Fatigue Assessment of Drill Pipes

Author(s):  
P. J. Haagensen ◽  
T. I. Grøttum

Fatigue failures during offshore drilling operations is still a very costly problem. The fatigue behavior of drill pipes is reviewed, and typical failure modes are identified. The effects of drill string curvature during directional drilling on pipe body stress and on the fatigue life is examined. Effects on applied mean stress from drill string weight are discussed. Interaction effects of degradation mechanisms such as fatigue, wear and corrosion are evaluated. Experimental background data and statistical evaluation that form the basis for the current design practice issued by American Petroleum Institute (API) and other guidance in codes and standards is reviewed. Results from several recent testing programs performed under rotating bending of pipes with threaded connections, and tests involving the pipe body under resonance conditions are presented. The tests were made with pipe sizes from 2 7/8 in. to 5 7/8 in. in Grade S-135 pipes. The results are compared with published test data and design guidance such as API Recommended Practice G7 [1]. Recommendations are given for research and testing to improve reliability and the safe operation of drill strings.

Author(s):  
Catalin Teodoriu ◽  
Herschel McDonald ◽  
Charles Bollfrass

The new connection designs introduced by the drill pipe manufacturers (double shoulder connections, intelligent drill pipes or any new design for increased torque resistance) make the use of the Farr formula for calculating proper assembly torque more problematic. Additionally, severe drilling conditions like HPHT, directional drilling and extreme environments are affecting critical thread compound performance properties, which can make it impossible to attain the optimum makeup torque for the connection. The new drilling conditions are exposing the drill string components to higher loads and consequently reduce the safety margins. Since the makeup process is the only way to control and achieve the maximum tool joint loading capacity, it becomes important to understand the effect of friction on optimum makeup torque calculation. This paper presents a modified equation for optimum makeup torque calculation by using the latest research on thread compound frictional properties. Also, the thread compound lubrication mechanism will be explained. For the first time the thread turn load will be related to the optimum makeup torque. The paper will also explain why there is a need for a new API standard for determining thread compound frictional properties. The formula developed herein, based on experimental results, demonstrates that the newly introduced overall factor may differentiate between used and new connections.


Author(s):  
Fei Song ◽  
Michael Du ◽  
Ke Li

The bottom hole assembly (BHA) of a modern drill string for directional drilling mainly comprises a drill bit, a rotary steerable system, and a measurement while drilling tool. The tools and subs used on a BHA are screwed together through rotary shouldered threaded connections. Each connection is made up with a pin and a box. These connections are the weakest links when the BHA undergoes a large number of revolutions in a curved well section. When the fatigue life of a connection is consumed during a drilling job, a twist-off would occur, which could result in an enormous amount of non-productive time and possibly loss of the bottom BHA section in the hole. Cold rolling has proven to be able to improve fatigue resistance of a threaded connection by pressing a rolling wheel against the thread root and generating a layer of compressive residual stress at the root. Understanding how cold rolling improves fatigue resistance of a threaded connection is important for optimization of the rolling parameters and prediction of the BHA service life in a given drilling condition. In this paper, a predictive method is presented for fatigue life of a cold rolled threaded connection. A finite element model was developed to simulate the cold rolling process. The resulting deformation and stress states at the root were carried over through makeup of the pin and the box as well as through cyclic bending of the connection. The fatigue life predictions were found to be in favorable agreement with the experimental measurements from full-scale fatigue tests at different bending moment levels applied.


Author(s):  
Haitao Zhang ◽  
Ke Li

Abstract Fatigue is one of the most frequently encountered failure modes of rotary shouldered connections (RSC) used in drill strings. Once initiated, a fatigue crack tends to grow and ultimately lead to a twist-off, which is catastrophic and often results in lengthy non-producing time and expensive fishing operations. The complexity of the fatigue mechanism, the variabilities of material properties, and the nonlinear contact interactions of the pin and the box elements of an RSC pose a substantial challenge to accurately predicting the fatigue life of the RSC. This would require considerable conservatism to be exercised to prevent a twist-off, which causes premature retirement of drilling assets. Using a statistical approach to predict the risk of twist-off (ROTO) of each RSC on the drill string could be a more economically viable solution as it would enable quantified risk assessment and scientifically calculated tradeoffs between performance, cost, and risk of failures. In this study, a methodology for statistical prediction of the ROTO of rotary shouldered threaded connections was developed. First, static material properties, including yield strength, tensile strength, elongation, and reduction in area, were extracted from a wealth of available material certificates. Feature engineering was carried out to arrive at two independent properties, tensile strength and reduction in area. Fatigue properties were then generated with the retrieved static material data and earlier established correlations between static and fatigue properties. Afterwards, elasto-plastic finite element analyses were performed on RSCs made of the same material but with different properties to determine critical fatigue indicators, stress and strain states as respective functions of the tensile strength. Finally, Monte-Carlo simulations were conducted with respect to statistical distributions of the two independent material variables to predict the ROTO as a function of fatigue life. The predictions were found to be favorable agreement with the available full-scale fatigue test data of an API connection type.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 2743-2761
Author(s):  
Caetano P. S. Andrade ◽  
J. Luis Saavedra ◽  
Andrzej Tunkiel ◽  
Dan Sui

AbstractDirectional drilling is a common and essential procedure of major extended reach drilling operations. With the development of directional drilling technologies, the percentage of recoverable oil production has increased. However, its challenges, like real-time bit steering, directional drilling tools selection and control, are main barriers leading to low drilling efficiency and high nonproductive time. The fact inspires this study. Our work aims to contribute to the better understanding of directional drilling, more specifically regarding rotary steerable system (RSS) technology. For instance, finding the solutions of the technological challenges involved in RSSs, such as bit steering control, bit position calculation and bit speed estimation, is the main considerations of our study. Classical definitions from fundamental physics including Newton’s third law, beam bending analysis, bit force analysis, rate of penetration (ROP) modeling are employed to estimate bit position and then conduct RSS control to steer the bit accordingly. The results are illustrated in case study with the consideration of the 2D and 3D wellbore scenarios.


Author(s):  
Feng Chen ◽  
Yonghao Huo ◽  
Haiyi Zhao ◽  
Qinfeng Di ◽  
Wenchang Wang ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryosuke Sato ◽  
Islam Khaled Abdelkarim ◽  
Abdul Rahman Hasan Albeshr ◽  
Takahiro Toki ◽  
Salim Abdalla Al Ali ◽  
...  

Abstract Slot recovery operation can be considered as one of the most time consuming operation. Cut and pull casings, or milling casings have been carried out as typical method of slot recovery. However there are a lot of risks with this typical method such as poor progress of milling, damaging top drive due to high vibration while milling or sudden string jumping up while overpulling and possibility of string stuck caused by poor hole cleaning while milling. We have completed slot recovery operations on numbers of wells, but there were a lot of troubles caused by above mentioned adversaries on rig equipment and taking a lot of time to complete operation. There are several kinds of new slot recovery technologies that may save rig time and less harmful than conventional method. Casing Pulling Tool (CPT) is one of the new technologies which eliminates or mitigates risks mentioned above. CPT has piston internally and it is activated by applying pressure inside string. CPT is run with casing spear and drill pipes. Once spear is engaged with casing and apply pressure inside drill string, CPT provides pulling force on casing. Pulling force is varied depend on the applied pressure and maximum available pulling force is more than 1,000 kips. Hence upper part of string is anchored at rotary table by slips, pulling force is applied on casing and drill string below rotary table. This means no pulling force is applied on top drive and minimize the chance of getting damage on it. As an actual case, we could successfully recover 13-3/8" casing by CPT without having any troubles and complete slot recovery operation with saving rig time compared to the conventional methods. This paper introduces the details about the case mentioned above.


Author(s):  
Jialin Tian ◽  
Jie Wang ◽  
Siqi Zhou ◽  
Yinglin Yang ◽  
Liming Dai

Excessive stick–slip vibration of drill strings can cause inefficiency and unsafety of drilling operations. To suppress the stick–slip vibration that occurred during the downhole drilling process, a drill string torsional vibration system considering the torsional vibration tool has been proposed on the basis of the 4-degree of freedom lumped-parameter model. In the design of the model, the tool is approximated by a simple torsional pendulum that brings impact torque to the drill bit. Furthermore, two sliding mode controllers, U1 and U2, are used to suppress stick–slip vibrations while enabling the drill bit to track the desired angular velocity. Aiming at parameter uncertainty and system instability in the drilling operations, a parameter adaptation law is added to the sliding mode controller U2. Finally, the suppression effects of stick–slip and robustness of parametric uncertainty about the two proposed controllers are demonstrated and compared by simulation and field test results. This paper provides a reference for the suppression of stick–slip vibration and the further study of the complex dynamics of the drill string.


PCI Journal ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörn Remitz ◽  
Martin Empelmann

Pretensioned concrete beams are widely used as bridge girders for simply supported bridges. Understanding the fatigue behavior of such beams is very important for design and construction to prevent fatigue failure. The fatigue behavior of pretensioned concrete beams is mainly influenced by the fatigue of the prestressing strands. The evaluation of previous test results from the literature indicated a reduced fatigue life in the long-life region compared with current design methods and specifications. Therefore, nine additional high-cycle fatigue tests were conducted on pretensioned concrete beams with strand stress ranges of about 100 MPa (14.5 ksi). The test results confirmed that current design methods and specifications overestimate the fatigue life of embedded strands in pretensioned concrete beams.


1995 ◽  
Vol 117 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. P. Brennan

This paper reports full-scale tests on threaded connections used in drill strings. A concise background is given concerning the in-service environment and loading conditions on the connections. This details some of the reasons particular steels are used in preference to others. Crack growth data is given for ten full-scale axial and rotating bend tests. This is compared with predictions from a dedicated weight function fracture mechanics solution designed for threaded connections. Crack aspect ratio is considered with a view to development of an appropriate empirical model.


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