MINIMIZATON OF FATIGUE FAILURE

IN COIL TUBING UNIT

Submitted To:- Submitted By:-

Prof. Dhruba Jyoti Neog Ankur Sarmah (02)
Assistant Professor Irfan Sunny Baruah (11)
Department Of Petroleum Technology M.Tech (2nd Sem)
Dibrugarh University
 INTRODUCTION
 Coiled Tubing is an electric-welded pipe
manufactured with one longitudinal seam formed
by high frequency induction welding without the
addition of filler metal.

 Coiled Tubing well intervention and drilling

operations require that the continuous-length tube
be subjected to repeated deployment and retrieval
cycles during its working life.

 The working life of the CT depends on bend-

cycle fatigue, internal pressure loading, applied
axial loading, corrosion, and mechanical damages
which act to some extent on CT and a proper
understanding and decision making is required to
maximize the working life of Coil Tubing.
 BEND CYCLE FATIGUE AND BENT EVENT SEQUENCE
 Fatigue is generally considered the single major factor in determining the working
life of Coiled Tubing.

 The deployment and retrieval of the continuous-length tubing string require that the
tube be subjected to repeated bending and straightening events, commonly referred to as
“bend-cycling.”

 The amount of strain imposed upon the tube body during the bend-cycling process is
considered to be enormous, in many cases on the order of 2 to 3%.

 However, when the bend-cycling process is coupled with internal tube pressure
loading, conventional multi axial life prediction approaches cannot accurately predict
CT behaviour. Numerous tests performed have confirmed the fact that bend-cycling CT
with internal pressure loading dramatically reduces the fatigue life of the tube when
compared to the cycle life of unpressurized tubing.
 CONTINUED

 The fatigue imparted to the CT material during normal service

operations is the result of bending the continuous-length tubing beyond its
elastic limit and forcing the material into plastic deformation
 DIAMETRAL GROWTH
 CONTINUED
 COMMONLY USED FATIGUE MITIGATING
METHODS

 Running feet method

 Trip or empirical method

 Theoretical Method
 RUNNING FEET METHOD

 Most simple approach

 The deployed footage(MD) is recorded for each job, which is added to

the previous record.

 Depending upon the service environment, type of service, field history

etc. The CT is retired after it reaches a certain amount of footage.
 CONTINUED

Limitations-

 No consideration of corrosion

 No consideration of time

 No consideration of tubing wall thickness and material

 No consideration of internal pressure, goose neck radius and reel

radius.
 TRIP OR EMPIRICAL METHOD

 Extension of running feet

 It considers coil tubing as a series of partitioned segment length

ranges from 100’ to 400’.

 Applies greater sensitivity to working life analysis by considering the

sections which were subjected to maximum bending.

 Considers the internal fluid pressure while determining the fatigue

factor.

 A database is created from which a projected working life is obtained.

 CONTINUED
Limitations-

 No consideration of corrosive action of running fluid.

 To determine the fatigue coefficient experimentally, bend cycle test is

required which is time consuming and expensive.

 Does not consider tube body damage as a result of well servicing.

 THEORETICAL METHOD

 Theoretical prediction is done based on fundamental concepts of

fatigue.

 Tube geometry, bending radius and tube material is considered which

enhances the sensitivity of analysis.

 Algorithm is used to determine the instantaneous stress/strain

condition which is used to analyze the reduction in working tubing life.

 When it comes to variable loading condition, good results are

obtained.
 CONTINUED

Limitation-

Algorithms used for analysis applies uni-axial load condition to

multi-axial material properties.

Does not consider tubing body damage in well servicing.

Prediction is limited to fixed internal pressure.

 CONCLUSION

 The working life can be extended by increasing the reel and goose
neck radius.

 Thick walled tubings have higher working life.

 Higher the yield strength, higher the working life.

 Variation of internal pressure should be minimized if possible. Higher

the variation, lower is the working life.