Applied Drilling Circulation Systems

Hydraulics, Calculations and Models

Boyun Guo, Gefei Liu

• Publisher: Gulf Professional Publishing
• Year: 2011
• eBook ISBN: 9780123819581
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Geology & Earth Sciences

Used to clean the borehole, stabilize rock, control pressures, or enhance drilling rates, drilling fluids and their circulation systems are used in all phases of a drilling operation. These systems are highly dynamic and complicated to model until now. Written by an author with over 25 years of experience, Applied Drilling Circulation Systems: Hydraulics, Calculations and Models provide users with the necessary analytical/numerical models to handle problems associated with the design and optimization of cost-effective drilling circulation systems.The only book which combines system modeling, design, and equipment, Applied Drilling Circulation Systems: Hydraulics, Calculations and Models provides a clear and rigorous exposition of traditional and non-traditional circulation systems and equipment followed by self contained chapters concerning system modelling applications. Theories are illustrated by case studies based on the author's real life experience.The book is accompanied by a website which permits readers to construct, validate, and run models employing Newtonian fluids, Bingham Plastic fluids, Power Law fluids, and aerated fluids principles. This combination book and website arrangement will prove particularly useful to drilling and production engineers who need to plan operations including pipe-tripping, running-in casing, and cementing.- In-depth coverage of both on- and offshore drilling hydraulics.- Methods for optimizing both on- and offshore drilling hydraulics.- Contains problems and solutions based on years of experience.

Chapter One. Equipment in Mud Circulating Systems

Contents

1.1 Introduction 3

1.2 Mud Pumps 3

1.3 Drill Strings 6

1.4 Contaminant-Removal Equipment 11

Summary 18

1.1. Introduction

Figure 1.1 shows a typical mud circulating system (Lyons et al., 2009). The drilling mud travels (1) from the steel tanks to the mud pump; (2) from the pump through the standpipe and the kelly to the drill string, which consists of drill pipes and the bottomhole assembly (BHA), with a major length of drill collars; (3) through the drill string to the bit; (4) through the nozzles of the bit and up the annular space between the drill string and the borehole (open hole and cased hole sections) to the surface; and (5) through the contaminant-removal equipment back to the suction tank. The contaminant-removal equipment can include shale shakers, degassers, hydrocyclones (desanders and desilters), and centrifuges. An integrated unit of desanders and desilters is called a mud cleaner. This chapter provides a brief introduction to the equipment that controls the circulating pressure of the system.

Figure 1.1 A typical mud circulating system.

1.2. Mud Pumps

Mud pumps serve as the heart of the mud circulating system. Reciprocating piston pumps (also called slush pumps or power pumps) are widely used for drilling oil and gas wells. The advantages of the reciprocating positive-displacement pump include the ability to move high-solids-content fluids laden with abrasives, the ability to pump large particles, ease of operation and maintenance, reliability, and the ability to operate over a wide range of pressures and flow rates by changing the diameters of the compression cylinders (pump liners) and pistons.

The two types of piston strokes are the single-action piston stroke and the double-action piston stroke. A pump that has double-action strokes in two cylinders is called a duplex pump (Figure 1.2). A pump that has single-action strokes in three cylinders is called a triplex pump (Figure 1.3). Triplex pumps are lighter and more compact than duplex pumps, their output pressure pulsations are not as great, and they are cheaper to operate. For these reasons, the majority of new pumps being placed into operation are of the triplex design. Normally, duplex pumps can handle higher flow rates, and triplex pumps can provide higher working pressure. However, for a given pump of fixed horsepower, the flow rate and working pressure can be adjusted by changing the sizes of the liners inside the pump. Some types of pump liners are shown in Figure 1.4. Changing the speed of the prime mover can also affect the mud flow rate in a certain range.

Figure 1.2 A duplex pump. Courtesy of Great American.

Figure 1.3 A triplex pump. Courtesy of TSC.

Figure 1.4 Pump liners. Courtesy of TSC.

1.3. Drill Strings

Figure 1.5 shows a drill string used in the oil and gas industry. The components of a drill string are described in this section according to the sequence in which they are run into the hole. A drill bit is installed at the bottom of the drill string. Three types of drill bits are used in the oil and gas industry: drag bits, cone bits (roller cutter bits), and PDC bits. Figure 1.6 shows two tricone bits, one with milled teeth and one with inserted teeth. Figure 1.7 shows a cutoff view of a tricone bit. Most bits are designed to install nozzles of different sizes. Drilling fluid passes through the bit nozzles at high velocity to clean the bit teeth and remove cuttings from the bottom of the hole. Figure 1.8 shows several types of bit nozzles, which are made of hard metal to resist erosion. Bit nozzle diameters often are expressed in 32nds of an inch. For example, if the bit nozzles are described as “12-13-13,” this denotes that the bit contains one nozzle with a diameter of ¹²/₃₂ inch and two nozzles with diameters of ¹³/₃₂ inch. Odd-numbered nozzles are not available for nozzle sizes above 20.

Figure 1.5 A drill string used in the petroleum indus...

Table of contents

• Cover Image
• Table of Contents
• Front Matter
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Preface
• Introduction
• Chapter One. Equipment in Mud Circulating Systems
• Chapter Two. Mud Hydraulics Fundamentals
• Chapter Three. Mud Pumps
• Chapter Four. Mud Hydraulics Optimization
• Introduction
• Chapter Five. Equipment in Gas Drilling Systems
• Chapter Six. Gas Compressors
• Chapter Seven. Gas Drilling Operations
• Introduction
• Chapter Eight. Equipment in Underbalanced Drilling Systems
• Chapter Nine. Gas and Liquid Injection Rates
• Chapter Ten. Underbalanced Drilling Operations
• Appendix A. Unit Conversion Factors
• Appendix B. Minimum Gas Flow Rates Required for Lifting Solids and Water in Air Drilling
• Appendix C. API Drill Collar Weight (lb/ft)
• Appendix D. API Drill Pipe Dimensional Data
• Appendix E. API Casing Dimensional Data
• Index