SPE

SPE 15562

General Formulation of Drillstring Under Large Deformation and

Its Use in BHA Analysis
by H.-S,Ho, NL Technology Systems/NL Industries Inc.
SPE Member

Copyright 1986, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation al the 61s1 Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition of the Society of Petroleum Engineers held in New
Orleans, LA October 5-8, 19F16.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of mformalion contained in an abs’!act submitted by the
author(s). Contenls of the paper, as presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and tire subject 10correction by the
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presented al SPE meelinga are subject to publication review by Editorial Committees of fhe Society of Pefroleum Engineers. Permission to copy is
restricted to an abatract of not more than 300 words, Illustrations may not be copied. The abslracl should contain conspicuous acknowledgment of
where and by whom the paper is presented. Write Publications Manager, SPE, PO. Box 833836, Richardson. TX 75083.3636. Telex, 730989 SPEDAL.

ABSTRACT

The papsrpresents the basicfoundationsadopted corrections, unfavorabledoglegs, and side track-

in a 3-D BHA programCalled DIDRIL~, for drill- ing; (b) maximizing tool/collarlives,especially
stringdeformationunder generalstaticdomhole the newlydeveloped W tools;(c)more intelli-
loadings. These formulationsaccount for large gent use of measureddata,particularly thosefrom
deformationeffects,and have been simplifiedfor MWD tools. It is significantto note that a
fast solutionusing the finitedifferencemethod, qualityBHA analysisprogram can serveto address
while retaining second order terms.Inexplicit all the alx)veissues. This pointwill be expanded
formulafor the bit side forceis presented.In in the following.
addition to previously dex)nstra’ted effects of
~, ~, and borehole curvatureson the bit side Purposesof BHA Analysis
force, this paper demonstratessomenon-linear
effectson the bit side force,which increasewith Brieflysummarized, a BHA analysisprogramis use-
largedeformations, mainly due to increasedbore- ful for the follwing purposes:
hole curvatures.For 2-D boreholewith less than
5°/100’curvature, the nonlinear effectson the (1) To examinethe generalstateof stressin the
bit side forces are in general small.The non- drill collarso as to avoidfatiguefailures;
lineareffectsare seen to be insensitive toWB,
‘N)B,and hole clearance for the examplesconsid- (2) To evaluate the critical-stressed sections
ered.Effectsdue to theselattervariableson the such as jointsand w tool subs so as to prolong
local force/momentdistributions may be more theirusefullivesand increasetool reliability;
pronounced.
(3) To help understand the torque and drag
INTRODUCTION exertedon the BHA whiledrillingand tripping,in
order to help designand run casing;
Sincethe pioneering work by Lubinski,et al.
[1-3],the drilling industry has !n recentyears (4) To determinethe contact forcesbetweenthe
graduallycome to acceptand apprec!.ate
the impor- stabilizerand the borehole or casing so as to
tanceof understandingthe deformation of the ~ estimatethe wear rate of the stabilizer or the
(bottomhole assemblies.),
which is mw regardedas casing,or the reamingrateof the.borehole;
importantin controllingthe deviationtendencies
of the BHA and in evaluatingand prolongingdrill (5) To correct the lm survey measurements by
collarand dwnhole twl lives. accountingfor the slopes of the BHA at the tool
sub section;
This process has evolved despite (perhapssome
peoplemight even say due to) the severedwntum (6) ‘redetermine the orientationof the bit axis
in drillingactivities.In such a severe economic and the forcesactingon the bit, so as to esti-
environmentas we are nw facing,more emphasisis mate the builcl/drop and walk tendencies of the
placedby operatorson the follwing: (a)minimiz- BHA;
ing any potentialdrillingtroublesuchas course
(7) To help select BHA configurationso as to
* DIDRIL is a sen?icemark of NL Industries,
Inc. achievethe optimumdeviationtendencyfor a given
desireddrillingtrajectory;
Referencesand illustrations
at end of paper.
 GeneralFormulation
of Drillstring
UnderL
(8) To evaluatethe effect of reducedstiffness
of varioustool subs on the BHA deviationten-
dency;
(9) To help place the downhole tools so as to
avoid criticalloadings;
(10)To help predict the drillingdirectionwith
some rock-bitinteraction
mdel;
(11)To advisethe driller on howto controlthe
drillingtrajectoryby varyingthe operatingcon-
ditions,with the aid of an interactive
predictive
directionaldrillingprogram;
(12)Ultimatelyto help plan well pathswith simu-
lateddrillingso as to obtainan optimumdrilling
trajectory.
some of the above objectivesmy be met in the
real time mode, particularlyin conjunction
with
MWD operations.
FeaturesNeededin BHA AnalysisPr09ram
In order to achievethe aboveobjectives,one must
includeas many of the followingfeaturesas poss-
ible in a BHA analysisprogram:
(1) Trackingthe 2-D or 3-D curvedbw?hole tra-
jectory through survey data interpolation.The
boreholecurvature has important effectson the
BHA deformation,
as has been demonstrated
[4,5].
(2) Allowingvariablesectionalpropertiesof the
BHA;
(3) Effects of WOB (weight-on-bit)
and TOB
(torque-on-bit)
(4) Fiexiblestabilizerplacements;
(5) Accuratesimulationof the effectsof bore-
hole constraints;
(6) Effectof nonlinearitydue to largedeforma-
tion;
(7) Effectof formation couplingthroughthe bit
and/orthe stabilizers;
(8) Effectsof RPM/dynamics.
Many BHA programs exist at the present,from
simpler2-D analyticmodelsto more complexmaiels
that can accountfor many additiond effects.The
degreeof sophisticationof the modelused influ-
ences the extentto which the aboveobjectivescan
be served.
In this paper,itenu~(7) and (8)will not be ad-
dressed.The effectof formationcouplingwill be
discussedin a separate paper.Staticanalysisis
a reasonableapproach for steady-state drilling,
and for predicting the drillingdirections, even
thoughdynamics[16,21]may be importantfor some
of the aboveobjectives. XL present,comprehensive
understanding of the drillstring
dynamicsis still
hamperedby many problems:the inherentdifficulty
of the problem, the prohibitive costof computa-
tion,and the many unknownexcitationparameters
that influencethe dynamic behavior of the BHA.
Items (7) and (8) are undoubtedlysubjectsworthy
of continuedstudiesfor the drillingindustry.
and Its Use in BHA Analysis. SPE 15562
? Deformation
4P roachesof BHA AnalysisPrograms
Thereare basically threeapproachesavailableto
a BHA analysisprogram. Each approachmay yielda
2-D or 3-D BHA program. In termsof the overall
objectives,2-D programsare of limitedusefulness
unlessthe followingconditionsare met:
(a) The borehole lies reasamblywithinthe
verticalplane;
(b) Eitherthe torque or the boreholecurva-
ture is not high;
(c) The formation is reasonablyisotropicso
that no formation-inducedwalk tendencyexists.
The threeapproachesare:
(1) Semi-analyticmethnd [1-4,6-10 ]: In this
method, the drillstringdisplacementsare ex-
pressedin analyticform for eachuniformsegment
of the BHA. They satisfythe simplified
governing
equations available from classical treatieson
mechanics and strengths of materials [6].The
aefficientsin these analytic expressions are
solvedfrom a matrixsystemexpressingthe connec-
tivityconditionsacrossthe differentsegments.
The main advantage of this approach[6] is that
computationis fast for simplecaseswhere the BHA
doss not contactthe borehole wall,due to small
matrixdimension.It apparently has the following
disadvantages:
(a) Only “simple”solutionscanke obtained.
Thus one cannot account for nonlineareffects
which may be important,particularlyfor large
borehole curvatures, oversized holes, high
torques,and/orlow BHA stiffnesses.
(b) In More complexsituationswhere the BHA
contactsthe borehole wall, the iterationprocess
becomesvery cumbersome.Whenevera contactpoint
existsin a segment, that segmentmust be split
into two segments, thus increasingthe matrix
size.As more contacts occur, the advantageof
fast computation
quicklydiminishes.
This is the earliest and by far the most popular
approach[1-4,7-10]in the drillingindustry.Most
of thesecodesare for 2-D analysisonly [l-3,7-
9]. They are instrumentalin generatingunder-
standingand acceptanceamong the drillersof the
importanceof BHA deformationon the build/drop
trendsof BHA.
(2) Finite Element Method [10-15]:This is a
well-establishednumericalmethod, widelyused in
mechanicsand structuralengineering. It employs
the basic concept of equivalentenergyexpres-
sions.With this methcd, the BHA is discretized
into small “elements”betweenpredefine “nodes”.
The external“forces” at these nodescan be ex-
pressedas matrixproductsof the interml “stiff-
ness” of the system and thesenodaldisplacements
in a manner that satisfiesthe minimumpotential
energyprinciple[11].
The advantage of this approach is that it is
physicallybased,adapts to complexnnterialand
geometryvariations,and generallyallowslarger
elementsize than the finitedifference
mthod. It
*DU
!Kti
1’=.<(.?
../.r ”’-
ur.>,,.-Qhsln
—
is also possible [11] to include non-linear
effectsthrough more complexLagrangianformula-
tions (not generally done), at a significantly
increasedcost of establishingthe elementstiff-
ness matrix.
The disadvantageof thismethod is that it has an
inherentdifficultyin handlingboreholecontacts
that occurbetweenthe predefine nodes.To reduce
this problem,eithersmallerelementsor addition-
al internalnodes need to be used, resultingin
more rows and/ormore “non-zero
columnsof the ma-
trix, therebyreducingthe computationspeed.
(3) FiniteDifferenceMethod [5,16]: This is a
well-establishednumerical method suitable for
solvingany types of differentialequations.The
governingequationsfor the drillstring
displace-
ment(s) are converted into systems of matrix
equationsby proper differencingof the various
derivatives.
Ths main disadvantageof this methodis that it
requiressmallarid intervals in orderto obtain
accuratesoluti&s. This results in a largerma-
trix size than the abovetwo methods,as a general
rule.on the other hand, it has the following
advantages:
(a) It can easily accountfor any nonlinear
effects,sincethe coefficientsin the equations
can be variable;
(b) Due to its small grid size,it can more
easilyaccountfor boreholeconstraints.
Severalformulationshave been proposedfor the
drillstringunder large deformation[18-22].Due
to the complexityof the governingequations,no
reasonableuse has been made of them for BHA
analysisuntil recently[5].
GENERALFEATURESOF ML’S LARGEDEFONIATIWTHEORY
At NL ~chnology Systems, a largedeformation
theoryof the drillstringhas beenderivedbased
on a set of kinematic variablesdifferentfrom
[20,21].The complex governingequationsare sim-
plifiedin a systematicmannerto yieldconsistent
nonlineartermsfor ease of codingby the finite
differencemethod.Detailsare givenin Appendices
A, B and C.
The intent was to include as many contributing
effectsas possible in order to bettermeet the
abovementionedobjectives.In thismanner,we do
not need to make any aprioriassumptions about
which effectsmay be neglectedunderwhat drilling
conditions.
These simplifiedrelationsform the basisof NL’S
BHA analysiscode DIDRI~I.O [5].In addition,in
DIDRIL-I.2,an efficient re-structuringof the
solution algorithm has reduced the computation
timewhile adding non-linearterms and full 3-D
boreholeconstraints.14anyanalysesrequireonly a
few secondsof CRT clocktimeon aVAx 11-785.
This large deformationtheory includesthe fol-
lowingnovel features:
u,. 3
(1) The Eulerianangles (+, 0, v) used indes-
cribingthe local deformationsof the drillstring
are more easily interpretedin surveyterminol-
ogies.In fact,for vertical wells, + and 9are
simply the azimuth and deviation angles. For
deviated holes, these angles are the relative
angleswith respectto the borehole.They can be
used directlyto correct the MWD surveyreadings
(Figures1-3).
(2) M explicitexpressionfor bit side forcesis
obtainedto help explain the source of the bit
sidewalk tendency(Equation(A-22)).The equation
showsthat there are two reasons for the bit’s
sidewalk tendencies:
(a) The rotationofthe bendingplanedue to
the couplingeffectby the torsionalmoment.
(b) The ‘lVBand the bendingcurvatureat the
bit, seen only in a non-linearformulation.Bend-
ing momentat the bit is required.
(3) Simplifications
of the GoverningEquations:
In AppendixC, the generalnonlineargovern-
ing equations for the lateraldisplacements are
simplifiedby the use of a fixedreferenceco-
ordinate system which has one (the Z’-)axis
connectingtwo stations along the borehole.The
X’-axislies in the verticalplaneof Z’-axis.The
drillstringdisplacements(U,V) relativeto this
systemin the (X’,Y’)directionsare measuredfrom
this Z’ axis.
It is interestingto note that,by droppingthe
non-lineartermsand ignoring the differencebe-
tween the tme nxxnentsand apparentmoments(See
AppendixC), etc.,we get back the classicalsmall
deformationtheorywell knownin mechanics.
APPLICATICWSOF NLIS ‘ARGE DEFOFU4ATICB4
THEORYIN
BHA ANALYSIS
The above largedeformationequationsare used in
NL’s BHA analysis program DIDRIL-I.Version1.0
neglectsthe non-linearterms,and does not impose
horizontal borehole constraints. Version 1.2
accounts for them, and uses a more efficient
internalstructure.The codeswere developedwith
a view towardsupportingthe mentionedobjectives.
The prediction of drilling directionis facili-
tated by another in-house developed rock-bit
interaction model called ROBI-* whichwill be
integratedto form DIDRIL-11and DIDRI~III.PrO-
gram ROBITaccountsfor the anisotropiceffectsof
the bit and the formation on the drillingdirec-
tion.
This formulation has been used [5] to investigate
the effectsof stabilizerplacement, W3B, and 2-D
as well as 3-D curvatures on the BiiAdeformation,
particularlythe side forcesactingon the bit. It
has also been used to optimizetool sub placement
and to correctMWD surveydata.
* ROBIT is a servicemark of NL Industries,
Inc.
t GeneralFormulation UnderL: ;e Deformation
of Drillstring and Its Use in BHA Analvs.is SPE 15564

In a previouspaper [5], the effectsof KQB, TOB, Gx,:y,:z): Unit base vectorsin intrinsic
and hole curvatureson the bit side forceswere Lagrangiansystem
presented,and will not be repeatedhere.Figures E: Elastic(Young’s)mcdulus
4-9 illustratethe effectsof non-linearityon the
bit side force(s).The BHA used in all figuresis G: Shearmodulus
the droppingassembly shown in Figure4. Unless
otherwisementioned,all casesassumethe borehole 9: Gravitational
acceleration
(radial)clearanceto be one inch. (32.16lb/sec2)
Figures4-6 show the nonlineareffectsof borehole I: Momentof inertiaof BHA section
curvature,where the inclination curvatureis for = ~(Do4-Di4) /64
a boreholewith a constantazimuthangle,and the
azimuthcurvatureis for a boreholewith a con- Do: Outerdiameterof BHA section
stant inclinationangle. A positive curvature ‘i: Innerdiameterof BHA section
means increasingangle furtherdownhole.Figures7
and 8 show the non-lineareffectsof loading,and J: Polarmomentof inertia,= 2 I
Figure9 showsthe effectof hole clearance. +
F: Resultantforcevectorat a posi-
Figure4 showsthat the non-lineareffectof azi- tive sectionof BHA
muth curvatureis more pronouncedon the build/ +
drop forcethan the side walk force,even though M: Resultantmomentvectorat a posi-
t!ieinclination curvatureis zero.It is important tive sectionof BHA
to note,however,that the boreholeis not a plane
curve in this case,as it lies on a conewith a (F1,F2,F3): Componentsof resultantforceat a
fixed inclination angle (450).
sectionin fixedreferencecoordi-
Figures5 and 6 show the build/dropforceas a
functionof the inclinationcurvaturefor bore- nates
holes of two different sizes. The non-linear
effectincreases for larger curvature,and also (VX,VY,-N): Physicalcomponentsof resultant
slightlyincreasesfor largerboreholes(alsosee forcein intrinsiccoordinates
Figure9).
(Vx,vy): Actualshearforces
~~ydres7 and 8 show that the non-lineareffects
N: Actualaxialcompression,= WOB at
on the bit side forcesare insensitive
to changes
in the T’XIB
and KIB. the bit
(Vx,vy,+o : Apparentcomponentsof resultant
It is seen that the effectof nonlinearity on the
bit side forceis primarily due to the hole cur- forcein the non-orthogonal
direc-
vature.For boreholes with greaterthan 5°1”100’ + ++
inclinationcurvatuL.:,the effectof non-linearity
beCOtlWS significant.The figures also show that tions (e1,e2,et)
the non-linearity effecton the bit side forceis (M1,M2,M3) Componentsof resultantmomentat
not much influencedby the otherfactors.These
are based on the common assumptionthat bit a sectionin fixedreferenceco-
momentsare zero. ordinates
(Mx,~,-T): Physicalcomponentsof resultant
Effectsof non-linearityon otherpropertiesof momentin intrinsiccoordinates
BHA deformation,
such as the momentdistribution, (Mx,My)
: kmding moments
ACtU?J
as well as effects of bit bendingmomentsare
being investigated. Mb: Totalbendingmoment
T: Actualtorsionmoment(torque),
NoNENcLAm
= TOB at the bit
(X,Y,Z): Fixedglobalcoordinatesystem (Mx,My,-To): Apparentcomponentsof resultant
(X’,Y’,Z’): Fixed referencecoordinatesystem momentin the non-orthogonal
di-
Z’ axis connectstwo surveysta- +++
tions rections(e1,e2,et)
X’ axis in verticalplane (’+, e, $): Eulcriananglesto describethe
Y’ axis horizontal intrinsiccoordinates
(x, y, z): IntrinsicLagrangiancoordinate s: Arc lengthof deformeddrillstring
system centerline
+ +
(J1,J2,e3): Unit base vectorsin referencesys- r(S): Deformedpositicnof drillstring
tem centerline
(:t,:n,:b): Unit base vectorsin naturalcur- :.(s): Undeformedpositionof drillstring
vilinearsystem centerline

(u, v, w): Displacementcomponentsof drill-
stringcenterlinein fixedrefer-
ence coordinates
kb: totalbendingcurvatuce
kn: tortuosityof drillstringcenter-
line
kt: rateof twistof drillstring
(kx,ky): True bendingcurvaturecom-
components
(kx,ky): Apparentbendingcurvature
components
-)
Y eg: Vectorof submergedBHA weightper
unit length
+ [12]Millheim,K., Jordan, S. and Ritterrc.J.:
f: Distributedforceper unit length
on drillstring
t: Distributedtorqueper unit length
orIdrillstring
ACKNCXTLEDGEMENTS
The authorwishes to expresshis appreciation to
ML Industries,Inc. for its permissionto publish
this paper.Thanksare due to J. E. Fontenot,A.
McFall,and P. Rodney for their supportof the
directionaldrilling project. Specialthanksare
due to CarolynMcFarland and Nary Foutsfor their
help in typing the text and typesettingthe
figures.
REFERENCES
[1] Lubinski, A. and WoodS, H.B.: “Factors
Affectingthe Angle of Inclinationand Dog-
Ieggingin RotaryBoreHoles”,API Drilling&
Prod.Pratt.,1953,pp.222-250.
[2] Wocds,H.B. & Lubinski,A.: “Useof Stabili-
zers in ControllingHole Deviation”,API
Drill.& Prod.Pratt.,1955,pp.165-182.
131 Lubinski,A.: “MaximumPermissible
Doglegsin
RotaryBoreholes”,JPT, Feb. 1961,pp.175-
194.
[4] Jogi,P.N.,Burgess, T.M. and Bowling,J.P.:
“Three-Dimensional
BottomholeAssemblyModel
Improves Directional Drilling”, IADC/SPE
Conf.,paperno. 14768,Dallas,Feb. 1986.
[5] Rafie,S., Ho, H.-S. and Chandra,U.: “~
plication of a BHA Analysis Program in
DirectionalDrilling”, IADC/SPEConf.,paper
no. 14765,Dallas,Feb. 1986.
[6] Timoshenko,S.P. and Gere, J.M.: “Theoryof
ElasticStability”, McGraw-Hill
Book Co., 2nd
Edition,New York,1961.
[7] Callas, N.P. and Callas, R.L.: “Boundary
Value Problemis Solved”, Oil & @s Journal,
WC. 1980,PP. 62-66.
,,”
[8] Bradley,W.B.,Murphey, C.E.,Mc~re, R.T.
and Dickson,L.L.: “Advantages
of HeavyMetal
Collarsin DirectionalDrillingend rwiation
Control”,SPE ~ual meeting,Dallas,1975,
SPE Paperno. 5545.
[9] Williamson,J.S. and Lubinski,A.: ‘Predict-
ing ButtonholeWSembly Performance”, IADC/
SPE COIIf., paper no. 1471j4, &llas, Feb.
1986.
[10]Dunayevsky,V.A. and Judzis,A.: ‘consema-
tive and NonconsemfativeBuckling of Drill
Pipe”,58th lmnual SPE of AIME Conf.,san
Francisco,1983.
[111 Zienkiewicz,O.C.: “TheFiniteElementMethod
in EngineeringScience”, McGraw-HillBook
Co., 2nd Edition,London,1971.
“BottomholeAssembly Analysis Using the
Finite Element Method”, JPT, Feb. 1978,
py.265-274.
[13]Millheim,K.K.,Eight Part Serieson Direc-
tionalDKillixIg,
Oil & Gas Journal,Nov. 1978
to Feb. 1979.
[14]‘routain,
P.: “Ana@zing Drill StringBeha-
viorn,WorldOil,Part I. June 1981;Part II.
July 1981;Part III. Sept.1981.
[15] Ccd.ling,J.: “HeuristicProgram -A Guideto
DirectionalDrilling”,8th AnnualASME ~ergy
SourcesTech.Conf. Drilling & Prod. 8ympo-
sium, Dallas,Feb. 1985.,pp.127-137.
[16]Baird, J.A., Tinianow, M.A., Caskey,B.C,
Stone,C.M.: “GEOtNN:A GeologicalFonmtion/
DrillstringDynamics ComputerProgram”,59th
AnnualSPE of AIME Conf.,Houston,1984.
[17] Fischer,F.J.: “DrillstringMechanics,Part
II: StaticDrillstringin a Two-Dimensional,
Curved Borehole”, BRC-EP Report 15-74-F,
ShellDevelopment,Houston,Texas, 1972.
[18]Nordgren,R.P.: “On Cqtation of the Motion
of ElasticRods”, JOI.rnSlof fipplied
Mecha-
nics,V.41-3, 1974,pp.777-780. Transactions
of ASME.
[19]Garrett,D.L.: “’DynamicAnalysisof Slender
Rods”,Journal of EnergyResourcesl@chnol-
09Y# Trans.~~, V.104, 1982, w.302-306.
[20] Walker, B.H. and Friedmn, M.B.: “Three-
DimensionalForceand Deflection Analysisof
a VaL”iableCross-SectionDrillstring”,
Jour-
nal of PressureVessel Tech.,Xay, 1977,pp.
367-373.
[21]Mayevsky, V.A., Judzis,A. and mills,w.H.:
“Onsetof DrillstringPrecessionina Direc-
tionalBorehole”, 59th Annual SPE of AIME
Conf.,Houston,SPE 13027,1984.
[22]Love,A.E.H.:“A Treatise on the Mathemati-
cal Theory of Elasticity”,Dover,4th Ed.,
Naw York,1944.EspeciallyChapter18.
1
A --------
f%nc.ral of Drillstri.ne
- —--..—————-
Formulation .. UnderLar~eDeformation
and Its Use in BHA Analvsis sPE lK5~7

from a startingpoint,say, the bit. The following

[23]Williamson,J.S.: “casingWear: The EffeCtOf well-knownFrenet-Serretformulasapply:
ContactPressure”, 56th ~ual SPE of AIME + +
Conf.,SPE paper10236,1981. et= dr(S)/dB;
[24]murphey, C.E.: “Collapseof Worn Casing”,
JournalPressure Vessel‘technology,
Transac-
tionwm, paperno. 76-Pet-51,1976. $*;n “t/dS;
= de

[25]Johancsik,C.A., Dawson, D.W. and FKieSen/ +

D.B.: “Torqueand Drag in rectionalWells- d:n/dS= -kb * ;t + kn *e;b (A-1)
Predictionand Measurement”,IADC/SPECOnf.,
SPE papar 11380, *W Orleans,1983,pp.201- + +
208. de~dS = -kn * en .

[26] Co~b#,fo;.T. and DSwSOn, R.: Drillstring The quantity kb is the “totallmding
Directioml WellS”, Oil & GSS curvature”,while kn is the “tortuosity”of the
Journal,Apr. 1984,pp.61-66. drillstringcenterline.
[27]Cheatham, J.B. Jr. and Pattillo, P.D.: The “naturalcurvaturevector”~ is:
“Helical Postbuckling Configurationof a
Weightless Colunm under the Action of an
Axial Load”,SPE Journal,Aug. 1984,pp. 467- ~=kb*:b+kn*;t (A-2)
472.
It is importantto note that the tortuo-
[28]Dawson, R. and “Paslay,P.R.: “DrillPipe sity kn is not the actual “rateof twist”at the
Bucklingin Inclined Holes”,57thAnnualSPE section,kt. The latter is determinedby tracking
of Mm Conf.,New Orleans,1982. a reference radial line imbsdded in the cross-
sectionof the drillstring, and requiresthe kncw-
[29]Mitchell,R.F.: “Frictional
Forcesin Helical ledgeof the applied torque at thatparticular
Buckling of Tubing”, SPE AMUal Meetin9, section.~ a simple denmnstration of thispoint,
Houston,1985,SPE paper13064. we can apply torque to a straightBHA. The BHA
centerlinewill remaina straightline showingkn
APPENDIX = O, but the actualrateof twistkt is not zero.
A. RASIC KINEMATICS Becauseof this difference,use of this
systemalonewill miss the torsionaldeformation
of the drillstring.In other words,this is not a
(1) CoordinateSystems “complete”systemfor describingthe totaldefor-
mationof the drillstring[10,18,191.
To facilitatethe discussions,three
separate(right-handed)
coordinatesystemsneed to (1.c) Intrinsic(Lagrangian)coordimte sys-
be employed(Fig.1): ++
tern(x,Y,z)with basevectors(ey,ey,
(la) Fixedglobal(X,Y,Z)or reference(X’,
Y’,Z’)coordinatesystemwith +
+++ ez) [20-221:
fixedbase vectors(e1,e2,e3)
This is definedby threedirectionsim-
The globalsystem is fixedwith respect ++
to compass directions,i.e. X ==> East,Y=-> beddedin the drillstring.ex, ey are two mutual-
North,Z -> Up-vertical.The referencesystemis ly perpendicular
directionsin the cross-section
fixedwith respectto the boreholeprofile,i.e.,
Z’ is upholefrom the bit to anothersurveypoint,
X’ is pointingdown in the verticalplane,and Y’ of the drillstring,and~z= ~t is alongthe axial
is in the horizontaldirection.The Z’-axiscan be direction.For circularsections,it is reasonable
regardedas the lineof the BHA priorto deforma- to assume that these imbedded directions will
tion. remainmutually perpendicularafterdeformation.
l%us this coordinatesystemservesas a convenient
,A fixed coordinatesystemis necessary tool to measure the actualdeformations experi-
in order to describe the displacementsof the enced in the drillstringat any section.Physi-
drillstring.However, true internaldeformation callymeaningfulexpressionsfor strainand stress
quantitiesare not easily describablein sucha can be most conveniently
derivedin this system.
system.
The chief drawback of this systemis
(lb) Natural(curvilinear)
coordinatesys- that the directionsare changingalongthe drill-
+++ string.‘Ihusthe mathematicsinvolvedbecomesmore
system(et,en,eb): c~lex. In order to describethesechangingbase
vectors,threeEuleriananglesare needed.
This is defined by the drillstringcen-
terlinetrajectory, wherea pointis represented (2) GeneralRelationsin the IntrinsicCoor-
dinateSystem:
by vector1(S),Sbeing the arc lengthmeasured
Figure 2 shows the firsttwo Eulerian
angles ($, e) neededto describethe base vectors
.- .. .. . U-. --cl--- .,-
t’li1>>0.{ IIWd-
7

-+ +-)
-) + -) -) -)
(ex,ey,ez).The thirdangle,W, is a rotationabout
r(S)= ro(S)+ U(S) * el +V(S) * e2 +W(S) * e3
++
the ez- et axis.We can thendefinethe following (A-7)
+ + +
base vectors: -u(s) *eI+ V(S) *e2+ (Z+ W(S)) *e3
+ In view of the fact that the axial
e = (cOsecOs+cOs*- sin+ sinv)* 11 strainEz is very small (in the orderof 10-4),we
x
+ set:
+ (cOsesin+ COS*+ COS4 sinw)* e2

- sinr3
cosq * e3
+ I dz/dS=l/(l+cz)-l.
This allowsus to freelyinterchange betweenthe
undeformedlengthZ and the deformedarc lengthS.
+ T%usws obtain:
= -(cOseCOS+ sin$+ sin+ COS$)* ~1
‘Y +-) + + +
+ ez- et= U’ * el+ Vt *e2+ (l+IV)* e3 ;
+ (-cOsesin+ sinv + COS4 COSW)* e2

+ sine.sinq* e3
+
(A-3) I U’2+V’2+ (l+W’)2-1. (A-8)

-) + +
= sine eos+ * e1 + sine sin+ * e
‘z 2
+ (A-9)
+ cOtkie* e
3

They are mutually orthogonal,

as can be I Comparingthe base vectors,we obtain:

easilyverifiedby takingtheirdot products.The

+ I w’ - -1 + cOse;u’ = sine COS+;v’ = sine sin4 .

totalcurvaturevectorkT describesthe ratesof

I (A-lo )

changeof these base vectors along the drill-

string: I B. EQUILIBRIUMC@JDITIONS

+ + + +
(A-4)
I (1) FundamentalRelations

kT- kx * ex+ ky * ey+ kt * ez; Figure 3 shows an elemsntof BHA under

+ -+ -)
eq~ilibrium.~ a positivecross-section (meaning
:?e outwardnormalof the sectionis pointingin
dex/dS=kTXex,etc. +
+ I w
positiveez direction)of a drillstring,
the
where: kx - -e * ;ez / ds = sin$d9/dS -) -)
Y resultantforceF and momentM. actingon this
- sine cos~ d4 / ds
sectioncan’beexpressedby their“inertialcompo-
nents”in the fixed coordimte system,or their
ky=~x*;ez/ds=cos$dO /ds “intrinsiccomponents”in the intrinsiccoordinate
system:
+ sine sin~d~ /ds (A-5)
(Inertialcomponents)
+ + + +
kt=~y*;ex/ds=cose d4./ds F=F1*e1+F2*e2+F3 *e3;

(Intrinsiccomponents)
++ + + +
In the above, kx and k are the components
of the =V -N-(Vx*ex+V *ey)-N*ez;
Y
totalbending curvatur~ kb used inthemtural -+ -) -)
-)
curvilinearsystem:
Mo=h11*e1+M2*e2+M3 *e3; (A-n)
kb2= (dO/dS)2+sin20(d~/dS)2. (A-6)
•) + -) + +

The locationof the drillstringcenterliner(S) is -T*ez=(Mx*ex+M* ey)

“%*eb Y
describedby its originalposition~o(S)and the +
-~*eza
displacement
components(U,V,W) measuredfrom the
fixedreferencesystemas follows: where~ is the resultantbsndingnwment.
3 GeneralFormulation
of Drillsti’+.ng
UnderLa : Deformation and Its Uae in BHA Analvsis ~

Assumethe drillstringto be subjectto where the last two equationsexpressthe forceequi-

+ + +
to the distributedtorsiont and the contactforce libriumalong the - ex and e directions.Further-
+ Y
f: more,uses are made of the followingconstitutive
relations:
+ + +
f=f1*e1+f2*~2+f3 *e
3 Mx=EIkx; ~= EIky;T --GJkt; (A-21)
+ where: J = 21 = R(D04- Di4)/32_.
-(fx*~x+fy*~y)+n * ez. (A-12)
(3) Sourceof Side Forceon Bit:
+ +
t = tez. Consideringthe momentequilibriumequa-
tion in the planeperpendicularto the drillstring
We can write the globalequilibriumconditionsof axis,we can write:
an infinitesimalsegmentds —> O as follows,with
the momenttaken about the deformedpositionof + + -)
the left end-~int A (Figure3): V= (aM#S) * en- (kb* T+kn *%) * en (A-22)
+ + + +
EF=O: dF/dS+f+y’<eg=O; (A-13) This equationshowsthat the side forceis induced
by the following:
+ +
GA. 0: J/dS+:z XF+t*ez=O. (A-14) (a) Rotationof the principal(osculat-
ing)plane due to the application
of torque,caus-
where Y is the buoyantweightper unit lengthof
+ ing the in compnent of ;vector to contributeto
the drillstring, and eg is the directionof the
gravityfield. the originallb directionbeforethe torqueis ap-
plied;
When we express a vectorby its compo-
nents in the intrinsic coordinatesystem,we need (b) The nonlineareffectof the ~tural tor-
to accounkfor the effectof variablebase vectors tuositykn and the bending momentof the drill-
whenwe differentiate the vector.It can be shown string;
that (See (A-4)): (c) “Thenonlineareffect of the drillstring
torsionT and the bendingcurvaturekb.
;o/dS=3~#S+~TXio; (A-15) It is well known in rotarydrillingthat thereis
an inherenttendency for the BHA to walk right;
where the partial derivative(~/&S)meansholding and in downholemotordrilling,to walk left.How-
the base vectorsconstant, that is, it is a dif- ever, the source of this walk forcehas been a
ferentiationof the coqmnents of the vector.We mystery.The above analyticexpression will hope-
then have: fullyhelp in betterunderstandingsuch sidewalk
tendency for directionalwells. M additional
importantsourceof walk tendency is the aniso-
cl~ds = ;X ~![ax~as - (Tky+kt My)] (A-16) tropicformation-bit effect.

+ ~y * [8M/aS + (T kx+ ktMx)l - (aT/as)* :Z

c. SIMPLIFICATIONS
(2) GoverningEquilibrium
Equations:
The abovegoverningequati’msare too cumber-
The abovesix equations can be reduced some for solutionpurwses. we need to solvethe
to four,by eliminatingtie shearforcesas un- Eulerianangles ($, e, $), moments,axialforce,
knowns. These are expressed in the intrinsic as well as the displacementfield (U,V, W): a
coordinatesystemas follows: totalof 10 unknowns. This requiresthe simulta-
neous solutions 0= 10 differentialequations.
dT/dS=t->O; (A-17 ) Becauseof the complexity, suchgeneralnonlinear
equationshave not been effectivelyused in BHA
analysis.In some cases, drasticassumptionswere
dN/dS= fz+ Y * ;9* ;2 + d[~2/(2EI ]/dS; made to simplifythem thatdestroyedthe nonlinear
(A-18) featuresof the problem.
d2M ds2 + d(kxT+ ktMx)/dS+ @Wy+ kt dh!~ds What is neededhere is a way to utilizethese
/
general. (rigorous) equations in simpler forms
+ + while retaining importantnonlinearfeatures.In
- kt(kyT+ ktmy)= fx + Yeg * ex (A-19) order to do this,it is necessary-to adopta non-
. . orthogonalcoordinatesystemwherethe forceand
dAM#SA - d(kyT+ ktMy)/ds+~x - kt~~ds
+ +
- kt(kxT+ ktrnx)
= -fy-ye*e . (A-20)
9Y
 ,,..- C. L---
nwai-alltiunu *,.. .
Y
jPE 15562
+++
~mnt vectorsare expressedin the (e1~e2,
et) di- At the bit: u-v-o;
Mx= My-o. (A-29)
rections.Theircomponentsare to be calledthe
“apparent components”(Figure10): At upperend of BHA: (A-30)
+ + + + (locationestixwited
~ analyticmeans)
F_Vx*e1+VY*e2-No *et;
Mx, my prescribedby tmreholecurvature;
+
Mo=~*;1+~*;2 _To *et.
+ U’, V’ prescribedby boreholeslope;
(A-23)
(U,V) restrictedby boreholeclearance:“wall-
v are the “apparentshearforces”,Mx, MY are climbing”effectcan be simulated.
%: “~pparentbendingmoments”,and No, To are the
“apparent”axial compressionand torque,respec- Some other types of boundary conditionscan k
tively. imposedif need be.
Next,we need to reduce the orderof the
equationsin terms of some smallparameters. We
assumethat both U’ and V’ are smallcomparedto
unity,with:
Iw’I =1-1+[1-(
U?2+V’2)
]1/2[= .5(U’2+V’2)<< 1.

(A-24)
where: U’ denotesdU/dS.
A SoMeWhat hborious substitutionprocesswill
then lead to the followingforceequilibrium
con-
ditions:

(EI U“)’’-(TV’)’’+(NU’)’= fl+g;g* ~l+G1(U;J)

(A-25)
(EIV’’)’’+(T)’+(NV()V’)’= f2+ g;g*i2+G2(U,V)
(A-26)
where: G1(U,V)= (V’ DT)” - (U’ DN)’;
G2(U,V)= - (U’DT)” - (V’I)N)’;
DT=- EI (U~VI’ -v! u“);
DN=T(U’V’’ -U”)”)
_EI fu,Ul,l +Vl vr,~)o

The apparenttorque and apparentaxialforce-are

relatedto the actual ones by the followingrela-
tions:
To=T+U’Mx+V’ My= T+DT;
(A-27)
NO=N+U’VX+V’VY=N +DN.

‘l%eapparentbendingmomentsq and My are related

throughthe apparentcurvatureskx and ky and the
displacementsU andVas follows:
Mx=EIkX=-EIV”;
(A-28)
My=EIky= EIU”.

Equations (A-17,18,25,26)along with supporting

relations (A-21,23,27,28)are solved for the
drillstringdisplacements(U, V). The boundary
conditionsare:
 WE 15562

-a &(s)
en et, ez
x, G

Y,G
‘2 /rj
A(S)

/“ ~
dS
q

TI
I
B(S + dS)

A(S = O)
x I@)

z
.
Y

FIG. 1 COORDINATE SYSTEMS FIG. 2 INTRINSIC COORDINATES

Mx(S + dS)
1 T(S + dS)

MfiS + dS) VZ,S+dS)l ~’

f,
V@+-dS)= 1~ ‘(s+ds)

$ B(S+dS)
P
MfiS)
A(S) ;d+y”
,
vy(s>~ i-~ f
‘~
-
T(S) ‘(s) /vX(s)

Ao(z) dz ss ds B~Z + dz) z

FIG. 3 EQUILIBRIUM OF BHA ELEMENT

 WE 15562

LEFT ~ LINEAR
BUILDING WALK +- +- NON-LINEAR
FORCE(LB) FORCE (LB)
t I

.1,000
i t

FIG. 4 EFFECT OF AZIMUTH CURVATURE

DROPPING DROPPING
FORCE (LB) ~ LINEAR
3,000 ++ ++ NON-LINEAR
s 000
9
4
FORCE (LB) ~
1 + ++
LINEAR
NON-LINEAR

H
0-

2,000 2,000 //’

DROPPING BHA
DROPPING BHA
WOB = 30 KIPS
WOB = 30 KIPS
TOB = 20 FT.KIPS
TOB = 20 FT-KIPS
1,000 1“ CLEARANCE 1,000

0 o ~ fN&WWATURE
— BUILD CURVATURE o
o 5 10 15 (0/100’)

FIG. 5 EFFECT OF INCLINATION CURVATURE FIG. 6 EFFECT OF INCLINATION CURVATURE

5“ CLEARANCE
 DROPPING LEFT ~ 15562
FORCE(LB) WALK ~ LINEAR
FORCE(LB) * * NON-LINEAR
—

“’**L--4--I
1,000 1,000
DROPPING BHA
i -/ TOB = 20 FT-KIPS

500
L+=-+=1
o~
5&5”’’”’H0
‘“”
0
WOB (KIPS)

FIG. 7 EFFECT OF WOB

DROPPING LEFT
FORCE (LB) WALK
FORCE (LB) 1 ~ ~ #~!?NEAR
I

“500k-==b=A
1,000
1+ I

1 t 1’””0 DROPPING BHA

WOB = 30 KIPS
5 & 5“I1OO’ HOLE
500 500
—It— —x— F—
I I
o~
0 20 40 TOB (FT.KIPS)

FIG. 8 EFFECT OF TOB

Y, Y’
DROPPING I
1
FORCE(LB) P
~ LINEAR .
+ * NONLINEAR //
//
3,000 Q’ I Fz’
1

Fy’

1$*” ~
1 2 3 4 5
HOLE CLEARANCE

o F3 Q z
I
(IN)

FIG. 9 EFFECT OF HOLE CLEARANCE FIG. 10 APPARENT DECOMPOSITION