Effect of Drillstring Deflection and Rotary Speed on Annular Frictional Pressure Losses

2014 ◽  
Vol 136 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oney Erge ◽  
Mehmet E. Ozbayoglu ◽  
Stefan Z. Miska ◽  
Mengjiao Yu ◽  
Nicholas Takach ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Law ◽  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Drilling Fluid ◽  
Hole Drilling ◽  
Accurate Estimation ◽  
Turbulent Friction ◽  
Horizontal Drilling ◽  
Pressure Losses ◽  
Power Law Fluids ◽  
Drilling Operations

Keeping the drilling fluid equivalent circulating density in the operating window between the pore and fracture pressure is a challenge, particularly when the gap between these two is narrow, such as in offshore, extended reach, and slim hole drilling applications usually encountered in shale gas and/or oil drilling. To overcome this challenge, accurate estimation of frictional pressure loss in the annulus is essential. A better estimation of frictional pressure losses will enable improved well control, optimized bit hydraulics, a better drilling fluid program, and pump selection. Field and experimental measurements show that pressure loss in annuli is strongly affected by the pipe rotation and eccentricity. The major focus of this project is on a horizontal well setup with drillstring under compression, considering the influence of rotation on frictional pressure losses of yield power law fluids. The test matrix includes flow through the annulus for various buckling modes with and without the rotation of the inner pipe. Sinusoidal, helical, and transition from sinusoidal to helical configurations with and without the drillstring rotation were investigated. Helical configurations with two different pitch lengths are compared. Eight yield power law fluids are tested and consistent results are observed. The drillstring rotation patterns and buckling can be observed due to experimental facility's relatively longer and transparent test section. At the initial position, inner pipe is lying at the bottom due to its extensive length, suggesting a fully eccentric annular geometry. When the drillstring is rotated, whirling, snaking, irregular motions are observed. This state is considered as a free drillstring configuration since there is no prefixed eccentricity imposed on the drillstring. The reason for such design is to simulate the actual drilling operations, especially the highly inclined and horizontal drilling operations. Results show that rotating the drillstring can either increase or decrease the frictional pressure losses. The most pronounced effect of rotation is observed in the transition region from laminar to turbulent flow. The experiments with the buckled drillstring showed significantly reduced frictional pressure losses compared to the free drillstring configuration. Decreasing the length of the pitch caused a further reduction in pressure losses. Using the experimental database, turbulent friction factors for buckled and rotating drillstrings are presented. The drilling industry has recently been involved in incidents that show the need for critical improvements for evaluating and avoiding risks in oil/gas drilling. The information obtained from this study can be used to improve the control of bottomhole pressures during extended reach, horizontal, managed pressure, offshore, and slim hole drilling applications. This will lead to improved safety and enhanced optimization of drilling operations.

Effect of Drillstring Deflection and Rotary Speed on Annular Frictional Pressure Losses

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oney Erge ◽  
Mehmet E. Ozbayoglu ◽  
Stefan Z. Miska ◽  
Mengjiao Yu ◽  
Nicholas Takach ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Drilling Fluid ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Hole Drilling ◽  
Accurate Estimation ◽  
Drilling Fluids ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Pressure Losses ◽  
Gas Drilling ◽  
Fracture Pressure

Keeping the drilling fluid equivalent circulating density in the operating window between the pore and fracture pressure is a challenge, particularly when the gap between these two is narrow, such as in offshore applications. To overcome this challenge, accurate estimation of frictional pressure loss in the annulus is essential, especially for multilateral, extended reach and slim hole drilling applications usually encountered in shale gas and/or oil drilling. A better estimation of frictional pressure losses will provide improved well control, optimized bit hydraulics, a better drilling fluid program and pump selection. Field and experimental measurements showed that pressure loss in the annulus is strongly affected by the pipe rotation and eccentricity. Eccentricity will not be constant throughout a wellbore, especially in highly inclined and horizontal sections. In an actual wellbore, because of rotation speed and the applied weight, some portion of the drillstring will undergo compression. As a result, variable eccentricity will be encountered. At high compression, the drillstring will buckle, resulting in sinusoidal or helical buckling configurations. Most of the drilling fluids used today show highly non-Newtonian flow behavior, which can be characterized using the Yield Power Law (YPL). Nevertheless, in the literature, there is limited information and research on YPL fluids flowing through annular geometries with the inner pipe buckled, rotating, and eccentric. Furthermore, there are discrepancies reported between the estimated and measured frictional pressure losses with or without drillstring rotation of YPL fluids, even when the inner pipe is straight. The major focus of this project is on a horizontal well setup with drillstring under compression, considering the influence of rotation on frictional pressure losses of YPL fluids. The test matrix includes flow through the annulus for various buckling modes with and without rotation of the inner pipe. Sinusoidal, helical and transition from sinusoidal to helical configurations with and without the rotation of the drillstring are investigated. Results show a substantial difference of frictional pressure losses between the non-compressed and compressed drillstring. The drilling industry has recently been involved in incidents that show the need for critical improvements for evaluating and avoiding risks in oil/gas drilling. The information obtained from this study can be used to improve the control of bottomhole pressures during extended reach, horizontal, managed pressure, offshore and slim hole drilling applications. This will lead to safer and enhanced optimization of drilling operations.

Pressure Profile in Annulus: Solids Play a Significant Role

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feifei Zhang ◽  
Stefan Miska ◽  
Mengjiao Yu ◽  
Evren Ozbayoglu ◽  
Nicholas Takach
Keyword(s):  
Flow Rate ◽  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Drilling Fluid ◽  
Pressure Profile ◽  
Accurate Estimation ◽  
Circulation System ◽  
Precise Knowledge ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Wellbore Pressure ◽  
Drilling Operations

In drilling operations, accurate estimation of pressure profile in the wellbore is essential to achieve better bottom hole pressure control. Adjusting the drilling fluid properties and optimizing flow rate require precise knowledge of the pressure profile in the circulation system. Annular pressure profile calculations must consider solids present in the drilling fluid because the solids drilled from formations may have a significant effect on pressure in the wellbore. In cases of high solids fraction or solid pack off, the pressure loss caused by solids is much higher than the friction pressure loss. This paper looks into the effect of solids on the wellbore pressure profile under different conditions. An extensive number of experiments were conducted on a 90-ft-long, 4.5″x8″ full-scale flow loop to simulate field conditions. The effects of solids on pressure profile in the annulus are investigated. In the experimental results, a significant difference is found between the pressure profile with solids and without solids in the wellbore. A practical approach to calculate the pressure profile by considering the effects of solids in the wellbore is developed. This approach is based on the results of solids behavior in the wellbore. Both solids fraction in the well and solids pack off are considered in the proposed approach. The prediction results are in good agreement with the experimental data. The results of this study show how the pressure profile in the wellbore varies when solids present in the annulus. The pressure gradient with solids can be several times larger than the pure friction loss without solids. A decrease in flow rate may lead to a higher pressure profile and the risk of solids pack off in the wellbore because it increases the solids fraction. Results of this paper may have important applications in drilling operations.

Modeling and Experimental Study of Newtonian Fluid Flow in Annulus

2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehmet Sorgun ◽  
M. Evren Ozbayoglu ◽  
Ismail Aydin
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Drilling Fluid ◽  
Mechanistic Model ◽  
Tangential Velocity ◽  
Petroleum Engineering ◽  
Flow Loop ◽  
Pressure Losses ◽  
Laminar And Turbulent Flow ◽  
Drilling Operations

A major concern in drilling operations is the proper determination of frictional pressure loss in order to select a mud pump and avoid any serious problems. In this study, a mechanistic model is proposed for predicting the frictional pressure losses of light drilling fluid, which can be used for concentric annuli. The experimental data that were available in the literature and conducted at the Middle East Technical University-Petroleum Engineering (METU-PETE) flow loop as well as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software are used to verify the results from the proposed mechanistic model. The results showed that the proposed model can estimate frictional pressure losses within a ±10% error interval when compared with the experimental data. Additionally, the effect of the pipe eccentricity on frictional pressure loss and tangential velocity using CFD for laminar and turbulent flow is also examined. It has been observed that pipe eccentricity drastically increases the tangential velocity inside the annulus; especially, the flow regime is turbulent and frictional pressure loss decreases as the pipe eccentricity increases.

Annular Frictional Pressure Losses During Drilling—Predicting the Effect of Drillstring Rotation

2014 ◽  
Vol 136 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arild Saasen
Keyword(s):  
Rheological Properties ◽  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Drilling Fluid ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Drilling Fluids ◽  
Unstable Flow ◽  
Pressure Losses ◽  
Shear Dependent Viscosity ◽  
Water Based ◽  
Dependent Viscosity

Controlling the annular frictional pressure losses is important in order to drill safely with overpressure without fracturing the formation. To predict these pressure losses, however, is not straightforward. First of all, the pressure losses depend on the annulus eccentricity. Moving the drillstring to the wall generates a wider flow channel in part of the annulus which reduces the frictional pressure losses significantly. The drillstring motion itself also affects the pressure loss significantly. The drillstring rotation, even for fairly small rotation rates, creates unstable flow and sometimes turbulence in the annulus even without axial flow. Transversal motion of the drillstring creates vortices that destabilize the flow. Consequently, the annular frictional pressure loss is increased even though the drilling fluid becomes thinner because of added shear rate. Naturally, the rheological properties of the drilling fluid play an important role. These rheological properties include more properties than the viscosity as measured by API procedures. It is impossible to use the same frictional pressure loss model for water based and oil based drilling fluids even if their viscosity profile is equal because of the different ways these fluids build viscosity. Water based drilling fluids are normally constructed as a polymer solution while the oil based are combinations of emulsions and dispersions. Furthermore, within both water based and oil based drilling fluids there are functional differences. These differences may be sufficiently large to require different models for two water based drilling fluids built with different types of polymers. In addition to these phenomena washouts and tool joints will create localised pressure losses. These localised pressure losses will again be coupled with the rheological properties of the drilling fluids. In this paper, all the above mentioned phenomena and their consequences for annular pressure losses will be discussed in detail. North Sea field data is used as an example. It is not straightforward to build general annular pressure loss models. This argument is based on flow stability analysis and the consequences of using drilling fluids with different rheological properties. These different rheological properties include shear dependent viscosity, elongational viscosity and other viscoelastic properties.

The Effects of Drillstring-Eccentricity, -Rotation, and -Buckling Configurations on Annular Frictional Pressure Losses While Circulating Yield-Power-Law Fluids

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (03) ◽  
pp. 257-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oney Erge ◽  
Evren Mehmet Ozbayoglu ◽  
Stefan Miska ◽  
Mengjiao Yu ◽  
Nicholas Takach ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Law ◽  
Pressure Losses ◽  
Power Law Fluids

An Accurate Model for Prediction of Turbulent Frictional Pressure Loss of Power-Law Fluids in Eccentric Geometries

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Vahid Dokhani ◽  
Yue Ma ◽  
Zili Li ◽  
Mengjiao Yu
Keyword(s):  
Power Law ◽  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Eddy Viscosity ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Drilling Fluids ◽  
Eddy Viscosity Model ◽  
Friction Factors ◽  
Power Law Fluids ◽  
Eccentric Annuli

Summary The effect of axial flow of power-law drilling fluids on frictional pressure loss under turbulent conditions in eccentric annuli is investigated. A numerical model is developed to simulate the flow of Newtonian and power-law fluids for eccentric annular geometries. A turbulent eddy-viscosity model based on the mixing-length approach is proposed, where a damping constant as a function of flow parameters is presented to account for the near-wall effects. Numerical results including the velocity profile, eddy viscosity, and friction factors are compared with various sets of experimental data for Newtonian and power-law fluids in concentric and eccentric annular configurations with diameter ratios of 0.2 to 0.8. The simulation results are also compared with a numerical study and two approximate models in the literature. The results of extensive simulation scenarios are used to obtain a novel correlation for estimation of the frictional pressure loss in eccentric annuli under turbulent conditions. Two new correlations are also presented to estimate the maximum axial velocity in the wide and narrow sections of eccentric geometries.

Non-Newtonian Flow in Eccentric Annuli

1990 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 163-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Haciislamoglu ◽  
J. Langlinais
Keyword(s):  
Velocity Profile ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Annular Flow ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Drilling Fluids ◽  
Viscosity Term ◽  
Power Law Fluids ◽  
Eccentric Annuli

A common assumption for annular flow used in the petroleum industry is that the inner pipe is concentrically located inside the flow geometry; however, this is rarely the case, even in slightly deviated wells. Considering the increasing number of directional and horizontal wells, the flow behavior of drilling fluids and cement slurries in eccentric annuli is becoming particularly important. In this paper, the governing equation of laminar flow is numerically solved using a finite differences technique to obtain velocity and viscosity profiles of yield-power law fluids (including Bingham plastic and power law fluids). Later, the velocity profile is integrated to obtain flow rate. Results show that the velocity profile is substantially altered in the annulus when the inner pipe is no longer concentric. Stagnant regions of flow were calculated in the low side of the hole. Viscosity profiles predicted for an eccentric annulus show how misleading the widely used single-value apparent viscosity term can be for non-Newtonian fluids. Profiles of velocity and viscosity in concentric and varying eccentric annuli are presented in 3-D and 2-D contour plots for a better visualization of annular flow. Frictional pressure loss gradient versus flow rate relationship data for power law fluids is generated using the computer program. Later, this data is fitted to obtain a simple equation utilizing regressional analysis, allowing for a quick calculation of friction pressure losses in eccentric annuli. For a given flow rate, frictional pressure loss is reduced as the inner pipe becomes eccentric. In most cases, about a 50-percent reduction in frictional pressure loss is predicted when the inner pipe lies on the low side.

Investigation of Pressure Losses in Eccentric Inclined Annuli

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Rushd ◽  
R. A. Sultan ◽  
A. Rahman ◽  
V. Kelessidis
Keyword(s):  
Power Law ◽  
Fluid Velocity ◽  
Petroleum Industry ◽  
Pressure Losses ◽  
Hydraulic Design ◽  
Power Law Fluids ◽  
Hydraulic Conditions ◽  
Drillpipe Rotation ◽  
Extended Reach Drilling ◽  
Fluid Rheology

Accurate pressure drop estimation is vital in the hydraulic design of annular drillholes in Petroleum Industry. The present study investigates the effects of fluid velocity, fluid type, fluid rheology, drillpipe rotation speed, drillpipe eccentricity and drillhole inclinationon on pressure losses with the presence of cuttings using both experiments and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The eccentricity of the drillpipe is varied in the range of 0 – 100% and it rotates about its own axis at 0 – 150 rpm. The diameter ratio of the simulated drillhole is 0.56 and it is inclined in the range of 0 – 15°. The effects of fluid rheology are addressed by testing power law and yield power law fluids. Both of the laminar and turbulent conditions are experimentally tested and numerically simulated. Experimental data confirmed the validity of current CFD model developed using ANSYS 16.2 platform. The goal of the current work is to develop a comprehensive CFD tool that can be used for modeling the hydraulic conditions associated with hole cleaning in extended reach drilling.

CFD and Experimental Studies of Yield Power-Law Fluids in Turbulent Pipe Flow

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdalsalam Ihmoudah ◽  
M. A. Rahman ◽  
Stephen D. Butt
Keyword(s):  
Turbulent Flow ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Xanthan Gum ◽  
Newtonian Fluids ◽  
Turbulent Pipe Flow ◽  
Flow Loop ◽  
Horizontal Pipe ◽  
Cfd Models ◽  
Power Law Fluids

The transport of Non-Newtonian fluids through pipelines and mud circulation in wellbores often occur in turbulent flow regimes. In this study, experiments and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models are used to examine the influence of yield power law (YPL) fluid rheological properties on pressure loss in the flow loop in turbulent flow. Three Non-Newtonian fluids at different concentrations of Xanthan gum solutions (0.05%, 0.10% and 0.15%, by weight) are studied at flow rates ranging between 400 and 800 L/min. A fully instrumented flow loop system was used, consisting of three main sections of different inclinations: 5 m long horizontal, 5 m vertical, and 3 m inclined 45° test section. Additionally, CFD codes of ANSYS CFX 17.2 are examined and compared to experimental results. These models are based on the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. The comparison is done with the results of these investigations, based on vertical and horizontal pipe frictional pressure drops. The results show that the gap between experimental and CFD models has been increased in comparison with increase concentration Xanthan gum solution at the same density of fluids. Specifically, pressure loss rises with rises in the consistency index, k and flow behaviour index, However, rises in yield stress τ0 showed less impacts on frictional pressure losses. Given these simulation outcomes, it is clear that pressure drop in the Non-Newtonian fluid in one phase flow can be more accurately predicted by used the Reynolds-Stress Models (RSM) more than Eddy-viscosity models.

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