Real-Time Tubular String Wrap Optimization via Digital Twin
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for predicting optimum wraps (or oscillations) of a drill string during subterranean operations are not effective in providing real-time insights into drilling behavior and do not account for updates based on current drilling conditions.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize a rig controller and a physics-based model to simulate a digital twin of the drilling operation, allowing for real-time optimization of tubular string wraps by adjusting parameters based on friction models and sensor data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If historical wrap data from previously drilled wellbores is used to predict optimum wraps, then the method is simple to implement, but it does not provide real-time insights into current drilling behavior and cannot be updated based on current conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a digital twin (virtual copy) of the physical drilling system that mirrors real-time drilling behavior. This digital replica allows operators to analyze current drilling conditions and optimize wrap parameters without affecting the actual drilling operation, providing real-time insights while maintaining operational simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback loops where real-time drilling data is fed into the physics-based model, which then generates optimized wrap recommendations. This closed-loop system ensures that wrap predictions are continuously updated based on current drilling behavior, resolving the information loss issue while maintaining ease of operation through automated feedback processing.
2Productivity
If a physics-based digital twin model is used to simulate tubular string interactions in real-time, then real-time optimization of wraps is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex physical experimentation and trial-and-error drilling with a virtual physics-based simulation system. The digital twin model computationally substitutes for physical testing, allowing real-time optimization of wrap parameters without requiring complex physical prototypes or extensive field testing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary simulations and optimizations in the virtual environment before implementing changes in the actual drilling operation. By pre-testing wrap parameters in the digital twin, the system identifies optimal configurations ahead of time, reducing the need for complex real-time adjustments and simplifying the overall control system.
3Measurement precision
If friction models are determined as a function of depth and used in digital twin simulations, then measurement precision of drilling behavior is improved, but the complexity of the modeling process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the wellbore into discrete depth segments, each with its own friction model parameters. This segmentation allows the complex friction modeling to be broken down into manageable sections, improving measurement precision by capturing depth-dependent variations while reducing overall model complexity through modular structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts friction model parameters based on depth, drilling conditions, and real-time measurements. By changing parameters adaptively rather than using fixed values, the model achieves high precision in simulating drilling behavior without requiring overly complex structural modifications to the base friction model.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables real-time optimization of tubular string wraps, improving drilling efficiency by reducing friction and maximizing the rate of penetration during slide drilling operations.
Implementation Method 1
determining, via a rig controller, a friction model of a wellbore as a function of depth; simulating, via a physics-based model, a digital twin, where the digital twin simulates interactions between a tubular string and the wellbore based on the friction model
Data Source
AI summary
A method of optimizing a wraps in real-time in a subterranean operation, that can include determining, via a statistical model, an equivalent confined compressive rock strength (ECCRS) profile along a future wellbore, receiving the ECCRS profile at an wrap optimizer; receiving physical parameters of a tubular string at the wrap optimizer, and simulating in real-time, via the wrap optimizer, a simulated wrap of the tubular string through a portion of a subterranean formation based on the ECCRS profile, the physical parameters of the tubular string, a friction profile of the future wellbore, and drilling parameters of a rig.