Drill String Lateral Motion Control for Wear Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Drilling operations face challenges such as stick-slip, whirl, and unintended axial motion in boreholes, leading to wear on downhole components and cuttings accumulation, which reduce drilling efficiency and cause damage.
Innovation Solution
A method and system to control drilling parameters to intentionally induce lateral and axial motions like snaking and whirl, using sensors and processing units to monitor conditions and adjust operational parameters, thereby preventing or reducing wear and facilitating cuttings removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If drilling operations are controlled to avoid undesirable motions like stick-slip and whirl, then component wear is reduced, but drilling efficiency and productivity decrease due to cuttings accumulation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional drilling control approach by intentionally inducing desirable lateral motions (whirl and snaking) that were previously avoided. This inversion allows the drill string to generate beneficial vibrations that prevent cuttings accumulation and improve hole cleaning, thereby increasing drilling efficiency while maintaining acceptable component wear levels through controlled motion rather than complete avoidance
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes mechanical vibration by inducing controlled lateral motions and oscillations in the drill string and bottom hole assembly. These vibrations help break up cuttings accumulation, improve hole cleaning efficiency, and enhance drilling performance. The system monitors vibration characteristics and adjusts drilling parameters to maintain optimal vibrational states that benefit drilling efficiency
2Productivity
If lateral motions like snaking and whirl are intentionally induced, then hole cleaning and cuttings removal are improved, but control system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback control system that continuously monitors drilling parameters including lateral motion characteristics, vibration levels, and drilling performance metrics. The system uses this feedback information to automatically adjust drilling parameters such as weight on bit, rotational speed, and feed rate to maintain optimal lateral motions for hole cleaning while preventing excessive vibrations that could cause component damage
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs dynamic control of drilling parameters to induce and maintain desirable lateral motions. The system continuously adapts drilling conditions based on real-time measurements of drill string behavior, adjusting parameters dynamically to optimize hole cleaning efficiency while managing the complexity through adaptive rather than static control
3Reliability
If drilling parameters are adjusted to induce lateral motions, then wear on downhole components is reduced, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by inducing lateral motions at controlled levels that are sufficient to prevent cuttings accumulation and reduce component wear, but not excessive enough to cause problematic vibrations or excessive energy consumption. The system carefully modulates the intensity of induced motions to achieve the minimum effective level needed for improved hole cleaning and wear prevention
Data Source
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Figure 4A~4B
AI summary
A method of drilling a borehole in an earth formation includes deploying a drilling assembly including a drill bit and a drill string, and performing a drilling operation according to one or more operational parameters to advance the drilling assembly through the formation, wherein performing the drilling operation includes rotating the drill bit and at least a portion of the drill string. The method also includes, during the advancing, monitoring a downhole condition, determining whether the downhole condition indicates at least one of a cuttings accumulation in the borehole and wear of a downhole component, and in response to the downhole condition indicating the cuttings accumulation or the wear, adjusting at least one operational parameter to induce or adjust an oscillating motion in the drill string, the oscillating motion causing at least one of a reduction in the cuttings accumulation and a reduction of wear of the downhole component.