Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 31 (2016) 692e702

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Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jngse

Sealed annulus thermal expansion pressure mechanical calculation

method and application among multiple packers in HPHT gas wells
Zhi Zhang, Han Wang*
State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoirs Geology and Exploitation, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610500, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: For high-pressure and high-temperature (HPHT) gas wells with high production rate, the annulus
Received 14 January 2016 expansion pressure caused by the change in annulus temperature and pressure creates large effect on the
Received in revised form mechanical behavior and safety of strings among multiple packers. Based on the laws of the conservation
15 March 2016
of momentum and energy and the transient heat transfer property between the wellbore fluid and the
Accepted 29 March 2016
annulus fluid, a calculation model of the temperature and pressure fields on single-layer and multi-layer
Available online 31 March 2016
annuli was established. For the completion strings with multiple packers, the calculation model of the
sealed annulus thermal expansion pressure among multiple packers was established with an overall
Keywords:
Multiple packers
consideration of the effect of sealed annulus temperature and the effect of volume changing. An example
HPHT of a HPHT gas well in Sichuan province of China was analyzed, The results show that the thermal
Sealed annulus expansion pressure of the tubing-production casing annulus is minimized and the thermal expansion
Thermal expansion pressure pressure of the intermediate-surface casing annulus is maximized; The relationship between the sealed
Mechanical calculation annulus thermal expansion pressure and the temperature difference is linear; Pressure increment caused
Safety evaluation by the temperature effect plays the leading role, and the construction rate of the volume changing effect
for the sealed annulus thermal expansion pressure increases along with the increase in temperature;
Based on the safety evaluation, the maximum production of the sample well is 286
104 m3/d, when the
production is 175
104 m3/d, the maximum setting space between dual packers is 258 m. Releasing
pressure of each annulus in the process of production and testing can reduce the annulus thermal
expansion pressure, the analysis of the sealed annulus thermal expansion effect among multiple packers
is of great significance to evaluate the safety of strings, optimize the completion plan and establish a
reasonable production system.
© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction resistance of production casings may threaten the lifecycle and

With the constant development of oil and gas exploitation and
the supporting technology, drilling and well completion technology
in China is developed continuously towards HPHT environment,
more complex and deeper formations. In the process of production
test, if the completion strings have dual packers structure, which is
not connected with the stratum and the volume is unchanged, the
thermal expansion pressure of the fluid in the sealed annulus
among multiple packers would increase sharply with the growth of
temperature difference, length or stress of the strings would
change with the rise in temperature and pressure. The insufficient
collapse resistance of tubing and the insufficient internal pressure
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: 546604043@qq.com (H. Wang).
integrity of wellbore directly. As a result, break-offs of strings or the
failure of packers and other serious accidents will occur (Adams,
1994; Xiao et al., 2012; Zhang et al., 2014). Thus, accurately hold-
ing the pressure and temperature distribution of the wellbore
provides basic data for checking the strength of tubing and cashing
and packers is of vital significance to the dynamic analysis and safe
operation of oil and gas wells (Wang, 2014).
Previously, Fan et al. (2011) elaborated the coupled oscillation
process of a completion string induced by a transient flow of nat-
ural gas. A fluid-solid coupled oscillation four-equation model
applicable to the completion string in gas wells was derived based
on the fluid-solid coupled oscillation model for liquid-filled pipes.
Li et al. (2011) established mathematical models for mechanical
analysis during the whole testing operation. Those models toke
various parameters into account, the composition of the pipe string,
the property of the borehole fluid, internal and external pressure

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2016.03.091
1875-5100/© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 Z. Zhang, H. Wang / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 31 (2016) 692e702
intensity, the geothermal gradient, air temperature, tubing tem-
perature, packer type, and the piston effect of the packer. Feng et al.
(1993) established a stress analysis model of graduated strings for
packers. Che et al. (2010) researched the annulus thermal expan-
sion pressure mechanisms of full wellbore. Based on the energy
conservation law and multi-cylinderheat transfer discipline, Zhang
et al. (2015) predicted and analyzed the shaft temperature distri-
bution and the annulus pressure in deepwater wells to assure that
the well structure and string strength can satisfy the demands for
long-term safe production. Song et al. (2012) established a coupled
model for the predication of wellbore temperature and the pres-
sure of gas-liquid two phase drilling fluid circulation based on gas-
liquid flow patterns and heat transfer mechanisms between the
wellbore and formation, which was suitable for underbalanced
drilling and the discretization method. Yang et al. (2013) estab-
lished the casing annulus pressure prediction model for typical
deepwater wells according to the volume change of the casing
annulus fluid with temperature and pressure and in combination
with the casing annulus pVT (pV ¼ nRT, p: pressure, V: Volume,
T:Temperature) equation and the annulus temperature equation. Li
et al. (2013) developed a method for determining the upper and
lower limits of the annulus pressure of high-pressure gas wells
with the help of two recognized international technical specifica-
tions: ARP RP90 and the NORSOK D-010. However, none of these
researchers analyzed the mechanical behaviors of completion
strings or the thermal expansion mechanisms of the sealed annuli
among multiple packers, and they could not accurately analyze or
evaluate the safety of tubing and casings or the sealed annuli
thermal expansion pressures among multiple packers. Therefore,
this paper established a calculation model of the temperature fields
in single-layer and multi-layer annulus and the sealed annuli
thermal expansion pressure between packers according to the
number of sealed annuli among multiple packers, and analyzed the
influence factors on sealed annulus thermal expansion pressure
between dual packers and the safety factor of strings with a sample
well, which is helpful to provide the more reliable theory for
optimizing the completion plan and establishing the reasonable
production system for HPHT gas wells.
2. The calculation model of annuli temperature field
Fig. 1 shows various concentric annuli in a well construction.
The heat transfer process in the wellbore can be divided into single-
layer annulus heat transfer and multi-layer annulus heat transfer.
The calculation model for the annuli temperature field of well-
bore is built on the following assumptions: (1) the heat transfer
from the tubing to the interface of cement sheath and well wall is in
Fig. 1. Diagram of annuli of the well.
693
steady state, from the interface to the formation around the well-
bore is in unsteady state; (2) the gas well is vertical, gas flowing in
the wellbore is stable unidirectional flow; (3) only the heat transfer
in the radial direction is considered between the wellbore and the
formation; (4) the tubing and casings are concentric; (5) the up-
ward gas flow in the wellbore is one-dimensional steady flow; (6)
the physical parameters of the packer fluid remain invariant; (7) no
phase change; (8) full contact between solid surfaces.
2.1. Single-layer annulus temperature calculation model
Fig. 2 shows the heat transfer of single-layer annulus, heat
increment in the annulus fluid per unit length is caused by the
combined forces of quality, thermodynamic properties and tem-
perature changing rates of the annulus fluid per unit length.
According to the flow regularity of the wellbore fluid, the mass
conservation balance equation is written as:
dðrvFÞ
¼0 (1)
dz
Where F is the cross-sectional area, m2; r is the fluid density, g/
cm3; n is the fluid velocity, m/s; z is the discretionary depth from
downhole to wellhead, m.
The heat transfer equation of single-layer annulus is written as:
QA ¼ QiA  QoA (2)
Where QA is the heat increment of the annulus fluid, J/s; QiA is the
heat from the tubing fluid to the annulus fluid, J/s; and QoA is the
heat from annulus fluid to the stratum, J/s.
The control equation of the single-layer annulus heat transfer is
as follows (Mao and Liang, 1999; Hasan et al., 2010):

 2pr1o Usig ke
mcp ðdT1 =dtÞ ¼ ð2prco ÞUsig Tf  T1  ðT  Tei Þ
ke þ r1o Usig ke TD 1
(3)
Where m is the quality of the annulus fluid per unit length, kg/
m; cp is the specific heat capacity of the annulus fluid, J/(kg$ C); T1
is the temperature of the annulus fluid,  C; t is the producing time,
s; r1o is the outer radius of the annulus, m; rco is the outer radius of
the casing, m; Tf is the tubing fluid temperature,  C; Usig is the total
heat transfer coefficient of the single-layer annulus, J/(s$m2$ C); Tei
is the original stratum temperature, C; ke is the heat conductivity of
the stratum, J/(s$m$ C); and TD is the dimensionless producing
time, dimensionless.
Supposing that,
Fig. 2. Heat transfer of single-layer annulus.
694 Z. Zhang, H. Wang / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 31 (2016) 692e702

2pr1o Usig ke
I¼ (4)
ke þ r1o Usig ke TD

The temperature of the single-layer annulus heat transfer is

solved as follows:

!
2prti Usig Tf þ ITei 2prti Usig Tf þ ITei
T1 ¼ 
2prto Usig þ I  mcp T10 2prto Usig þ I  mcp T10
 
! 2prto Usig þI
 mcp
T10 t
 T10 e (5)

Where rto is the outer radius of the tubing, m; rti is the inside
radius of the tubing, m; and T10 is the annulus fluid temperature Fig. 3. Grid division of the multi-layer annulus volume unit.
before production, C.

nþ1
Tj1  Tjnþ1 Tjnþ1  Tjþ1
nþ1
2pkj1 rj1 hc  2pkj rj hc
Drj Drjþ1
2.2. Multi-layer annulus temperature calculation model Tjnþ1  Tjn
¼ cp rpDrj2 hc (9)
Compromised with the vertical heat transfer, the radial heat Dt
transfer in wellbore can be ignored nearly (Song and Guan, 2011), Where hc is the convective heat-transfer coefficient of the annulus
and the second order differential equation on the relation between fluid, J/(s$m2$ C); kj is the thermal conductivity of annulus j, J/
the wellbore temperature and time and the radial distance is (s$m$ C); and Drj is the difference value of the outer radius be-
established as follows: tween annulus j and annulus j-1, m.
Supposing that,
v2 T 1 vT vT
þ ¼a (6) 2pkj1 rj1 hc 2pkj rj hc ε
vr 2 r vr vt M¼ ;N ¼ ; ε ¼ cp rpDrj2 hc ; E ¼ M þ N þ
Drj Drjþ1 Dt
Where a is the thermal diffusion coefficient of the fluid, s/m ; 2

and r is the radius, m. (10)

The analytical solution of eq. (6) is written as:
Substituting eq. (9) into eq. (10) yields

 ε
vTf 2p Tei  Tf  rto U ke  
vTf
nþ1
MTj1  ETjnþ1 þ NTjþ1
nþ1
þ Tjn ¼ 0 (11)
¼ mul
þ
w Dt
vt mcp ð1 þ CT Þ ke þ rto Umul TD mð1 þ CT Þ vz
 As for eq. (11) is fully implicit, it can be solved by matrix form.
v dv dp g sin q For a cylindrical wellbore unit with three grids, its solution matrix
þ gG sin q þ  CJ  (7)
cp dz dz cp is written as:

Where CT is the heat storage coefficient, dimensionless; CJ is the    nþ1   n

 E N 0   T1  T 
Joule-Thomson coefficient, (m$ C$s2)/kg; w is the mass flow, kg/s;    ε  1
M E N $ T2  ¼   T2n 
nþ1 (12)
gG is the geothermal gradient,  C/m; q is the angle of inclination,  ;    Dt  T n 
 0 M E   T nþ1 
and p is the pressure, MPa. 3 3

The tubing fluid temperature is in stable distribution along with

well depth. Namely,

 
2.3. Pressure field of wellbore
2pðzLÞ rto Umul ke 
vTf wcp ke þrto Umul TD v dv dp
¼ gG sin q  e gG sin q þ  CJ
vz cp dz dz The total pressure gradient of the fluid is composed of the
 accelerated pressure gradient, the gravity pressure gradient and the
g sin q
 (8) friction pressure gradient (Guo and Zeng, 2015):
cp
 
Where Umul is the total heat transfer coefficient of the multi- dp dv v2 rf
¼ rv  rg sin q  (13)
layer annulus, J/(s$m2$ C); and L is the well depth, m. dz dz 2dti
Fig. 3 is the chart for grid division of the multi-layer annulus
Where f is the coefficient of friction resistance, dimensionless.
volume unit, using the cylindrical unit to represent the annuli along
In this model, the fluid density can be derived from the gas state
the vertical direction, and the heat transfer from the tubing fluid to
equation:
the annulus fluid shall be calculated by dividing the radial grids
around the cylindrical unit, each grid represents one annulus, and pM sg p
Tj is the temperature of the annulus j. r¼ ¼ 3484:48 (14)
Zg RTf Zg Tf
The heat transfer condition of volume unit j is calculated by the
Fourier method in the unstable radial system. That is, Where M is the molar mass of the gas, kg/mol; Zg is the gas
 Z. Zhang, H. Wang / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 31 (2016) 692e702 695

compressibility factor, dimensionless; R is the universal gas con-

stant, MPa$m3/(Kmol$K); sg is the relative density of the gas, 0:05ðGrPrÞ0:33 Pr0:074 kaf
hc ¼ (21)
dimensionless. rto lnðrao =rto Þ
The gas velocity in the tubing can be expressed as:
Where eq. (21) is valid for 5
104<GrPr<7.17
109; hc is the
Tf 0:101325 Qst 4 Qst Zg Tf convective heat transfer coefficient of the annulus fluid, J/
v ¼ Bvst ¼ Zg


¼ 5
109 2 (s$m2$ C); Gr is the Grashof number, dimensionless; kaf is the heat
293 p 86400 pd2ti dti p
conductivity coefficient of the annulus fluid, J/(s$m$ C); and rao is
(15) the external diameter of the annulus of the layer, m.
Where B is the gas formation volume factor, dimensionless; vst is
the gas flow velocity under the standard state, m/s; Qst is the flow 2.4.3. Total heat transfer coefficient of the single-layer annulus
rate under the standard state, m3/d. The total heat transfer coefficient of a single-layer annulus is:
Given C1 ¼ 5
109Qst/d2 ti, C2 ¼ 3484.48sg, and C3 ¼ Zg Tf/p, "
substituting eq. (14) and eq. (15) into eq. (13) yields: rto rto lnðrto =rti Þ 1 rto lnðrco =rci Þ
Usig ¼ þ þ þ
! rti hf kt hc þ hr kc
dp dC C g sin q fC12 C2 C3 #1
¼ 106 C12 C2 3 þ 2 þ (16) rto lnðrh =rco Þ
dz dz C3 2dti þ (22)
kcem
Discretize the wellbore and solve eq. (16) by integrating over the
length of Dz in each segment, this paper gives a formula to calculate Where kt is the heat conductivity coefficient of tubing, J/
the wellbore pressure at the outlet of segment (i), obtained via the (s$m$ C); kc is the heat conductivity coefficient of the casing, J/
iterative method. P(i) represents the outlet pressure of segment (i), (s$m$ C); rci is the inner radius of the casing, m; kcem is the heat
which is equal to the inlet pressure of segment (iþ1). conductivity coefficient of the cement, J/(s$m$ C); hr is the radiative
( " heat conductivity coefficient of the annulus fluid, J/(s$m2$ C); and
h i C g Dz sin q 1 rh is the radius of wellbore, m.
ðiÞ ði1Þ
pðiÞ ¼ pði1Þ  106 C12 C2 C3  C3 þ 2
ðiÞ
2 C3
# ) 2.4.4. Total heat transfer coefficient of the multi-layer annulus
1 2 h
DzfC1 C2 ðiÞ i The total heat transfer coefficient of the multi-layer annulus is:
ði1Þ
þ ði1Þ þ C3 þ C3
C 4dti 2  
3
rto rto lnðrto =rti Þ X kk
1 X
kk
rto ln rjco rjci
(17) Umul ¼ 4 þ þ þ
rti hf kt h þ hjr j¼1
j¼1 jc
kjc
Simplifying the eq. (17):
" !   31
rto ln rh rjco
Tfo Tfi 1:74sg g Dz sin q pfo þ 5
pfo ¼ pfi  103 3:5Zg A2 sg  þ
kcem
pfo pfi Zg Tfo
! !# (23)
pfi 0:44sg Zg DzfA2 Tfo Tfi
þ þ þ
Tfi rti pfo pfi Where kk is the number of the annuli (kk  2); hjc is the
convective heat transfer coefficient of the annulus j, J/(s$m2$ C); hjr
(18)
is the radiative heat conductivity coefficient of the annulus j, J/
. (s$m2$ C); rjco is the outer radius of the casing outside the annulus j,
A ¼ 1:25
109 Qst rti2 (19) m; rjci is the inner radius of the casing outside the annulus j, m; and
kjc is the heat conductivity coefficient of the casing outside the
Where pfo is the pressure at the outlet of segment, MPa; pfi is the annulus j, J/(s$m2$ C).
pressure at the inlet of the segment, MPa; Tfo is the temperature at
the outlet of segment,  C; Tfi is the temperature at the inlet of 2.5. Coupling solution of pressure and temperature fields
segment,  C.
Since pressure and temperature are related to each other, a
2.4. Calculation of the thermophysical parameters coupling solution is needed for them. The calculation flow is shown
in Fig. 4.
2.4.1. Convective heat transfer coefficient of the tubing fluid
The convective heat transfer coefficient in the tubing (Hasan and 3. Thermal expansion effect of the fluid between the packers
Kabir, 1991; Ramey, 1962) is:
. The packer, tubing, downhole safety valve and flow nipple form
hf ¼ 0:0135kf Re0:8 Pr0:4 rti (20) the first safety barrier of the wellbore, the packers and tubing are
extremely important to the whole lifecycle of gas well (Zhang et al.,
Where the eq. (20) is valid for 1
104<Re < 1.2
105; 2010, 2013). The thermal expansion pressure of the sealed annulus
0.7<Pr<160; hf is the convective heat transfer coefficient of the between the packers may cause two dangers: (1) the danger of the
tubing fluid, J/(s$m2$ C); kf is the heat conductivity coefficient of insufficient collapse resistance of tubing; (2) the danger of the
the tubing fluid, J/(s$m$ C); Re is the Reynolds number, dimen- insufficient internal pressure resistance of the production casing.
sionless; and Pr is the Prandtl number, dimensionless. These dangers directly threaten the strength and sealing perfor-
mance of the tubing and the casing. The calculation model for the
2.4.2. Convective heat transfer coefficient of annulus fluid thermal expansion pressure of the sealed annulus between the
The convective heat transfer coefficient of the annulus fluid packers is beneficial to the integrality evaluation of the wellbore
(Willhite, 1967; Williamson and Sanders, 2003) is: and the establishment of a reasonable production system.
696 Z. Zhang, H. Wang / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 31 (2016) 692e702

 
vPann a
DTann ¼ l DTann (26)
vTann M;V kT

The pressure caused by the change of the annulus volume be-

tween the packers is calculated as:
 
vPann 1
DVann ¼ DVann (27)
vVann M;T kT Vann

Where DPann is the change value of the annulus pressure be-

tween the packers, MPa; DVann is the change value of the annulus
fluid volume between the packers, m3; DTann is the change value of
the annulus fluid temperature between the packers,  C; kT is the
isothermal compression coefficient of the annulus fluid, 1/MPa; and
al is the thermal expansion coefficient of the annulus fluid, 1/ C.

3.1.1. Pressure increment caused by the thermal expansion of the

fluid
The pressure increment caused by the thermal expansion of the
fluid is:

al
DpT ¼ DTann (28)
kT
Where DPT is the pressure increment only caused by the tem-
perature change, MPa.
On the assumption of an absolute rigidity of the tubing wall and
no change in the sealed annulus, the increased value of the pressure
caused by the thermal expansion of fluid with a certain property is
Fig. 4. The coupling calculation flow for pressure and temperature fields. only relevant to the temperature change value.

3.1. Calculation model establishment for the pressure of the sealed 3.1.2. Pressure increment caused by the volume change of the
annulus annulus
The pressure increment caused by the volume change of the
Under the condition of the unchanged property of fluid in the annulus
sealed annulus between the packers, pressure (Pann) caused by
thermal expansion of fluid in the annulus is the function of fluid 1
mass (Mann), temperature (Tann) and the annulus volume (Vann).
DpV ¼ DVann (29)
kT Vann
Thus,
Where DPV is the pressure increment only caused by the volume
change of the annulus, MPa.
Pann ¼ PðMann ; Tann ; Vann Þ (24) The thermal expansion coefficient of the casing and the tubing is
Where Pann is the pressure of the sealed annulus, MPa; Mann is smaller than that of the fluid. The annulus volume changes when
the fluid mass of the sealed annulus, kg; Tann is the average tem- the temperature and pressure of the sealed annulus rise. From eq.
perature of the sealed annulus,  C; and Vann is the volume the (29), it can be seen that the change value of the annulus pressure
sealed annulus, m3. can be obtained as long as the volume change value is calculated. In
Calculate the partial differential of the above equation and a HPHT gas well, the annulus fluid cannot be free to expand due to
obtain the expression equation for the pressure change of the the restriction of the packers and the pipe wall under the effect of
sealed annulus (Deng et al., 2006): temperature difference, which causes the pressure increment and
then squeezes the tubing, making the annulus volume increased.
    However, the annulus volume increment will decrease the annulus
vPann vPann
DPann ¼ DMann þ DTann pressure, and this pressure decrement will make the volume
vMann T;V vTann M;V decreased. Additional pressure is then caused by fluid compression
 
vPann as a result of the annulus volume decreases, which in turn acts on
þ DVann (25) the tubing and casing and changes the volume again. Therefore,
vVann M;T
they are coupled (Gao and Gao, 2002).
For complete sealed annulus between dual packers without
fluid permeation or leakage, the annulus can be regarded as a
closed space so that no pressure change will be caused by the mass 3.1.3. The radial thermal expansion effect of the tubing
change of the annulus fluid. Therefore, the thermal expansion Because the temperature of the tubing fluid is higher than
pressure is caused by the thermal expansion of the fluid and the annulus fluid, radial expansion of the tubing caused by the effect of
change of the annulus volume. temperature difference will lead to the volume increment of the
The pressure caused by the thermal expansion of fluid can be annulus between the packers. The radial thermal expansion
calculated as: displacement of the tubing is:
 Z. Zhang, H. Wang / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 31 (2016) 692e702 697

Zr
 DVann ¼ DV2  DV1 þ DV3  DV4 þ DV5 (36)

lte ¼ ðat þ yt at Þ=ðr  r yt Þ Tf  T1 rdr (30)
Where DV5 is the change value of the annulus volume caused by
rti
the thermal expansion and the compression effects of the pro-
Where lte is the radial displacement of the tubing caused by the duction casing when a free casing section is included in the sealed
temperature change of the annulus, m; yt is the Poisson's ratio of annulus between the packers, m3; and the calculation method is
the tubing, dimensionless; and at is the thermal expansion coeffi- the same as that of the tubing.
cient of the tubing, 1/ C.
The change value of the annulus volume caused by the radial 3.2. Model solution
thermal expansion of the tubing is:
Fig. 5 is the calculation flow chart for the annulus pressure
DV1 ¼ plte ð2rto þ lte ÞLp (31) caused by the thermal expansion of the annulus fluid. For the
coupling relationship between the pressure change and volume
Where DV1 is the change value of the annulus volume caused by the change of the sealed annulus among packers, the iterative method
radial thermal expansion of the tubing, m3; and Lp is the spacing is adopted for the solution of DPann. First, assume an initial value
between dual packers, m. and plug it into eqs. (32) and (35). Then, calculate DVann and DPann,
and plug the calculated DPann into eqs. (32) and (35) to get the new
3.1.4. The radial compression effect of the tubing DVann, and continue to calculate to obtain the new DPann. Compare
Radial compression occurs on the outside surface of the tubing the two calculated values of DPann and output DPann to determine if
is pressed due to an increase of the annulus pressure. Thus, the difference value is allowable, otherwise repeat the iterative

 computation until the required accuracy is reached.
ð1 þ yt Þ rti2 þ 2ð1  2yt Þrto
2
ltc ¼ rto DPann
 (32)
Et rto2  r2 4. Example calculation and analysis
ti

Where ltc is the radial displacement of the tubing caused by the
pressure change of the annulus, m; and Et is the elastic modulus of
the tubing, MPa.
The increment of the annulus volume caused by the radial
compression of the tubing is:
Fig. 6 is the chart of the gas well structure used in the application
instance for this paper. The calculation parameters of the vertical
HPHT gas well with high production rate in the Sichuan province of
China used in this study are presented in Table 1, and the well depth
refers to TVD.

DV2 ¼ plte ð2rto þ 2lte  ltc ÞLp (33) 4.1. Thermal expansion pressure and temperature of the full
WhereDV2 is the change value of the annulus volume caused by wellbore annulus
the radial compression of the tubing, m3.
Fig. 7 shows the temperature field of the full wellbore annulus;
Fig. 8 shows the relations of the wellhead temperature of tubing
3.1.5. The thermal expansion effect of the sealed annulus fluid fluid and tubing-production casing annulus with the producing
The volume of the annulus fluid between dual packers will time; Fig. 9 shows the relations of the thermal expansion pressure
expand because of the temperature rise, which will cause an of tubing-production casing annulus to the annulus temperature
additional load on the pipe wall. The volume change value is: difference and the thermal expansion coefficient of the annulus

 fluid.
DV3 ¼ al pDTann rpci
2 2
 rto Lp (34) From Fig. 7, the temperature of each annulus gradually increases
as the well depth increases; the outside annulus is colder than the
Where DV3 is the change value of the annulus volume caused by
inside annulus; the temperature difference between the annuli
the thermal expansion of the fluid, m3; and rpci is the inner radius of
gradually decreases with the well depth increase. This is because
the production casing, m.
the layer number of the annuli gradually increases in radial direc-
tion during the upward flow of the wellbore fluid, which leads to a
3.1.6. The compression effect of the sealed annulus fluid decrease of the overall heat transfer coefficient. Thus, the radial
An increment of annulus pressure will cause compression to temperature gradient becomes larger.
both the tubing and the annulus fluid. The volume compression From Fig. 8, the wellhead fluid temperature of tubing fluid and
amount is: tubing-production casing annulus increase with the increase of
producing time. During 30 days of the early producing time, tem-
p

DV4 ¼ 2
rpci 2
 rto DPann Lp (35) perature increase sharply, from 30 days to 150 days, it's increase
El tendency will slow down, after producing 150 days, the heat
transfer of the wellbore will be in balanced state, and the wellhead
Where DV4 is the change value of annulus volume caused by the
temperature of tubing fluid remains unchanged in 95  C, tubing-
compression of the annulus fluid, m3; and El is the bulk modulus of
production casing annulus temperature remains unchanged in
the annulus fluid, MPa.
74.5  C basically.
From Fig. 9, thermal expansion pressure increases with the in-
3.1.7. Change value of the annulus volume crease of the thermal expansion coefficient of the annulus fluid
If a free casing section is included in the sealed annulus formed when the annulus temperature difference is unchanged. Also, the
by dual packers, the radial thermal expansion effect and the radial thermal expansion pressure increases with the increase of the
compression effect of the casing shall be taken into consideration. annulus temperature difference and the increasing trend will
Thus, the change value of the sealed annulus volume between gradually slow down and then become stable. This is because the
packers is: increase of production leads to the increase of the annulus
698 Z. Zhang, H. Wang / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 31 (2016) 692e702

Fig. 5. The calculation flow chart for the annulus thermal expansion pressure.

Fig. 7. The annulus temperature field.

Fig. 6. The well structure of the gas well.

Table 1
Calculation parameters.

Parameters Value Parameters Value

Well depth (m) 6484 Bulk modulus of annulus fluid (MPa) 2400
Steady producing time (d) 180 Thermal expansion coefficient of tubing ( C1) 13.5
106
Bottom hole temperature ( C) 180 Thermal expansion coefficient of casing ( C1) 14.2
106
Bottom hole stratum pressure (MPa) 80 Elastic modulus of tubing and casing (GPa) 230
Production (104 m3/d) 175 Poisson's ratio of tubing and casing 0.3
Setting depth of packer #1 (m) 6185.5 Relative density of natural gas 0.7
Setting depth of packer #2 (m) 6085.5 Annulus fluid density (g/cm3) 1.35
Heat conductivity of tubing (J$s1$m1$ C1) 43 Heat capacity of annulus fluid (J$kg1$ C1) 4400
Heat conductivity of casing (J$s1$m1$ C1) 58 Heat capacity of gas (J$kg1$ C1) 4324
Thermal expansion coefficient of annulus fluid ( C1) 0.0004 Heat conductivity of cement (J$s1$m1$ C1) 0.58
Isothermal compression coefficient of fluid (MPa1) 0.0005 Heat conductivity of stratum (J$s1$m1$ C1) 2.33
 Z. Zhang, H. Wang / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 31 (2016) 692e702 699

Fig. 8. The wellhead temperature of tubing fluid and tubing-production casing

annulus.
Fig. 11. The added value of annulus thermal expansion pressure with consideration of
volume effect only.

4.2. The thermal expansion pressure of the sealed annulus in dual

packers

Fig. 10 shows how the added value of annulus thermal expan-

sion pressure is influenced by the annulus temperature and the gas
well production with the sole consideration of the temperature
effect; Fig. 11 shows how the added value of annulus thermal
expansion pressure is influenced by the annulus temperature and
the gas well production with the sole consideration of the volume
effect.
As shown Figs. 10 and 11, the increment of pressure between
dual packers has a linear positive correlation with annulus tem-
perature difference and production. The annulus temperature plays
the main role in changing the pressure. When production reaches
280
104 m3/d, the pressure caused by the temperature effect is 16
times as large as that caused by the volume effect. However, with
the increase of production, the contribution of the annulus volume
Fig. 9. The thermal expansion pressure of tubing-production casing annulus.
effect to the annulus thermal expansion pressure will increase
gradually. The reason behind this is that the large temperature
difference will promote the thermal expansion and compression
temperature difference. Under a certain production condition, the
effect of the tubing, the casing and the annulus fluid, which will
heat transfer capacity of the wellbore, the thermal expansion pa-
cause a large change in the annulus volume. Whereas, for a certain
rameters of the annulus fluid tend to be stable instead of increasing
kind of tubing and casing, the annulus thermal expansion pressure
infinitely, and the thermal expansion effect will not get stronger at
will be larger than the collapse resistance of the tubing or the
that time. In addition, the maximum pressure of production-
resistance to the internal pressure of the production casing under a
intermediate casing annulus and intermediate-surface casing
threshold of the temperature, which will cause the pipe string
annulus are 41.4 MPa and 60.2 MPa, respectively.

Fig. 10. The added value of annulus thermal expansion pressure with consideration of Fig. 12. Relation of the sealed annulus thermal expansion pressure to the space be-
temperature effect only. tween dual packers and the fluid thermal expansion coefficient.
700 Z. Zhang, H. Wang / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 31 (2016) 692e702

collapsed or burst. It is worse when there is leakage from packer #1,

as the gas will channel into tubing-production casing annulus and
cause large annulus pressure. In conclusion, the analysis of the
sealed annulus thermal expansion pressure in dual packers is sig-
nificant for the safe operation of gas well.
Fig. 12 shows the relations of the sealed annulus thermal
expansion pressure to the space between dual packers and the fluid
thermal expansion coefficient; Fig. 13 shows the relations of the
sealed annulus thermal expansion pressure to the space between
dual packers and the fluid isothermal compression coefficient;
Fig. 14 shows the relations of the sealed annulus thermal expansion
pressure to the space between dual packers and the geothermal
gradient.
As shown in Figs. 12 and 13 and 14, when the gas well pro-
duction is 175
104 m3/d, the sealed annulus thermal expansion Fig. 14. Relation of the sealed annulus thermal expansion pressure to the space be-
pressure increases with the setting space of the dual packers. The tween dual packers and the geothermal gradient.
main reason is that sealed annulus fluid in dual packers stays in
tubing-production casing annulus at all times, the temperature
difference of which increases with the setting space increases, and
this causes the thermal expansion pressure to increase. At the same
setting space, the bigger the geothermal gradient and the thermal
expansion coefficient of the annulus fluid, the bigger the thermal
expansion annulus pressure. The greater the isothermal compres-
sion coefficient of the annulus fluid, the smaller the thermal
expansion pressure. Thus, the optimization of the thermodynamics
parameters of the annulus fluid and the accurate prediction of the
geothermal gradient is helpful to reduce the annulus thermal
expansion pressure. According to API RP90 (American Petroleum
Institute, 2006), the maximum pressure in tubing-production cas-
ing annulus is 14.6 MPa. When the annulus fluid thermal expansion
pressure is 0.0004  C1, the maximum setting space of dual packers
is 258 m. Therefore, with the determination of the setting space of
dual packers, appropriate protective fluid for the annulus shall be
Fig. 15. The collapse safety factor of the tubing.
selected according to the thermodynamic property of the fluid.
Fig. 15 shows the relations of the collapse safety factor of tubing
to the production and thermal expansion pressure between dual production leads to an increase in the sealed annulus thermal
packers; Fig. 16 shows the relations of the burst safety factor of expansion pressure, and the possibility of damage to the tubing and
production casing to the production and thermal expansion pres- production casing is increased due to the gathering of the thermal
sure between dual packers. expansion pressure. The collapse safety factor and the burst safety
As shown in Figs. 15 and 16, when the setting space between factor shall be set as 1 (Energy Resources Conservation Board of
dual packer is 203 m, with the increase of production and the Canada, 2007), which is taken as the safe operation boundary.
sealed annulus thermal expansion pressure in dual packers, the When the production reaches 286
104 m3/d, the collapse safety
collapse safety factor of the tubing and the burst safety factor of the factor of the tubing is 1.032 and the burst safety factor of the pro-
production casing decreases. This is because the increase of the duction casing is 1.3, which is still in safe state. When the pro-
duction reaches 287
104 m3/d, however, the collapse safety factor

Fig. 13. Relation of the sealed annulus thermal expansion pressure to the space be-
tween dual packers and the fluid isothermal compression coefficient. Fig. 16. The burst safety factor of the production casing.
 Z. Zhang, H. Wang / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 31 (2016) 692e702
Fig. 17. The annulus thermal expansion pressure in different production and producing
time.
of the tubing is 0.986 and the burst safety factor of the production
casing is 1.24. On this condition, the tubing is collapsed while the
production casing is safe. Thus, it is certain that the production
target of the gas well shall not be more than 286
104 m3/d.
Fig. 17 shows the relation of the sealed annulus thermal
expansion pressure to the production casing wall thickness in
different production and producing time.
Where A-1 represents the gas well have produced for 30 days
with production 65
104 m3/d; A-2 represents the gas well have
produced for 60 days with production 65
104 m3/d; A-3 repre-
sents the gas well have produced for 90 days with production
65
104 m3/d; B-1 represents the gas well have produced for 30
days with production 125
104 m3/d; B-2 represents the gas well
have produced for 60 days with production 125
104 m3/d; B-3
represents the gas well have produced for 90 days with production
125
104 m3/d; C-1 represents the gas well have produced for 30
days with production 185
104 m3/d; C-2 represents the gas well
have produced for 60 days with production 185
104 m3/d; C-3
represents the gas well have produced for 90 days with production
185
104 m3/d.
As shown in Fig. 17, the sealed annulus thermal expansion
pressure increases with the increase of the production and pro-
ducing time under the circumstance that the wall thickness re-
mains unchanged. The longer the producing time, the larger the
annulus temperature difference, and the influence of wall thickness
of production casing on thermal expansion pressure will be more
obvious. Under the same production and producing time, the
thermal expansion pressure increases with the increase of the wall
thickness of the production casing, this is because under the same
temperature difference of the annulus, the thermal expansion ef-
fect of the big annulus decreases, so the volume effect of the sealed
annulus is not obvious, and the pressure increment caused by the
volume effect of the annulus will decrease too. Therefore, in order
to reduce the sealed annulus thermal expansion pressure and
improve the safety of the tubing and casings, a reasonable pro-
duction plan should be established, within the allowable strength,
it is better to select the production casing with smaller wall
thickness.
5. Conclusions
(1) Based on the laws of the conservation of momentum and
energy, heat transfer property between the wellbore and the
annulus fluid were studied in this paper. The calculation
model of temperature fields on single-layer and multi-layer
annulus were established, and the annulus volume unit
grid was separated, solved with the matrix analysis and cir-
cular iterative methods, which offers a necessary theoretical
701
basis for the mechanical analysis of annulus thermal
expansion.
(2) Based on the annulus temperature effect and volume
changing effect, the calculation model of the sealed annulus
thermal expansion pressure between the packers was
established and a coupling solution was carried out via the
iterative method.
(3) For the full wellbore annulus, the temperature of tubing-
production casing annulus is the highest and the tempera-
ture of intermediate-surface casing annulus is the lowest, the
thermal expansion pressure of tubing-production casing
annulus is the lowest and the thermal expansion pressure of
intermediate-surface casing annulus is the highest with
overall consideration of temperature and volume effect,
releasing pressure of each annulus in the process of pro-
duction and testing can reduce the annulus thermal expan-
sion pressure, otherwise, it will destroy the tubing and casing
and packers.
(4) For the sealed annulus between dual packers, the thermal
expansion pressure increases with the increase of the space
between dual packers and the thermal expansion coefficient
of the annulus fluid and the geothermal gradient, the ther-
mal expansion pressure increases with the decreases of
isothermal compression coefficient of the annulus fluid; The
annulus thermal expansion pressure has a positive linear
correlation with the annulus temperature difference, and the
pressure increment caused by the temperature effect oc-
cupies a leading position, but the contribution rate of the
annulus volume effect to the pressure increment increases
with the increase of the annulus temperature difference.
(5) The calculation results show that a reasonable production
plan is helpful to reduce the annulus thermal expansion
pressure. In addition, with the allowable strength, selecting
production casing with smaller wall thickness contributes to
reducing the annulus expansion pressure too.
Conflict of interests
The authors declare that they do not have any commercial or
associative interest that represents a conflict of interest in
connection with the work submitted.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for the support of the National Science
Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China (Grant no.
51125019), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no.
50904050, 51244007), Project of Building Innovation Team of Sci-
ence and Technology of Sichuan Universities of China (Grant no.
13TD0026).
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