BHA Design

Prepare by:
Amin Mohammed Alabbas
Drilling Engineer
Design Factors:
Excess BHA Weight:
This factor establishes the amount of BHA weight in excess of the bit
weight that a given BHA will contain. The excess weight provides an
extra margin to keep the neutral point below the top of the BHA. The
recommended value for DFBHA is 1.15.
Tension (DFT):
This is the factor divided into drill pipe tube tensile capacity to establish
the maximum allowable tensile load for a given tube. DFT Values from
1.0 to 1.1 are commonly used.
Margin Of Over-pull (MOP):
This is the desired excess tensile capacity above the normal hanging or
working load to account for hole drag and stuck pipe. This value varies
from 50,000 to 150,000 lbs.
Design depends on:

1) Hole depth and size.

2) Mud weight.
3) Safety factor (SF).
4) WOB.
Design Procedure:

Select Drill Collar Diameter:

Key considerations:
• Fish-ability.
• Capabilities of the rig handling equipment.
• Directional control requirements.
• Hydraulics.
What is the relationship between casing coupling OD and drill collar OD ?
Select BHA connections and Features:
Bending stress ratio:
BSR is a ratio of the relative stiffness of the box to the pin for a
given connection.

Recommended BSR ranges: Traditional BSR Recommended BSR

< 6 inches 2.25 - 2.75 1.8 - 2.5
6 – 7 7/8 inches 2.25 – 2.75 2.25 - 2.75
>/= 8 inches 2.25 – 2.75 2.5- 3.2
Determine Length Of Drill Collar Section:

The length of the drill collar section will be determined

in part by whether or not HWDP is to be used for bit
weight and by the BHA configuration.
Three types of BHA configurations are covered in these
design recommendations.
 DP
Type A

This configuration uses HWDP

above the DC as transition to
HWDP
smooth the abrupt section change.
Full weight on bit is still applied
NP
with drill collar.

DC
 DP
Type B
This configuration has only enough
DC to achieve desired directional
NP
control or other objective and
HWDP
applies bit Wight with both DC and
HWDP. It provides easier and faster
rig floor handling of the BHA,
reduces differential stacking
tendency and has apparently
DC reduced DC connection failures.
 DP

Type C

This type has more than one

HWDP
DC size but still applies bit
NP
weight with both DC and
HWDP.
DC

DC
Type B and C BHAs

If a Type B or Type C BHA configuration is used, the

number of drill collars is determined by directional
control, equipment availability or other considerations.

The amount of HWDP required to apply the necessary

WOB and keep the neutral point in the BHA can be
determined as we did in type A for drill collars.
Determine Length Of HWDP Section:

Type A BHAs :

For a type A BHA configuration, the amount of HWDP

for transition is determined by past experience.

Anywhere from 12 to 30 joints is common.

Type B and C BHAs :

When HWDP will be used for bit weight, the minimum

length of HWDP to provide the desired weight on bit is
calculated as follows:

LHWDP : The min length of HWDP.

WHWDP : HWDP air weight .
Stiffness Ratio :

The Stiffness Ratio (SR) of the sections above and below each
transition must be compared to help quantify the need for
transition pipe.
This is accomplished by dividing the section modulus (Z) of
the lower section tube by the section modulus of the upper
one.
Like BSR, stiffness ratio is not a strictly quantitative
performance limit, and experience should be a major
determinant in setting the desired maximum SR.

•  For routine drilling or very low failure rate experience, keep

SR below 5.5.

• For severe drilling or for significant failure rate experience,

keep SR below 3.5.
Stabilizers:

The size and placement of stabilizers is often determined by

directional considerations. However, stabilizers also impact other
important design concerns:
In a vertical hole, the lower part of the BHA will be buckled and
supported by the sides of the hole. Stabilizers reduce connection
stress by restricting the freedom of lateral drill collar movement.
This lengthens connection fatigue life, other things constant.
If mechanical sticking is a concern, more or larger stabilizers may
increase the chance of becoming stuck. On the other hand,
stabilizers can reduce the probability of differential sticking by
holding drill collars away from the side of the hole.
 Jar:

The two main considerations for jar placement are

preventing jar fatigue failure and maximizing jar impact at
the probable sticking location.

For fatigue failure prevention in vertical or near vertical

wells, the "rule of thumb" is to run jars in "tension" (above
the axial neutral point ).

More recently, jar companies say that it's acceptable to run

jars in "compression" (below the axial neutral point) but
not at the "axial neutral point" itself.
Neutral Point:
The neutral point is usually defined as the point in the
drill string where the axial stress changes from
compression to tension.
The location of this neutral point depends on the WOB
and the buoyancy factor of the drilling fluid.

•In practice did the position of neutral point changes?

•Neutral Point Calculation?
Drill Pipe Tension Design:
The basis for selecting various pipe grades to make up a
drill string is to always maintain at least the desired
Margin of Over pull (MOP) at all points in the string.
This is accomplished by adding the lowest pipe grade a
joint at a time starting from the top of the BHA and
working upward.
Each joint must support the BHA weight plus the drill
pipe below that joint.
When the working load (PW) is reached for that grade
of drill pipe, the drill pipe is switched to a higher grade.
This process continues until the string is complete.
 Example:
Well Data: Drill Collar available:
TD: 13000ft. 8 ¼” OD, 160ppf.
Hole: 12 1/4”. 6 ½” OD, 90ppf.
Casing: 9.625”.
Collar size: 10.625”.
MW: 12ppg. Drill Pipe available:
5” OD:
Max WOB: 50KIb.
G105, 21.5ppf, yield 436150.
O/P margin: 150KIb.
S135, 22.4ppf, yield 560764.
BHA: 100 kIb
No of Drill collar used. BHA : 1000ft
Max length of etch Drill Pipe grad use.