Investigation of Tool-Joint Effect on Non-Newtonian Drilling Fluids Following the Herschel–Bulkley Model Flow Behavior in Oil Well Drilling

The prediction of frictional pressure loss in many oil wells drillings is of the utmost importance. Most studies in this area concerned fluid flow in pipes and annulus in order to predict friction losses. However, studies on the tool-joint effect in frictional pressure estimations were limited to only a few experimental and theoretical studies on water-based power-law drilling muds. (Tool-joint is the part in which two drill strings connect where the annulus has a gradual decrease and increase, respectively). The tool-joint plays an important role in extending the drill pipe, and its effect on pressure losses cannot be ignored. As of today, drilling muds must have certain qualities such as providing formation integrity, transporting the cuttings from bit to surface, drill pipe lubrication and heat transfer, and low-pressure loss to perform as a qualified and effective drilling fluid. Therefore, drilling muds have become more complex and expensive, and the process of choosing appropriate drilling muds is of great importance. For this reason, oil-based viscoplastic drilling muds are being used in more drilling operations, but for these drilling muds, almost no studies were conducted to predict the effect of the tool-joints on flow behavior and pressure loss. In this paper, the behavior of fluid flows and frictional pressure losses in weld-on tool-joints of different grades according to the IADC standard manual was studied using CFD simulations. The simulations were conducted using a drilling fluid with viscoplastic properties, following the Herschel–Bulkley model of Non-Newtonian fluids. And the characteristics of fluid flows in these tool-joints under different thermal boundary conditions were studied. The results show that tool-joints significantly affect the frictional pressure loss in the annulus. We also provided an accurate pressure loss prediction for the flow of oil-based viscoplastic muds passing through the tool-joint geometry. Furthermore, assuming the thixotropic behavior using the Moore-Cheng model for the drilling mud, the results showed that the flow behavior does not differ significantly from the Herschel-Bulkley drilling fluid in the range of study.

Analysis of Critical Buckling Loads For Tool-Jointed Drillstrings in Deviated Wellbores

Excessive torque and drag, buckling and shear forces on downhole strings and tubulars are often encountered in the drilling of longer reach or deviational wells. Buckling of drillstring and BHA occurs in drillstring mainly due to high compressive forces. A point may be reached where these compressive forces rise and exceed the critical buckling loads leading to buckling of the drillstring/BHA or tubulars. This study focuses on the evaluation of the effect of tool-joint on the buckling of drillstrings for highly deviated wells. Tool-joint in pipes changes the pipes geometry in the wellbore thus affecting its hydraulics, orientation and stress distribution. A notable error will arise when straight pipe (with uniform outside diameter (OD) models are used to model pipes with end couplings and connections (such as tool joints). These errors may impact critical buckling loads, buckling initiation points, and post-buckling analysis of the pipe or BHA, thus affecting the success of drilling and completion operations. Torque and drag simulation and analysis was carried out for drillstring and BHA components in 9 5/8 in casing and 8.5 in open-hole sections to determine buckling loads. Two cases were considered; case 1 investigated the modeling and definition of buckling conditions for single straight body drillstrings and case 2 evaluated the buckling conditions for tool-jointed pipes. The result shows that buckling in tool-jointed pipes follows similar trend to that of straight body pipes with sinusoidal or lateral buckling being initiated first, and gradually progresses to helical buckling on increased axial force transfer. Furthermore, from the comparison of the results from two cases considered, it was observed that the presence tool-joint in the pipes led to a critical buckling load of 5.8% for sinusoidal buckling modes. The paper suggests that higher compressive force is needed to buckle the tool-jointed ends of the drillstring than the straight ends.

Comparative analysis of API standard drilling pipes and those of with double shoulder tool joints

The paper presents the data on the types, design peculiarities and requirements for the drilling pipes used in construction, overhaul repair and sidetracking. The comparative analysis of the pipes made with single shoulder tool joint according to API standard, as well as high torque and high efficient double shoulder tool joints from the world leading producers Pipe-Metallurgy Company “TMK”, National Oilwell Varco (NOV), HILONG Group of Companies is provided. Comparative analysis of the drilling pipes, as well as the double shoulder tool joint is presented. The exchangeability and non-exchangeability of drilling pipes with single shoulder tool joint produced in accordance with API standard with those of double shoulder tool joints indicating their structural features are marked as well. The comparison of stability coefficients of torques of drilling pipes in regard to the pipe body characterizing important operation parameters of nominal size of drilling pipe with double shoulder tool joint used in the overhaul repairs and sidetracking are provided.

MULTIAXIAL FATIGUE OF ALUMINUM DRILL PIPES - EXPERIMENTS AND NUMERICAL ANALYSES

This paper presents an experimental test program and numerical analyses conducted on aluminum alloy drill-pipes with two different geometries. Small-scale characterization tests were conducted to determine both the material mechanical properties and the fatigue SN curves. Full-scale fatigue tests of the components are also presented. A finite element model of the drill pipes, including the tool-joint region, was developed. The model simulates, through different load steps, the tool-joint hot assembly and the experimental loads in order to obtain the actual stress distribution during the full-scale tests. Maximum stress amplitude in the aluminum pipes was found to be coincident with the edge of the connector, at the same location where failure was observed in full-scale tests. The study revealed that such pipes present a complex stress state near their connection to the steel tool joints due to their geometry and the residual stresses induced during the assembly of the steel connectors onto the aluminum pipes. Finally, multi-axial fatigue models were calibrated with the results of the small-scale tests and applied to the stress-strain state obtained numerically. Theoretical predictions were correlated to full-scale fatigue test results.

Rotating Control Device Sealing Element Customization for Ultra-Deepwater Gulf of Mexico

As the Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) systems for deepwater drilling rigs mature, operators are applying the technology on more complex prospects. Wells are encountering higher pressures in deeper water depths, pushing against the boundaries of technical limits not previously encountered. A prospect in the US Gulf of Mexico required drilling to measured depths exceeding 31000 feet in water deepwater. Under such demanding depth, a non-typical drillstring was required to manage the tensile loading. Typical drill pipe connections on 6 5/8" S-135 tool joints are 8.5" diameter. This drill string would require V-150 landing string, with a 6 5/8" FH tool joint diameter of 8.875". Hard banding would bring the tool joint nominal OD above 9". The depth of the well and planned string RPM presented risk of casing wear, therefore drillpipe protectors would also be required. The depth of the reservoir and size of the drillstring meant pipe would need to be stripped out of the well with up to 900 psi backpressure in order to maintain constant bottom hole pressure. All well challenges were used to determine design specifications for a custom sealing element. The scope of work was to design, validate through finite element analysis, then validate in a test fixture per API16RCD test procedures. On conclusion of the product validation, a land test rig trial, with mock-up of the planned system, including dual sealing elements in the Rotating Control Device (RCD), the required non-rotating drill pipe protectors on the planned drillpipe, was executed. The development schedule from start to finish was compressed to less than 6 months also, targeting completion ahead of the rig's drilling program. This paper will recount the various phases of the design-build-validate-test effort that went into resolving these technical limits. It will conclude with field results and lessons learned from first deployment. As operators pursue more challenging deepwater wells, this systematic approach, through alignment of the operator, drilling contractor and MPD technology company, serves as a model to expand the operating envelope of drilling systems, improving safe performance in a cost-effective manner.

Protection enhancing of threaded connections of light-alloy drill pipes against contact corrosion

When using light-alloy drill pipes (LAIDP) with steel tool joints, the development of contact corrosion is observed under certain operating conditions. The value of corrosion mainly depends on the difference in electrochemical potential (ECP) of the contacting metals. One of the effective methods for increasing the corrosion resistance of aluminum alloys is the micro-arc oxidation (MAO) method. This is an electrochemical process in combination with micro-arc-discharges phenomena at the anode-electrolyte border, which allows forming ceramic coatings of aluminum oxides on the surface, including its high-toughness and wear-resistant phase - α-Al2O3 (corundum). MAO-technology is a highly efficient and environmentally friendly process. At the forming of such a coating on the threaded part and in the tool joint zone of the pipe, a barrier for contact corrosion between the steel tool joint and the surface of the aluminum pipe is created. In this work, contact corrosion on samples in a pair of 1953T1 aluminum alloy - 40KhN2MA steel in a 5% NaCl solution at 80 °C was investigated. The data obtained showed the effectiveness of using protective MAO-coating to reduce contact corrosion and increase the reliability of the tool joint threaded connection of LAIDP.