PgDip/MSc Energy Programme/Well Design and Drilling Collapse Design Criteria

Collapse Design Criteria

Review

This topic discusses the main design issues for casing string based on the
collapse loading expected on the string. Design criteria for all the different
strings are presented.

Content
Collapse loads on casing are due to the differential pressure acting on the string at any
depth, this pressure is the result of the hydrostatic column of fluids (mud, cement and
displacement pills) inside and outside the string. As we know the larger the casing size
the more sensitive to collapse loading it is. In general terms the increase in collapse
resistance as a result of compression forces is only taken into account for tubulars with
a diameter to wall thickness ratio (OD/t) of less than 15. This means that the yield stress
is the governing criterion, values of this ratio larger than 15 indicates that instability
rather than yield is the main failure criteria. The following table indicates the OD/t ratios
for a number of different casing grades.
Table 1. OD/t Collapse Modes.
GRADE YIELD PLASTIC TRANSITION REMARKS
STRENGTHS COLAPSE COLLAPSE
H – 40 16.40 27.01 42.64
J & K 55 14.81 25.01 37.21 Above the transition
C – 75 & E 13.60 22.91 32.05 collapse value elastic
collapse is the
L & N - 80 13.38 22.47 31.02 governing criteria
C – 90 13.01 21.69 29.18
C – 95 12.85 21.33 28.38
P – 105 12.57 20.70 26.89
P – 110 12.44 20.41 26.22

Casing Installation

During installation, being while running the casing, during cementing, landing it or testing
it there are a number of different loads that are generated depending on the fluids inside
and outside the string. The worst conditions for collapse are at the end of the cementing
operation as the fluids in the annular space tend to be heavier generating a larger
hydrostatic pressure. Using the following equations both internal and external
hydrostatic pressures can be determined.

Equation 1 PH = ρ x H x 0.052
Where
PH Hydrostatic pressure, internal or external(psi)
ρ Fluid density(mud, cement, spacers) (PPG)
H Interval height occupied by the particular fluid in TVD (feet)

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PgDip/MSc Energy Programme/Well Design and Drilling Collapse Design Criteria

The total pressure acting at a particular depth on both the inside and the outside of the
casing string will depend on the number of fluids and their density. Then the differential
pressure between the outside and the inside of the string will be:

Equation 2 ∆PCol = POut – PIn

Where
∆PCol Collapse pressure (psi)
POut Hydrostatic pressure in the annulus (psi)
PIn Hydrostatic pressure inside the string (psi)
This applies for strings that have a OD/t ratio greater than 16.4 which corresponds to
casing sizes of 9 5/8” and upwards. For lower thresholds such as thick wall liners
equation 3 is corrected as follows:

Equation 3 ∆PCol = POut – (1 – 2(OD/t)) PIn

There are other that must be taken into account such as axial tension and wear,
including these parameters, the design requirement to be met is:

Equation 4 PCol ≤ FWear + Ftension x API rating / DFCol

Where
PCol Maximum collapse pressure allowed (psi)
FWear Wear factor = 1 for new casing
FTension Tension factor
DFCol Collapse design factor.

The graph in the following page illustrate the collapse loads generated both internally
and externally during casing installation.

Service Life Loads

Service life loads refer to loads expected once the casing has been cemented in place
and the hydrostatic pressure generated by the cementing fluids released as the result of
the setting process of the cement. The following paragraphs present the main design
conditions for determining the collapse limits for each casing string.
Conductor casings cross shallow unconsolidated sediments, which often cause loss
of drilling fluid. However, it is also known adequate cementing and isolation of the string
is not achieved as a result of the large hole diameters and inefficient cement placement
resulting in channelling and poor isolation. As a result, it is assumed from the design to
collapse point of view that a full hydrostatic column of mud is always present behind the
conductor.
Collapse loads in this case are generated while drilling the next section (for surface
casing) by the internal and external pressures resulting from losing circulation to a weak
or unconsolidated rock. As fluid is loss to a nearby rock circulation is lost(partial or total)
and the fluid levels will be stabilized at a height representing the maximum hydrostatic
that the rock can withstand. The following graph and table illustrate the collapse design
conditions for conductor casing.

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PgDip/MSc Energy Programme/Well Design and Drilling Collapse Design Criteria

Table 2. Service Life Loads − Conductor.

No. CASE COLLAPSE PRESSURES REMARKS

1 Hole is capable of holding POut = hydrostatic of MW
sea or fresh water columns PInt = hydrostatic of SW/FW
2 LC zone PInt = hydrostatic of SW/FW up
to stabilized height POut as case 1
3 Empty hole PInt = 0 psi
Surface casings covering the upper hole sections are also designed based on a loss
circulation condition. As a result, internal hydrostatic pressure is the main criteria for
both development and exploration wells. In the latter case a more demanding condition
is imposed and that is that it must account for a normally pressurized zone at TD of the
deepest subsequent open hole (DSOH). In this case the depth of evacuation is to be
calculated on the basis of the expected mud weight at TD.
The depth of evacuation sufficient to balance the loss circulation zone is given by the
following equation:

Equation 5 h = [ MW - ∇ρlc ] x D lc / MW

Where
h Depth of evacuation or top of fluid (ft)
MW Mud weight in hole section (PPG)
∇ρlc Loss circulation zone gradient (PPG)
D lc Depth of loss circulation zone (ft)

The following table summarizes the design conditions for surface casings:
Table 3. Service Life Loads − Surface Casing.

No. CASE COLLAPSE PRESSURES REMARKS

1 Hole is capable of holding POut = hydrostatic of MW
sea or fresh water columns PInt = hydrostatic of SW/FW
2 Known LC zone PInt = hydrostatic of MW up to See previous
stabilized height equation
3 Empty hole PInt = 0 psi Air/foam drilling
Intermediate casing/liner are set prior to the reservoir section, the design criteria is
similar to that of the surface casing.
Production casing/liners must be designed taking into account the production
conditions to which the string is going to be exposed. Production methods such as
artificial lift create cyclic loads that must be accounted for. Collapse design criteria are
divided depending of whether a packer is used or not, packers are often positioned in
the intermediate casing providing annular pressure isolation to the bottom section of the
intermediate casing and the production casing/liner. The figure in following page
illustrates this and the table present the criteria for both above and below the packer.

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PgDip/MSc Energy Programme/Well Design and Drilling Collapse Design Criteria

Table 4. Service Life Loads − Production Casing/Liner.

CASE COLLAPSE PRESSURES

PInt = Completion fluid weight, SW or brines
For well in gas lift, PInt = Gas gradient to deepest GLM + completion
Above fluid to packer
packer POut = MW used for the first year only
POut = Pore pressure for string exposed to formation
and MW for casing to casing sections.
PInt = ∇ρGas from atmospheric at surface, various GORs can be
Below considered
packer For well in gas lift, PInt = Gas gradient to deepest GLM + production
fluid gradient to TD
POut = Pore pressure for string exposed to formation
and MW for casing to casing sections.

Determination of the Appropriate Collapse Rating

API collapse rating can be determined from published casing properties however, these
values are for ideal conditions and must account for factors such as:
• wear;
• weight of the string (creating axial loading).

API bulletin 5C3 presents the various considerations for casing collapse design based
on the ratio from diameter to wall thickness of the pipe. The bulletin describes the main
collapse mechanisms encountered, yield strength, elastic and elastoplastic instability
and transition collapse. To account for the effects of wear axial loading, the yield
strength presented in the API tables must be re-calculated taking into consideration the
axial load, the Von Misses yield criterion is used as follows:
Equation 6

σyr = [ { 1 – 0.75 x ( F2 /(Ao–Ai) 2 x σ2y ) } – 0.5 x { F/(Ao–Ai) x σy }] x σy

Where
σyr Reduced yield strength (psi)
σy Material yield strength(psi)
F Axial force
Ao External area (sqin)
Ai Internal area (sqin)

This equation can only be used where the failure criteria is governed by yield strength
collapse therefore where OD/t is < 15.

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