Implementation of Circular Wave Measurements and Multiple Drilling Parameter Analysis in Rock Anisotropy Evaluation

Author(s):  
Abdelsalam N. Abugharara ◽  
Charles A. Hurich ◽  
John Molgaard ◽  
Stephen D. Butt

A laboratory procedure has been developed to evaluate the anisotropy of Rock Like Material (RLM), granite, red shale, and green shale. This procedure involves detailed anisotropy evaluation steps through implementing circular ultrasonic wave velocity measurements, representing physical measurement and multiple drilling parameters (MDP), representing drilling performance. The physical tests involved circular pattern measurements of compressional and shear wave velocities, VP and VS, respectively. The drilling tests involved drilling samples of each rock in different a 25.4 mm Diamond Coring bit. The MDP included the study of the variations of Rate of Penetration (ROP), bit cutter Depth of Cut (DOC), Revolution Per Minute (RPM), and Torque (TRQ). The MPD were studied as function of orientations under atmospheric pressure. In addition to the physical and drilling evaluation, mechanical tests, such as Oriented Unconfined Compressive Strength (OUCS) were also used in rock anisotropy evaluation. Concrete with fine aggregate and Portland cement is used as RLM for much of the laboratory work. This material was cast into cylinders measuring 101.6 mm by 152.4 mm and 203.2 mm by 203.2 mm, from which NQ; 47.6mm core samples were taken. Coring was performed in three main orientations including 0°, 45°, and 90°. Characterization tests were performed on the RLM cores as they were conducted on the natural rock that included granite and red shale as isotropic and vertical transverse isotropic rocks, respectively. A fully instrumented lab-scale rotary drilling rig was used in conducting the drilling experiments. Details on the strategy for the tests on the anisotropy evaluation with results from laboratory work on natural rocks and RLM are reported. Result of the effect of shale anisotropy orientation on the drilling parameters that influence ROP as means of anisotropy evaluation are also, reported.

Author(s):  
Abdelsalam N. Abugharara ◽  
John Molgaard ◽  
Charles A. Hurich ◽  
Stephen D. Butt

Abstract Coring natural rocks (granite) and synthetic rocks (rock like material, RLM) using diamond impregnated coring bit was performed by A rigid coring system. RLM and granite were previously tested to be isotropic rocks by the author [1, 2, 3, 4] A baseline procedure was developed for isotropic rock characterization [2] and this work is to contribute to the developed baseline procedure by considering downhole dynamic weight on bit (DDWOB). The drilling parameters involved in the analysis included rate of penetration (ROP) depth of cut (DOC), rpm, and torque. All parameters were studied as a function of DDWOB at 300 and 600 input rpm. A fully instrumented laboratory scale rotary drilling rig was used with 5 liter/minute water flow rate. Samples were first cored in 47.6 mm diameter in the desired orientations. Samples of granite were cored in two perpendicular directions (vertical and horizontal) and samples of RLM were cored in three directions including vertical, oblique, and horizontal. The coring experiments were performed using 25.4 mm diamond impregnated coring bit. At each input rpm and at each applied static weight, multiple coring runs were repeated and then averaged; therefore, each point of the displayed data was averaged of at least three repeated experiments at the same inputs. DDWOB was recorded by a load cell fixed beneath the sample holder and connected to a Data Acquisition System that records at 1000 HZ sampling rate. Several sensors were used to record the required data, including operational rotary speed, advancement of drill bit for ROP calculation, and motor current for torque measurement. Results showed similar trends in different orientations at the same inputs demonstrating RLM and granite isotropy. The results also showed the influence of DDWOB on ROP, DOC, rpm, and torque (TRQ) expanding the baseline procedure through considering DDWOB for isotropic rock characterization.


Author(s):  
Daiyan Ahmed ◽  
Yingjian Xiao ◽  
Jeronimo de Moura ◽  
Stephen D. Butt

Abstract Optimum production from vein-type deposits requires the Narrow Vein Mining (NVM) process where excavation is accomplished by drilling larger diameter holes. To drill into the veins to successfully extract the ore deposits, a conventional rotary drilling rig is mounted on the ground. These operations are generally conducted by drilling a pilot hole in a narrow vein followed by a hole widening operation. Initially, a pilot hole is drilled for exploration purposes, to guide the larger diameter hole and to control the trajectory, and the next step in the excavation is progressed by hole widening operation. Drilling cutting properties, such as particle size distribution, volume, and shape may expose a significant drilling problem or may provide justification for performance enhancement decisions. In this study, a laboratory hole widening drilling process performance was evaluated by drilling cutting analysis. Drill-off Tests (DOT) were conducted in the Drilling Technology Laboratory (DTL) by dint of a Small Drilling Simulator (SDS) to generate the drilling parameters and to collect the cuttings. Different drilling operations were assessed based on Rate of Penetration (ROP), Weight on Bit (WOB), Rotation per Minute (RPM), Mechanical Specific Energy (MSE) and Drilling Efficiency (DE). A conducive schedule for achieving the objectives was developed, in addition to cuttings for further interpretation. A comprehensive study for the hole widening operation was conducted by involving intensive drilling cutting analysis, drilling parameters, and drilling performance leading to recommendations for full-scale drilling operations.


Author(s):  
Abdelsalam N. Abugharara ◽  
Abourawi M. Alwaar ◽  
Stephen D. Butt ◽  
Charles A. Hurich

This paper describes a baseline investigation to confirm the isotropy of rocks material through physical and mechanical measurements followed by oriented drilling. This baseline is intended to evaluate drilling experiments in anisotropic rock materials to determine the significance of the anisotropy on drilling performance. The conducted tests include oriented measurements of compressional and shear wave velocities (Vp and Vs, respectively), density, Elastic Moduli, Point Load Strength Index (PLI), Indirect Tensile (IT) strength, and Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS). The oriented laboratory drilling experiments were conducted under various pump flow rates and several weights on bit (WOB). In this work, an isotropic rock like material (RLM) was developed using Portland cement and fine-grained aggregate. The tested RLM specimens were of medium strength of ∼50 MPa. The RLM samples were cored in different orientations and then, tested and drilled according to these orientations. (e.g. 0°, 45° and 90°, representing horizontal, diagonal and vertical directions, respectively). Two main sets of lab tests were performed including pre-drilling and drilling tests. For the pre-drilling lab experiments, two main sets of tests were conducted to determine the physical and mechanical properties of samples (as outlined above) including PLI, IT, UCS, Vp, Vs, density and corresponding isotropic Dynamic Elastic Moduli. For the drilling tests, a vertical lab scale drilling rig was used with a 35 mm dual-cutter Polycrystalline Diamond Compact “PDC” bit. The drilling parameters involved were flow rates, nominal rotary speed of 300 rpm, and various WOB under atmospheric pressure. The relationships between the drilling data were analyzed including drilling rate of penetration (ROP), depth of cut (DOC), and corresponding effective WOB. The results of all mechanical, physical and drilling measurements and tests show consistent values indicating the isotropy of the tested rock material. This consistency verifies that the drilling tests are free of bias associated with drilling orientation.


Author(s):  
Abdelsalam N. Abugharara ◽  
Charles A. Hurich ◽  
John Molgaard ◽  
Stephen D. Butt

The influence of shale anisotropy orientation on shale drilling performance has been studied using a new laboratory procedure. This procedure includes drilling and testing three sets of shale samples in different orientations from a single rock sample. Shale samples of different types were collected from outcrops located at Conception Bay South (CBS) in Newfoundland, Canada. For predrilling tests, oriented physical and mechanical measurements on each type of shale were conducted on the same rocks that will be drilled later. For drilling tests, three sets of tests were conducted. Each set was in a different orientation, corresponding to those in the physical and mechanical measurements. Each set was conducted under the same drilling parameters of pressure, flow rate (FR), and weight on bit (WOB) using a fully instrumented laboratory scale drilling rig. Two different types of drill bits were used, including a 35 mm dual cutter PDC bit and a 25.4 mm diamond coring bit. The drilling data was analyzed by constructing relationships between drilling rate of penetration (ROP) versus orientation (i.e. 0°, 45°, or 90°). The analysis also included relationships between WOB and bit cutter Depth of Cut (DOC), Revolution Per Minute (RPM), and Torque (TRQ). All the above relations were evaluated as a function of shale bedding orientation. This evaluation can assist in understanding the influence of shale anisotropy on oriented drilling. Details of the conducted tests and results are reported.


2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. N. Abugharara ◽  
Bashir Mohamed ◽  
C. Hurich ◽  
J. Molgaard ◽  
S. D. Butt

The influence of shale anisotropy and orientation on shale drilling performance was studied with an instrumented laboratory drilling rig with a 38.1-mm dual-cutter polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bit, operating at a nominally fixed rotational speed with a constant rate of flow of drilling fluid—water. However, the rate of rotation (rpm) was affected by the weight on bit (WOB), as was the torque (TRQ) produced. The WOB also affected the depth of cut (DOC). All these variables, WOB, rpm, TRQ, and DOC, were monitored dynamically, for example, rpm with a resolution of one-third of a revolution (samples at time intervals of 0.07 s.) The shale studied was from Newfoundland and was compared with similar tests on granite, also from a local site. Similar tests were also conducted on the concrete made with fine aggregate, used as “rock-like material” (RLM). The shale samples were embedded (laterally confined) in the concrete while drilled in directions perpendicular, parallel, and at 45 deg orientations to bedding planes. Cores were produced from all three materials in several directions for the determination of oriented physical properties derived from ultrasonic testing and oriented unconfined compressive strength (OUCS). In the case of shale, directions were set relative to the bedding. In this study, both primary (or compression) velocity Vp and shear ultrasonic velocity Vs were found to vary with orientation on the local shale samples cored parallel to bedding planes, while Vp and Vs varied, but only slightly, with orientation in tests on granite and RLM. The OUCS data for shale, published elsewhere, support the OUCS theory of this work. The OUCS is high perpendicular and parallel to shale bedding, and is low oblique to shale bedding. Correlations were found between the test parameters determined from the drilling tests on local shale. As expected, ROP, DOC, and TRQ increase with increasing WOB, while there are inverse relationships between ROP, DOC, and TRQ with rpm on the other hand. All these parameters vary with orientation to the bedding plane.


Author(s):  
Abourawi Alwaar ◽  
Abdelsalam N. Abugharara ◽  
Stephen D. Butt

The objective of this work is to evaluate the influence of the implementing the downhole Passive Vibration Assisting Rotary Drilling (pVARD) Tool on enhancing drilling performance using a numerical study utilizing a Particle Flow Code (PFC-2D). The work is comprised of a numerical study of a simulation using the PFC-2D on an experimental work described in ARMA 15-492 (Rana et al, 2015). The numerical study was performed to validate the experimental work following the steps, procedure, and conditions performed in the laboratory work. The numerical study of the laboratory work involves not only the evaluation of drilling rate of penetration (ROP), but it also includes the Depth of Cut (DOC) of the bit cutters and the Mechanical Specific Energy (MSE). This numerical work also includes comparison study of drilling performance under various configurations of the pVARD tool, which represents a controlled downhole vibration against the rigid drilling configuration that represents the conventional rotary drilling. The pVARD configurations involves pVARD low spring compliance, medium spring compliance, and high spring compliance. The drilling output parameters of DOC, MSE, and ROP are then studied and analyzed in all pVARD and non-pVARD configurations. Likewise of the experimental work, the result of the numerical simulation approves the experimental work and it indicates the positive effect of utilizing the downhole pVARD on improving ROP. The drilling performance enhancement is also supported by the DOC and the MSE result.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrey Alexandrovich Rebrikov ◽  
Anton Anatolyevich Koschenkov ◽  
Anastasiya Gennadievna Rakina ◽  
Igor Dmitrievich Kortunov ◽  
Nikita Vladimirovich Koshelev ◽  
...  

Abstract Currently, production and exploration drilling has entered a stage of development where one of the highest priority goals is to reduce the time for well construction with new technologies and innovations. One of the key components in this aspect is the utilizing of the latest achievements in the design and manufacture of rock cutting tools – drill bits. This article presents some new ideas on methods for identifying different types of vibrations when drilling with PDC bits using a system of sensors installed directly into the bit itself. In the oil and gas fields of Eastern Siberia, one of the main reasons for ineffective drilling with PDC bits are vibrations, which lead to premature wear of the cutting structure of the bit and the achievement of low ROPs in the dolomite and dolerite intervals. For efficient drilling of wells of various trajectories with a bottom hole assembly (BHA), including a downhole motor (PDM) and a PDC bit, special attention is paid to control of the bit by limiting the depth of cut, as well as the level of vibrations that occur during drilling process. Often, the existing complex of surface and BHA equipment fails to identify vibrations that occur directly on the bit, as well as to establish the true cause of their occurrence. Therefore, as an innovative solution to this problem, a system of sensors installed directly into the bit itself is proposed. The use of such a system makes it possible to determine the drilling parameters, differentiated depending on the lithological properties of rocks, leading to an increase in vibration impact. Together with the Operators, tests have been successfully carried out, which have proven the effectiveness of the application of this technology. The data obtained during the field tests made it possible to determine the type and source of vibration very accurately during drilling. In turn, this made it possible to precisely adjust the drilling parameters according to the drilled rocks, to draw up a detailed road map of effective drilling in a specific interval. Correction of drilling parameters based on the analysis of data obtained from sensors installed in the bit made it possible to reduce the resulting wear of the PDC bit cutting structure and, if necessary, make changes to the bit design to improve the technical and economic indicators. Thus, the use of a system of sensors for measuring the drilling parameters in a bit ensured the dynamic stability of the entire BHA at the bottomhole when drilling in rocks of different hardness, significantly reduced the wear of the drilling tools and qualitatively improved the drilling performance.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 171-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yashvir Singh ◽  
Amneesh Singla ◽  
Ajay Kumar

AbstractThis paper presents a statistical analysis of process parameters for surface roughness in drilling of Al/Al2O3p metal matrix composite. The experimental studies were conducted under varying spindle speed, feed rate, point angle of drill. The settings of drilling parameters were determined by using Taguchi experimental design method. The level of importance of the drilling parameters is determined by using analysis of variance. The optimum drilling parameter combination was obtained by using the analysis of signal-to-noise ratio. Through statistical analysis of response variables and signal-to-noise ratios, the determined significant factors are depth of cut and drill point angle with the contributions of 87% and 12% respectively, whereas the cutting speed is insignificant contributing by 1% only. Confirmation tests verified that the selected optimal combination of process parameter through Taguchi design was able to achieve desired surface roughness.


Author(s):  
Magnus Nystad ◽  
Bernt Aadnoy ◽  
Alexey Pavlov

Abstract The Rate of Penetration (ROP) is one of the key parameters related to the efficiency of the drilling process. Within the confines of operational limits, the drilling parameters affecting the ROP should be optimized to drill more efficiently and safely, to reduce the overall cost of constructing the well. In this study, a data-driven optimization method called Extremum Seeking (ES) is employed to automatically find and maintain the optimal Weight on Bit (WOB) which maximizes the ROP. The ES algorithm is a model-free method which gathers information about the current downhole conditions by automatically performing small tests with the WOB and executing optimization actions based on the test results. In this paper, this optimization method is augmented with a combination of a predictive and a reactive constraint handling technique to adhere to operational limitations. These methods of constraint handling within ES application to drilling are demonstrated for a maximal limit imposed on the surface torque, but the methods are generic and can be applied on various drilling parameters. The proposed optimization scheme has been tested with experiments on a downscaled drilling rig and simulations on a high-fidelity drilling simulator of a full-scale drilling operation. The experiments and simulations show the method's ability to steer the system to the optimum and to handle constraints and noisy data, resulting in safe and efficient drilling at high ROP.


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