Eccentric String Reamer for ECD Reduction in the Depleted Field of Gulf of Thailand GoT

This paper presents a method of reducing equivalent circulating density (ECD) while drilling using eccentric string reamers (ESR) with adjustable gage stabilizer (AGS) in Gulf of Thailand (GoT). Reduced ECD in slimhole is desirable when drilling depleted reservoirs as reduced borehole pressure can reduce or delay drilling fluid loss events. Delaying losses can allow well depth to be increased with the prospect of penetrating otherwise unrealized pay horizons and increasing reserves capture. Several methods of reducing ECD were considered but most solutions included changing drill string and/or casing design specifications with prohibitive cost. A low-cost, low operational-impact solution was needed. Hole-opening is a method of increasing annular clearance, but well delivery requirements of ~4.5 days per well necessitates a one-trip solution without introducing significant ROP reduction or negatively impact bottomhole assembly (BHA) walking tendencies. Further, the preferred solution must be compatible with a high temperature reservoir drilling environment and must not undermine drilling system operational reliability. A simple but controversial tool for hole opening is ESR. ESR’s are simple in that there are no moving parts or cutter blocks to shift, and operating cost is low. They are controversial due to uncertainty that the tool eccentricity and drilling dynamics will successfully open hole to the desired diameter. Given that the intent of this hole-opening application is limited to creating annular clearance for fluid, not mechanical clearance, the eccentric reamer solution was chosen for field trial and potential development. A tool design challenge was to create a reamer geometry with the desired enlargement ratio (6⅛-in. to 6⅞-in.) while drilling, and reliably drift surface equipment and casing without complications. The ESR design must efficiently drill-out cement and float equipment as well as heterogeneous shale/sand/mudstone interbedded formation layers without significant vibration. If successful, the enlarged hole diameter will increase annular clearance, reduce ECD, improve hole cleaning, and allow drilling depth to be increased to capture additional reserves The plug and play functionality of the ESR required no changes to the existing rig site procedures in handling and making up the tool. The ESR drifts the casing and drills cement and shoe track with normal parameters. The ESR is run with standard measurements-while-drilling (MWD)/logging-while-drilling (LWD) AGS BHA and is able to reduce ECD providing the opportunity to drill deeper and increase barrel of oil equivalent (BOE) per each wellbore. Performance analysis has shown no negative effect on drilling performance and BHA walking tendency. The novelty of this ESR application is its proven ability to assist in increasing reserves capture in highly depleted reservoirs. The ESR is performing very efficiently (high ROP) and reliability is outstanding. In this application, the ESR is a very cost-effective and viable solution for slimhole design.

Comparison of a Liquid Annular Seal for Pump Applications With and Without a Swirl Brake

An annular seal is an annular clearance between a rotor and a stator within a turbomachine that restricts leakage flow, arising due to the seal’s pressure differential. Annular seals are important for consideration in turbomachinery in that they affect the rotodynamics and stability of the turbomachine. Data were available for a smooth liquid annular seal that had been previously tested with no swirl brakes. The seal was modified by adding slots at the inlet to produce a swirl brake seal. Tests produced static and dynamic data for the swirl brake seal. The swirl brake and unmodified seal data are compared to demonstrate how swirl brakes impact the seal’s rotordynamic performance. Adding a swirl brake to a liquid annular seal increases direct stiffness, decreases cross-coupled stiffness, modestly increases direct damping, reduces cross-coupled damping, and decreases both the direct and cross-coupled virtual mass terms. The measured drop in cross-coupled stiffness via the addition of swirl brakes shows why swirl brakes are effective in remedying rotordynamic instabilities. Results show that varying inlet pre-swirl, or fluid rotation, on a swirl brake seal has little effect on the seal’s dynamic performance characteristics. A notable phenomenon was observed with the direct stiffness. At certain test points the direct stiffness would abruptly increase and decrease when increasing either pressure or running speed. The behavior could be largely explained by transitioning the laminar/transitional/turbulent boundaries.

Numerical Simulation of Pressure Loss in Largesize Annulus of Deepwater Drilling Riser

Large difference exists between largesize annular hydraulics and conventional well's. Using numerical simulation, this article analyze annular pressure loss of deepwater drilling riser with large size, describing how various parameters such as annular mud velocity, drill pipe rotation speed, mud property and annular clearance affect the pressure losses in a well, compared with that of a conventional wellbore as well. Theoretical calculations have shown: As for power law fluid in the largesize annular space, when it comes to laminar flow, an increase in drill pipe rotation speed can result in a decrease of annular pressure losses; In the contrary,under turbulent conditions, this may lead to a rise in annular pressure losses. The pressure drop dramatically along with an increasing in the annular space, in other words, the size of annular clearance is a major factor that affect the pressure losses in the annular space.

Absolute instabilities in eccentric Taylor–Couette–Poiseuille flow

The effect of eccentricity on absolute instabilities (AI) in the Taylor–Couette system with pressure-driven axial flow and fixed outer cylinder is investigated. Five modes of instability are considered, characterized by a pseudo-angular order $m$, with here $\vert m\vert \leq 2$. These modes correspond to toroidal ($m=0$) and helical structures ($m\neq 0$) deformed by the eccentricity. Throughout the parameter range, the mode with the largest absolute growth rate is always the Taylor-like vortex flow corresponding to $m=0$. Axial advection, characterized by a Reynolds number ${\mathit{Re}_z}$, carries perturbations downstream, and has a strong stabilizing effect on AI. On the other hand, the effect of the eccentricity $e$ is complex: increasing $e$ generally delays AI, except for a range of moderate eccentricites ${0.3\lesssim e \lesssim 0.6}$, where it favours AI for large enough ${\mathit{Re}_z}$. This striking behaviour is in contrast with temporal instability, always inhibited by eccentricity, and where left-handed helical modes of increasing $\vert m\vert $ dominate for larger ${\mathit{Re}_z}$. The instability mechanism of AI is clearly centrifugal, even for the larger values of ${\mathit{Re}_z}$ considered, as indicated by an energy analysis. For large enough ${\mathit{Re}_z}$, critical modes localize in the wide gap for low $e$, but their energy distribution is shifted towards the diverging section of the annulus for moderate $e$. For highly eccentric geometries, AI are controlled by the minimal annular clearance, and the critical modes are confined to the vicinity of the inner cylinder. Untangling the AI properties of each $m$ requires consideration of multiple pinch points.

Theoretical and Simulative Study on Hydraulic Bridge of Water Hydraulic Servo Valve

An analysis has been conducted on the hydraulic bridge of the water hydraulic servo valve with annular clearance between sleeve and spool land as its first hydraulic resistance. Through some formula deductions, the simplified hydraulic bridge is drawn and the relationship between flapper displacement and differential pressure of spool ends, which is demonstrated by the subsequent simulation works, is extracted. By the CFD(computational fluid dynamics) simulation, firstly, the pressure distributions of the flapper face and the fore end face of the nozzle are obtained. Results show that the flapper has an annular area where the existing pressure is negative. Secondly, the relationship between flapper displacement and flow force acting on flapper is also acquired, which is much beneficial to the steady-state and dynamic analysis of the water hydraulic servo valve.

Heat Exchange Characteristics in Heat Supply and Heat Removal Parts of a Nonisothermal Circuit, Including Temperature and Velocity Fields in a HLMC Flow, for Controlled Impurity Content

Results of the experimental studies of the heat exchange to the lead heat-transfer agent in the annular clearance in the circulation contour with the controlled and operated processes of mass exchange and mass transfer of the oxygen content are presented. And results of experimental research of lead-bismuth heat-carrier stream velocity structure at a varied content of oxygen content are presented.

CALCULATION OF PRESSURE DROP IN NARROW ROTATING ANNULAR CLEARANCES

This paper presents a review of correlations used for pressure drop calculation in narrow annular clearances with rotation of inner cylinder. Based on these review, a new general correlation is proposed to calculate pressure drop through such clearances. Results are compared with experimental data for different flow regimes: laminar, laminar with Taylor vortex, smooth and rough turbulent, with good agreement. The main objective is to develop a simple and general correlation that could be used for backflow calculation in twin-screw multiphase pumps. In this kind of pump, the volumetric efficiency is defined mainly by the backflow rate which occurs in the annular clearance between screw and casing. Usually, the backflow is calculated ignoring the influence of shaft rotation over pressure drop and does not consider the several possible flow regimes. Depending on operational conditions, this simplification can lead to significant errors.