Surge and swab modeling for dynamic pressures and safe trip velocities
Surge and swab pressures, which could cause lost circulation or gas kicks and blowout, result from running or pulling a pipe in a borehole. Recent downhole measurements indicate that these pressures differ considerably from the pressures anticipated by traditional computational models which compute such pressures on the basis of steady state flow. In this paper, a new dynamic surge and swab model is presented that is based on the physics of the transient nature of the phenomenon. It treats friction as a distributed parameter and considers various parameters in hole geometry, hole expansion, varying trip velocity, return area for tricone and diamond drill bits, plugged jets, and the mud properties. The computer program for the model not only predicts the maximum surge and swab pressures on their variation with time at various points in the borehole, but also computes the safe maximum trip speed for a specified pressure margin. Computer studies for running a casing, liner, and drill string in several actual wells show the model to have fast computer run times. The results of some of these studies are reported in the paper. The program is both interactive and user-friendly, and is a significant improvement over the existing models.
- Research Organization:
- AMOCO Production Co.
- OSTI ID:
- 5699476
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-830203-
- Journal Information:
- Soc. Pet. Eng. AIME, Pap.; (United States), Vol. IADC/SPE 11412; Conference: IADC/SPE drilling conference, New Orleans, LA, USA, 20 Feb 1983
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
03 NATURAL GAS
NATURAL GAS WELLS
BLOWOUTS
WELL PRESSURE
OIL WELLS
COMPUTER CALCULATIONS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
PRESSURE MEASUREMENT
BOREHOLES
DRILL BITS
DRILL PIPES
DRILLING FLUIDS
HYDRODYNAMICS
LINERS
PRESSURE DROP
STEADY FLOW
SURGES
WELL DRILLING
ACCIDENTS
CAVITIES
DRILLING
DRILLING EQUIPMENT
EQUIPMENT
FLUID FLOW
FLUID MECHANICS
FLUIDS
MECHANICS
PIPES
RESERVOIR PRESSURE
SIMULATION
WELLS
020300* - Petroleum- Drilling & Production
030300 - Natural Gas- Drilling
Production
& Processing