Correlations for drill cuttings transport in directional well drilling
Thesis/Dissertation
·
OSTI ID:5770325
Laboratory data data been correlated which simulate the transport of drill cuttings through the borehole annulus during drilling of a directional well. The resultant expressions relate the annular volumetric drill-cuttings concentration to mud annular velocity, hole angle, mud weight and rheological properties, and annular geometry. For near-vertical flow, a probabilistic model is presented to describe the cuttings time average axial-velocity distribution. For hole angles less than 40/sup 0/ from vertical, the cuttings concentration is expressed as a third-degree polynomial, the argument being a function of annular mud velocity and hole angle. For both laminar and turbulent flow, the cuttings concentration was a logarithmic function of mud velocity during vertical flow, while the trends were nearly linear at 45/sup 0/. Among all hole angles, the effect of mud velocity was most pronounced at 45/sup 0/. Static cuttings beds occurred for hole angles higher than 60/sup 0/ from vertical. The average mud velocity above the static cuttings bed was correlated with the flow cross-sectional area above the bed. The trends were approximately linear, and they were used to develop an expression between mud velocity and cutting concentration for near-horizontal hole angles. The mud rheological properties studied include yield point, plastic viscosity, the yield-point/plastic-viscosity ratio, power-law parameters, effective viscosities, apparent viscosity, shear stresses for certain shear rates, and gel strengths. The cuttings concentration was a logarithmic function of the mud weight. The concentration increased with increasing drillpipe diameter or annular eccentricity. Consistent trends could not be identified for drillpipe rotary speed.
- Research Organization:
- Tulsa Univ., OK (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 5770325
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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