well tubular or
fracture exposed formations

• Several aspects of blowout prevention

• Displacement of cement slurries and resulting

stresses in the drill string

Drilling Hydraulics Applications cont’d

•Bit nozzle size selection for optimum hydraulics

•Surge or swab pressures due to vertical pipe movement

•Carrying capacity of drilling fluids

•Source of energy for directional drilling

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 Drilling Hydraulics
• Review hydrostatic pressure and Equivalent
density
• Drilling fluid system and Mud Pumps
• Drilling fluid flow
• Mass Balance
• Energy Balance
• Flow Through Nozzles
• Laminar Flow in Wellbore
• Fluid Flow in Pipes
• Fluid Flow in Annuli

Pump Horsepower
Hydrostatic horsepower to force the fluid through the
pump; and required minimum prime mover input
horsepower

HPhydro = p*q HPhydroin = p * q

1714 1714 * evol * emech

p is the pressure in lb/in^2 (psi)

q is the flow rate in gal/min
Maximum HP conditions occur near the bottom of the well.
evol = is the pump volumetric efficiency (0.8-0.98)
emech = is the mechanical coupling efficiency (0.8-0.9)

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 Mud pumps
Duplex pumps Triplex pumps

Pump factor Pump factor

 3
Fp  duplex  2 
4
 2

 Ls 2d l  d r2 Ev Fp triplex 
2
 Ls  d l  Ev
4

Ls = Length of stroke
dl = Diameter of liner
dr = Diameter of pump rod
Ev = Volumetric efficiency

Mud pump and stroke calculation in the i-Handbook

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 Average Fluid Velocity
Pipe Flow Annular Flow

q q
v  v 
2 .448 d 2 
2.448 d 22  d12 
Where:
v = average velocity, ft/s
q = flow rate, gal/min
d = internal diameter of pipe, in.
d2 = internal diameter of outer pipe or borehole, in.

d1 =external diameter of inner pipe, in.

Non-static Well Conditions Fluid Flow

• Conservation of mass
Physical Laws • Conservation of energy
• Conservation of momentum

• Newtonian
Rheological Models • Bingham Plastic
• Power – Law
• API Power-Law

• Incompressible fluid
Equations of State • Slightly compressible fluid
• Ideal gas
• Real gas

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 Typical Drilling Fluid Vs. Newtonian, Bingham and Power
Law Fluids

(Plotted on linear paper)

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 Law of Conservation of Energy

states as a fluid flows from point 1 to point 2:

E 2  E 1  p 2 V 2  p1V 1 
1
 g D 2  D 1 
2

v 22  v 12 
 W  Q
In the wellbore, in many cases Q = 0 (heat)
{ r = constant

In practical field units, this equation simplifies to:

p 2  p 1  0 . 052 r D 2  D1 

 8 . 074 * 10 4
r v 2
2 
 v 12   P p   p f

where
p1 & p2 pressures in psi
r is density in lbm/gal
v1 & v2 velocities in ft/sec.
Dp p pressure added by pump between points 1 and 2 in psi
Dp f is frictional pressure loss in psi
D1 & D2 depths in ft.

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Determine the pressure at the bottom of the drill collars, if

p f  1,400 psi
q  400 gal/min.
r  12 lbm/gal.
D2  10,000 ft. (bottom of drill collars)
D1 0 (mud pits)

IDDC  2.5 in.

p p  3,000 psi

Velocity in drill collars

q(gal/ min)
v2 
2.448* d 2 (in^2)

400
v2  2
 26.14 ft/sec
2.448*(2.5)

Velocity in mud pits, v1  0

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 p2  p1  0.052 r ( D2  D1 )
 8.074 *10 - 4 r (v22  v12 )  Pp  Pf

p2  0  0.052 *12 (10,000 - 0)

- 8.074 *10 -4 *12 ( 26.14 2  0 2 )  3,000  1,400
 0  6,240  6.6  3,000  1,400
Pressure at bottom of drill collars = 7,833 psig
NOTE: KE in collars 0
May be ignored in many cases

p2  p1  0.052 r ( D2  D1 )
 8.074 *10 -4 r (v22  v12 )  Pp  Pf

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 Fluid Flow Through Nozzle

Assume: D2  D1 v1 0

Pp  0 v2  vn
Pf  0

p 2  p1  8 .074 * 10  4 r v n2

p
and vn 
8 .074 * 10  4 r

If Pf  0
Equation may be written as

p
vn  cd cd  0.95
8.074*104 r
This accounts for all the losses in the nozzle.

Example: 1,000
vn  0.95  305 ft/sec
8.074*104 *12

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 For multiple nozzles in

Vn is the same for each nozzle even if the dn varies!

This follows since Dp is the same across each nozzle.

p q
vn  cd & v n  3 .117 A
8.074*104 r t

8.311 * 10 -5 r q 2
Δp bit 
C d2 At2

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 Nozzle pressure drop example

p f  1,400 psi
8.311*10 -5 r q 2
q  400 gal/min. Δpbit 
C d2 At2
r  12 lbm/gal.
D2  10,000 ft.
8.311*10 -5  12  400 2
D1 0 Δpbit 
0.95 2  0.67 2
IDDC  2.5 in.
p p  3,000 psi Δpbit  394 psi
At  0.67in^ 2

Equivalent circulating density - ECD

Static pressure at the

p f  1,400 psi bottom of the drill collars

q  400 gal/min. p  r e  D  0.052

r  12 lbm/gal.
12  10 ,000  0.052  6240 psi
D2  10,000 ft.
D1 0 p
re 
D  0 . 052
IDDC  2.5 in.
6240
 12 lb / gal
p p  3,000 psi 10 , 000  0 . 052

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 Equivalent circulating density - ECD

However the dynamic pressure at the bottom of the drill collars

was previously calculated to be 7833 psi not 6240 psi. The pressure
outside the drill collar (annulus at 10,000 ft) is then:
Pressure inside drill collars – Frictional pressure in the nozzles

7833 psi  394 psi  7439 psi

ECD is the effective density exerted by a circulating fluid against
the formation that takes into account the frictional pressure in
the annulus.
p dynamic
ECD 
D  0 . 052
7439
ECD   14.3 lb / gal
10, 000  0.052

Velocity Profiles
(laminar flow)

Fig. 4-26. Velocity profiles for laminar flow: (a) pipe

flow and (b) annular flow

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