Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Copyright
19S6, Society
of Petroleum
Engineers
Technical
Conference
and Exhibition
of the Society
of Petroleum
Enginaers
held in New
as
ABSTRACT
Basic concepts related to the static analysis of twoand three-dimensional
bottomhole assemblies are discussed. Beginning with a straight one stabilizer assembly,
the effects of multiple stabilizers, borehole curvature,
torque, wall contact, etc. are introduced in steps. The criteria for defining the build, hold, drop and walk trends is
clarified. Two methods for computing bending stiffness
and equivalent outer diameter of MWD collars with nonuniform cross-sectional properties are proposed, Also,
simple methods of estimating buckling loads for one and
two span assemblies are presented.
INTRODUCTION
In the early days of drilling, the holes were shallow
and were supposedly drilled straight. The experience
with the Seminole fields in Oklahoma during the late
twenties, made the industry realize that drilling does not
necessarily follow the intended trajector yl. Something
happens downhole which makes the drillstring deviate
from its course, The efforts to understand the cause for
deviation of drillstring led to their mechanical analysis
using the concepts of structural mechanics. Many papers
have been written on the subject29. However, the basic
concepts of mechanics, as related to directional drilling,
have not been put together in a systematic manner. This
paper attempts to fill such gap,
The subject matter in this paper is presented on the
Iines of standard textbooks on structural mechanics10-13.
References and illustrations at end of paper.
THE TWO=DIMENSIONAL
PROBLEM
d2v
dx2
(1)
.
In the absence of the axial ioad F! Equation (1) reduces to
simple beam bending equation.
=AsinEx+BcOsEx+
cxD+s
........... .
(2)
atx=Oandx=
qEI
p2
1[
12
B=-D=~;
. ...(3)
,
L
COS j~-
sin ~~1
L.
c.
P2
. . . . . . . . . . . . . (4)
L
2P
By substituting (4) in (2), one can find the displacements along the drillstring. Then, using additional mathematics the reaction (side force) R at the bit, and the bit
rotation a can be computed. As explained in a subsequent section, the knowledge of R and/or x is needed in
predicting the deviation tendency of a BHA.
In some cases, it maybe justified to treat end B as a
fixed support; for example, in the case of a very long stabilizer or a packed assembly. Then, the expressions for
coefficients A through D will change, resulting in different
values of drillstring deflections, bit tilt and side force as
compared to the pinned support condition. For a special
case of zero WOB, the results for assumed pinned and
fixed end conditions at B are compared in Figure 3.
It is obvious that, with this closed-form approach,
the analysis of even the most basic collar will require a
considerable amount of computation, A drilling engineer
cannot conceivably perform such analysis in a routine
fashion. His job will be even more difficult when working
with real life BHAs where some (or all) of the six assumptions mentioned earlier are invalid.
In the following para{
cations of relaxing each c
one. Due to space limitat~.
SPE15467
UmeshChandra
End Moments
The bending moment at the bit is generally assumed
to be zero in order to simplify the analytical effort. In
reality, the resistance offered by the rock, the mechanical
design of the bit, and its cutting characteristics, all combine to generate a non-zero bending moment at the bit.
Such bending moment will tend to limit the rotation at the
bit. Although this moment can be explicitly accounted for
by adding a rotational spring of known stiffness, it is
deemed advanta eous to combine it with the rock and bit
?3,14
anisotropy effects
.
In previous discussion, the bending moment at end
B was assumed zero only for illustration purposes. The
presence of additional drill collar beyond stabilizer B (as in
any multi-stabilizer BHA), the design of the stabilizer and
the flexibility of the rock will result in a non-zero moment
at end B. Of these three, the first factor is addressed in
the following paragraphs and elsewhere in the paper,
whereas, the other two factors are not discussed further.
Multi-Stabilizer Assemblies
In reality, a BHA consists of many stabilizers dividing
it into several spans, and more than one span must be
considered in the analysis to accurately determine the
directional tendency of the BHA. h-i mechanics terminology, such a BHA can be regarded as a beam which is
continuous
over several supports,
i.e. a continuous
beam. The analysis of a multi-span BHA requires the
application of Equation (2) to each span, along with the
use of continuity requirements at intermediate supports
(stabilizers) and boundary conditions at the end supports.
The continuity conditions at the intermediate supports
are, (i) the deflection is zero, (ii) the slopes at the two
sides of the stabilizer are equal, and (iii) the moments at
the two sides are equal and opposite. Obviously, the
manual computations
will become very tedious for a
multi-stabilizer assembly, and the use of a computerbased technique will be profitable.
In Figure 4, we demonstrate the effect of stabilizer
placement on the directional characteristic of a multistabilizer BHA. In the three cases shown, the total length,
collar size and the inclination from the vertical are the
same, i.e. tkte normal load q is the same. For each case,
the deflected shape of the drillstring and the side force at
the bit are shown in the figure. The importance of the
placement of first stabilizer above the bit is obvious. As we
will discuss later, the first assembly is dropping angle, the
second holding, and the third is building the angle.
5(d),
Equation
d4v + p d2v
= q.q(x)
EI
dx4
dx2
force
(1) can be
. ( 5a)
...
(5b)
Initial Curvature
Equation (1) is meant for a beam column or a collar
whose axis is straight prior to the application of any
external loads. [n order to study the effect of initial curvature, we consider the one span BHA of Figure 6. The
initial shape of the collar can be represented by,
vo=
a kin .
7rx
L
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (6)
is
lr2
cl =Pa~
()
sin~.............
L
(7)
In Figure 7(a), we consider the first span of a dropping assembly in a borehole with positive curvature (i.e.
its inclination from the vertical increases as we move
For the purpose of this discussion, the self-weight is treated
as an external load.
SPE 1546
THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL
PROBLEM
d4v
EI +P
dx4
d2v
ql............(8)
dx2
d2w
d4w
+P=
EI
dx2
dx4
,J...o,oms
(9)
These equations are similar to Equation (1). Equation (8) is independent of w, whereas (9) is independent
of v, i.e. the two equations are uncoupled. However, if
torque is also present as shown in Figure 9(b), the equations take the following form12:
d%
-T
EI
dx4
d3w
dx3
d4w
and, EI
dx4
+T
+P
d2v
dx2
d3v
dx3
=q~
d2w
+P=
dx2
(lo)
. . . . (11)
2
SPE 15467
Umest
handra
the borehole axis, and the broken line the deformed drillstring axis. The WOB can be defined as the net axial
force at the bit, which is equal to the axial component of
the self-weight minus the sum of the axia) components of
all reactive forces at stabilizers and contact points and the
pull at top end. Alternatively, we can limit the discussion
to the drillstring between the bit and the neutral point.
The axis in question is, in general, the centerline of the
borehole5, which is also the axis of undeformed drillstring. Alternatively, the tangent to the deformed drillstring can be used as the W(?B direction, as is the case
with DIDRIL9115. Evidently, for a vertical borehole, the
first assumption makes the WOB axis coincident with the
vertical, whereas the second assumption does not. We
note also that, these two different approaches would
result in somewhat different values of side force at the bit.
Now, we look at the forces at the bit and the formation. The equilibrium of a dropping assembly in a straight
but inclined two-dimensional borehole is shown in Figure
11(a). For brevity, we consider only one span of the
assembly, with q as the normal component of the selfweight. The reaction at the bit, R, is normal to the borehole axis. If the WOB is assumed to act tangential to the
deformed drillstring it can be resolved in components
parallel and perpendicular to the borehole axis, as shown
in the figure.
The bit force system of Figure 11(a) is equivalent to
that shown in (b). AF is the axial force equal to WOB x
coscz, where m is the bit tilt. Also, SF is the net side
force, and ii equais R - WOB x sin~. The forces acting on
the formation are equal but ~pposite to those acting on
the bit, as shown in (c!. These formation forces together
with the rock and bit characteristics are responsible for the
cutting and removal of the rock, and further advancement of the drillbit.
The exact direction of the bit advance cannot be predicted without considering the bit and rock characteristics. However, it is still possible to predict the tendency of
drillstring deviation based on the knowledge of bit tilt,
side force, or resultant force at the bit. Millheirn8 favors
the use of the side force for this purpose. Accordingly, if
the net side force on the formation points down as shown
in Figure 11(c), the assembly is dropping. Whereas, if the
side force points up, the assembly is building. An
assembly is considered holding if the side force is small,
regardless of its direction. This is how the three BHAs of
Figure 4 were classified.
It is evident from Figure 1 l(c) that the use of resultant force direction as a criteria will give similar prediction
of the directional tendency as the side force. However,
the choice of the side force has two advantages. First,
since the value of WOB is generally much larger than the
side force, the latter has very fittle effect on the magnitude or the direction of the resultant. If we compare twc
DiAMETER
SPE 15467
Drilling
bending stiffness (more appropriately, the bending stiffness coeffkient), kb, at end 1 or 2 can be defined as the
moment applied at that end necessary to cause a unit
rotation (at the same end), with the rotation at the other
end held at zero (see Appendix).
When the crosssectional properties of the collar are uniform throughout
its length, Figure 12(a), kb at the two ends is the same,
and is given by 1319,
4EI
kb =
..
. . . . . . . . . ........
. . ...+
(12)
L
When Eor I changes along the length, kbl is in general not equal to kb2. To find kbl or kb2, the collar is
divided into several segments with constant EI within
each segment, as shown in Figure 12(b). Then, if only
one or two changes in EI are involved, suitable expressions can be derived using such techniques as moment
area method and the bending stiffness for each end can
still be hand computed. But, if several Et variations are
involved, hand computations are impractical and the use
of finite element method becomes necessary.
(13)
M
kbl = kbz = kb = =
@L
EI
. . . . . . . ..
(14)
1
+
kl
=
L1
EIII
1
-tkz
1
--. . . . +
L2
+ +----+
E212
. . . . . . . .. (15)
k.
Ln
EnIn
BUCKLING LOADS
A comparison of Equations (12) and (14) shows that
for a collar of uniform cross-section the value of bending
stiffness resulting from the stiffness coefficient method is
four times that resulting from the pure bending method.
For a collar with non-uniform cross-section, this relationship is valid in an approximate sense.
A natural question arises at this stage, Which of the
two methods is correct. In fact, both of them are correct.
The primary difference in the two lies in the nature of the
boundary conditions assumed at collar ends. A user must
understand the concepts of the two methods and the
context of his application, because the stiffness is always
dependent upon the boundary conditions (or, in the terminology of the Appendix,
on the selection of the
degrees of freedom). Indeed, there is no such thing as
the stiffness of a collar or a beam.
Computation of Equivalent OD
The equivalent OD relates to a hypothetical collar
whose length is equal to that of the MWD assembly or
collar it replaces, ID is an assumed value (nominal ID),
and bending stiffness is equal to that of the replaced
MWD collar as computed from one of the two methods
discussed above. When the first method is used to compute the bending stiffness, the equivalent OD, do, can be
computed by rewriting Equation (12) as follows,
16kbL
do=
1/4
+di4
L rE
(16)
......
do =
[
the equivalent
64
_
[ r
Consider the first span of a BHA in a vertical borehole as shown in Figure 14(a). To begin with, we assume
that, (1) the bit and the stabilizer act as two simple supports, (2) the collar above the stabilizer has no stiffness,
(3) the self-weight is omitted, and (4) the drill collar is initially strai ht. The critical buckling load for such a case is
given byl #1220,
,,,
..
~;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., (19)
pa=
#EI
___
L2
PL
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..(2o)
1/4
+dia
. . . . . . . . . . ..
(17)
If the material
of the assembly
is the same
throughout, i.e. if E = Ez = ------ = En, Equation (17)
can be further simpkt
led as,
do =
L
L1/ll + L2/12 + --- Ln/In
1/4
+ di4
1
. . . . . . . (18)
as fixed,
buckling
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. (22)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (23)
where, Pcrl =
#EII1
L12
and Pcr2 =
When the values of pcrl and pcrz differ onlY marginally, their average will yield good approximation for the
critical buckling load of the assembly, Per. When this is not
the case, we can use a different approach.
Consider, for example, the BHA shown in Figure
16(b), with El = E2 = E, II = 12 = II and L1 = 2LZ =
L. The correct value of the critical buckling load for this
assembly is 14.9 E1/L2. Also, using equations (19), (21)
and (23), we obtain,
EI
9.87 <pm<
L2
39.4g_
EI
L2
SUMMARY
In directional drilling, the ability to perform simple
static analysis of bottomhole assemblies is important. The
paper attempts to present some basic concepts of this discipline in a systematic fashion. Herein, the BHA is treated
as a beam column which can be straight (but not necessarily vertical) or curved, and subjected to the self-weight,
buoyancy, and weight-on-bit. Beginning with a one stabilizer BHA, the effects of additional stabilizers, borehole
curvature, torque, wall contact and of variations in crosssectional properties are introduced in steps. Both twoand three-dimensional
assemblies are discussed. The limitations of closed form methods and the advantages of
their numerical counterparts are highlighted. The criteria
for defining the build, drop, hold and walk trends is clarified. Two methods for computing bending stiffness and
equivalent outer diameter of collars with non-uniform
cross-sections (e.g. MWD collars) are proposed. Finally,
simple methods for estimating critical buckling loads of
one and two span assemblies are presented.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The subject matter presented in this paper was prepared when the author was employed with NL Industries,
Inc. The opinions expressed here are of the author alone.
Thanks are due to Carolyn McFarland and Mary Fouts
for their help in typing the paper.
iT2E212
L22
. . . . . . . . . . . . . (24)
Inc.
REFERENCES
1. Wilson, G. E.: How to Drill a Usable Hoie, Part l, Work! Oil
(August 1960) .
2. Lubinski, A.: A Study of the Buckling of Rotary Drilling
String, Driliing and Production Practices, API (1950) 178214.
3. Lubinski, A. and Woods, H. B.: Factors Affecting the Angie of
Inclination and Dog-Legging in Rotary Boreholes, Drillingand
Production Practices, API (1953) 222-250.
4. Woods, H.B. and Lubinski, A.: Use of Stabilizers in Controlhng Hole Deviation, Drillingand Production Practices, API
(1955) 165-182.
878
-------
APPENDIX - STIFFNESS
COLLAR
-1
u,
12EI
L3
6EI
m
o
4EI
U3
{
EA
>.
(A.2)
U4
-i
12EI
12EI 6EI
o
L3
-7
F
6E1 2E1
6EI 4E1
o-~y
T
L
6x1
U*
Symmerrtc
6x6
U5
U6
6x 1
MATRIX OF A DRILL
The stiffness of a collar or a beam column is a mathematical representation of its response to applied loads. A
load can be a force or a moment, and the response can
be displacement
or rotation. Thus, a load could be
applied in axial, bending, torsion or shear modes. The
response of a collar to one type of load is different from
that to other type, and hence its stiffness in one mode is
different from that in the other. Also, when the load is
applied in one mode, the collar may respond in other
modes as well. The stiffness matdx is a means of collectively describing the response in all individual as well as
coupled modes.
t%
m
3$
-G
F-i
SE
15467
V.
+x
D-:
\7
Y,v
CURVED AXIS
.e
- 777Txrrr
(a) DROPPING
Y,v
AS.SSMSLY
IN A POSITIVE
CURVATURS
HOLE
IN A NEGATIVE
CURVATURS
HOLE
sTRAIGHT
Fig. 6lniNal curvature.
DROPPING
(b)
Fig. 8CoIlar
Z,w
A
p-
with nonuniform
~
.J
i
\ .\.
on a dropping
AXIS
Y,v
-----n
,/
~oMHom
AXIS
N-N
A
TORQUE
-. <
++T zE=G
b
I
a
Fig. 10Possible
dlrecNonsof
Y,v
N-N
(b)
WITH TORQUE
Fig. 9Three-dimensional
ssembly.
RSFERENCE
Y,v
curvature
-p
of borehole
Zlw
q2-D
(a) WITHOUT
ASSENBLY
Fig. 7Effect
El.
beam column.
I
/
/
. /
/
$.
/
/
<SF=
R-we,~ina
AF
= WOB. COSa
WOB. cosa
(b)
(a)
(c)
AF
SF
F@ SULTANT
F@. 11Fore.8onbftandf0mWflon.
WOB.
a - VERTICAL
bTANGENT TO
BOREHOLE AXIS
c - TANGENT
TO
DEFORMED DRILLSTRING AXIS
t/
:+k
I&:;-%.
-l-x
E,I, L
+
1-
bl = b2
M=kbl~
EI
E2,12, L2
E1, 11,L1
4-T-
t-
(b)
EI
Fig. 13Pure
method.
bending method.
P-PL
;
t
I
I
I
i
ZIBIT
\/
P
P
P*
INITIAL
AXIS
~
(CIJRVED)
I
I
I
sPAN 1
VI
(d)
(b)
(a)
of imperfect
collar.
of buckling.
19
a~hp
Vl
=V1+V
Fig. 15-Buckling
Fig. 14Concept
LARGE
(c)
(b)
SMALL
A
t
(a)
,/
+
} %~#RHT
cr
V*
NON-LINEAR
LINEAR
\
\
\
\
I
STAS
\
\
I
E,I, L
E2,12,
Y!
/
L2
/31
sPAN 2
--l
46
TAA!JSLATIONAL DOF
ROTATIONAL
DOF
x
A
z
(a)
(a)
THREE-DIMENSIONAL
ELEMENT
Y
.l9Q
L2
(b)
B_P
.205EJ
cr
L2
t-x
(c)
(b) TWO-DIMENSIONAL
Fig. 16Buckllng
ELEMSNT
beam @umn
or collar element.