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How the Bit Profile and Gages Affect the Well Trajectory
S. Menand, SPE, and H. Sellami, SPE, Armines/Ecole des Mines de Paris; C. Simon, DrillScan ; A. Besson, TotalFinaElf ;
N. Da Silva, Security DBS
Abstract
Background
Theory
Introduction
BS = Dlat
Dax
SPE 74459
(1)
Walking tendency
Based on field observations, it is generally accepted that the
roller cone bits have nearly always a right tendency and most
PDC bits have a left tendency. Kerr7 noticed that PDC bits
have generally a left tendency but emphasized that the
azimuthal behaviour of the drilling system is influenced by
formation characteristics, bit profile, bit size, formation dip,
WOB, BHA, and other factors. In analyzing some well
trajectories in the Gulf of Thailand, Perry3 concluded that the
bit profile could affect the azimuthal behaviour of the BHA.
Indeed, a BHA with a flat PDC bit profile showed a right
tendency. Perry3 also supposed that the gage cutters and the
gage length did not influence the turn rate. In studying the
azimuthal behaviour of BHA in Alwyn North field,
Bannerman8 confirmed the observations made by Perry3 : the
right turn measured in the field is supposedly attributed to the
flat profile of PDC bit, although the parabolic profiles
exhibited a left tendency.
Synthesis
It emerges from these laboratory or in situ studies that a
comprehensive analysis of the directional behaviour of PDC
bits has never been conducted to quantify the intrinsic
azimuthal behaviour of the PDC bit. Moreover, the directional
behaviour of a whole drilling system cannot be explained only
by the directional behaviour of the bit. A bit with a high side
cutting ability does not produce necessarily a high rate of
inclination on the well trajectory. This rate depends on the side
force and weight applied on the bit, on the bit tilt angle and
also on the rock formation. Likewise, the azimuthal behaviour
of a drilling system must not be attributed only to the walk
tendency of the bit. Some friction phenomenon along the BHA
(mainly at stabilizers levels) can greatly influence the
azimuthal tendency of the drilling system. At last, the
formation effect (rock anisotropy) may be decisive in both the
build/drop and azimuth rate of the trajectory9.
Rock-Bit Interaction Model
Over the past thirty years, Ecole des Mines de Paris has
developed a methodology for designing and selection of
cutting and drilling systems. Drilling efficiency10, wear
reduction, vibrations control and efficient cleaning have been
carefully studied. A 3D rock-bit interaction model9,11 has been
developed in order to calculate the directional behaviour of
PDC bits in isotropic and heterogeneous formations. The bit
model takes into account the 3 parts of the bit which interact
with the formation (figure 2) : the cutting structure, the
SPE 74459
HOW THE BIT PROFILE AND GAGES AFFECT THE WELL TRAJECTORY
Results
The 3D rock-bit model enables to calculate WOB and lateral
force on the bit required for an axial and lateral motion,
imbalance force, efficiency index and wear evolution. It
computes also the steerability and the walk angle of each part
(cutting structure, active gage and passive gage) of the bit. Its
important to note that the bit steerability calculated from the
rock-bit model is mainly a function of the WOB, the lateral
force and the rock strength and anisotropy.
Assuming all the PDC cutters have an identical back rake
angle along the bit profile, Menand11 has found that the walk
angle is then a function of the inner cone deep C and the outer
structure height G, and can be calculated simply by :
= arctan
2(C G)
tan(c + f ) (C +G)
(2)
Test procedure
All the tests have been carried out in the Vosges sandstone
(homogeneous, porous, medium hard sandstone, uniaxial
compressive strength = 40 MPa). A 1 150 kg/m3 water-based
mud (bentonitic) was used with a mud flow fixed to 600 l/mn.
During the tests, the rotation speed was held constant at 60
rpm while WOB and lateral force were varied in order to
evaluate their possible effect on steerability and walking
tendency.
Off-bottom tests were also performed in order to test the
lateral drillability of active and passive gage. During the offbottom test, the bit is maintained above the bottom of the hole
and a lateral force is applied, enabling to test only the gage
interaction with the borehole formation.
Characteristics of the PDC bits selected
Three PDC bits having different profiles have been tested on
the directional drilling bench (figure 5) : Bit A, Bit B and Bit
C. The back rake distribution is identical along these 3
profiles, ranging from 15 inside the cone to 30 in the outer
structure. The common characteristics of the bits are : 8
diameter, 8 highly spiraled blades with 13.3 mm PDC cutters
and 4 nozzles. The 3 bits have different active gage lengths
ranging from 15 mm for the Bit A to 30 mm for the Bit C. The
3 bits have passive gages with different type of inserts to
protect the gage. In order to evaluate the effect of the three
different parts of the bit (cutting structure, active gage and
passive gage), each bit was tested with 5 different
configurations (figure 6). Firstly, each bit was tested with a
passive gage length LPG = 4, 2 and 1. Then, the bits were
tested without passive gage, only with their active gage and
cutting structure. Lastly each bit was tested with only the
cutting structure, that is without any active or passive gages.
Results
Steerability
For the various bits tested, one can notice that the bit
steerability highly increases with the reduction of the passive
gage length (figure 7). All the tests plotted on this figure have
been carried out with the same WOB and lateral force. The
highest steerability is measured for the Bit A. These results are
mainly explained by the different active gage lengths and the
bit profiles, and are confirmed by the 3D rock-bit model
calculation (table 1).
Tests carried out without passive gage (that is with only the
active gage and cutting structure corresponding to the bit
configurations #4 and #5) have revealed that the highest
steerability for the bit configuration #4 was obtained for the
Bit A and the lowest steerability for the Bit C (figure 8). This
result can be mainly attributed to the active gage length, since
the Bit C has the longest active gage and the Bit A has the
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shortest one. Nevertheless, one can also notice that the highest
steerability for the bit configuration #5 (test with the cutting
structure alone) was observed for the Bit B, although the Bit C
exhibited the lowest steerability (figure 8). This result can be
analyzed by examining the bit profiles. Indeed, the highest
steerability is obtained for the Bit B (IADC bit profile code 9)
having a flat profile, although the lowest steerability measured
corresponds to the Bit C (IADC bit profile code 5) having a
medium taper and cone.
Some tests performed with various lateral forces demonstrated
that the bit steerability of a PDC bit depends on the intensity
of the side force. For example, the Bit C steerability with a 2
passive gage (configuration #2) is increased by 30% with a
25% increase in lateral force. The off-bottom tests confirmed
that the lateral drillability of the active and passive gage
depends on the lateral force applied. Indeed, the off-bottom
lateral drillability of the Bit B in configuration #3 is almost
multiplied by 3 as the lateral force increases from 268 daN to
710 daN (figure 9). At last, WOB seems to have no effect on
the lateral drillability of the three bits tested.
Walk tendency
For the various bits tested with an active or passive gage, one
can clearly notice that the PDC bits have a left tendency
whatever the passive gage length is (figure 10). Even the tests
carried out with the cutting structure and the active gage have
demonstrated that the bits have a left tendency. At last, when
the cutting structures alone were tested, the Bit A
demonstrated a right tendency, the Bit C a left tendency and
the Bit B a neutral tendency. These walk tendencies measured
on the directional drilling bench correlated well with the
values computed from the rock-bit model (table 1).
The Bit B showed a tendency to spiral in the hole since the
walking tendency was successively neutral, left, right, neutral
etc (figure 11). Nevertheless, the mean walk angle measured
was close to 0. These spiraling problems observed only for
the Bit B can be generalized to bits having flat profile.
Bit-BHA coupled computer model
In coupling the 3D rock-bit model with a 3D mechanical
model of BHA, Ecole des Mines de Paris has developed a
software that enables to predict the inclination and azimuth of
well trajectories. Based on finite element method, the 3D
mechanical model enables to know the deformed shape of the
structure, forces exerted on the system and contact forces
between any part of the drill string and the wall of the
borehole. In integrating the directional behaviour of both
BHA and bit, the software calculates the theoretical 3D
equilibrium curvature of the drilling system.
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HOW THE BIT PROFILE AND GAGES AFFECT THE WELL TRAJECTORY
Case study
PDC bits characteristics
In order to evaluate the influence of the walk tendency and
steerability of the bit on the well trajectory, some PDC bits
with assumed BS and walk angle were selected for the
analysis. For each bit (Bit X, Bit Y and Bit Z) having various
bit steerability (table 2), the walk angle was varied between
20 (bit intrinsic left tendency) and +20 (bit intrinsic right
tendency).
Well and BHA characteristics
In order to observe an influence of the bit directional
behaviour on the well trajectory, two assemblies producing a
significant side force on the bit were selected : a dropping and
a building assembly (figure 12). The data used come from two
wells in phase 97/8 drilled by TotalFinaElf with the same
PDC bit (Bit W). The run of the well #1 has been performed
with the building assembly from 1380 m to 2534 m MD,
producing a measured build rate of 0.29/30 m and turn rate of
-0.11/30 m. The run of the well #2 has been performed with
the dropping assembly from 2405 m to 3881 m MD,
producing a measured drop rate of -0.55/30 m and turn rate of
0.30/30 m. Table 3 gives the parameters used for BHA
simulations. As previously discussed, the bit steerability
depends on the side force applied. In the two cases studied,
two theoretical bit steerability have been calculated since the
side force generated by the dropping assembly is greater than
the one generated by the building assembly. The theoretical bit
steerability of the Bit W is 0.03 for the well #1 (building
assembly) and 0.04 for the well #2 (dropping assembly). The
intrinsic theoretical walk angle is 12 (left tendency).
Results
The Bit-BHA model was used to compute the build/drop and
turn rates for the two wells. In the calculations performed, all
the stabilizers are full gage which prevent to evaluate any walk
rate due to BHA walking tendency. Concerning the well #1
(figure 13), one can clearly notice that the bit steerability has
an influence on the predicted build/drop rate of the drilling
system since it varies from 0.12/30 m with the Bit Z to
0.34/30 m with the Bit X. The theoretical bit steerability
calculated for the Bit W (BS=0.03) used to drill the well #1
enables to produce a predicted build rate very close to the
measured build rate (0.29/30 m). For the well #2 (figure 14),
the predicted build/drop rate varies from 0.42/30 m with the
Bit X to 0.38/30 m with the Bit Z. The theoretical bit
steerability of the Bit W for this well is not high enough to
give a predicted drop rate close to the measured value (0.55/30 m), but qualitatively the increase in bit steerability
due to the higher side force is consistent with the higher drop
rate observed on the field. Moreover, as previously discussed,
one have to keep in mind that the build/drop rate is not only
due to the side force applied on the bit but also due to the bit
tilt angle. It is interesting to note that in both cases, the bit
steerability has such an influence that it can turn the drilling
system from building to dropping angle. Such a result is due to
the fact that the bit tilt and lateral force act in opposite
directions. These results confirm the impact of the bit
steerability on the well trajectory and a strong necessity to
calculate an accurate bit steerability in order to predict
correctly the inclination of well trajectories. The simulations
have shown that the walk angle has no influence on the
predicted build/drop rate whatever the bit steerability.
Concerning the azimuth predictions, one can clearly observe
that the bit walk angle and the bit steerability have an
influence on the predicted turn rate (figure 13 and 14). For the
well #1, with an intrinsic left tendency bit, the simulations
give a left turn up to 0.06/30 m, although with an intrinsic
right tendency bit, the predicted turn is right. This result is
accentuated for the well #2 since the predicted turn rate is in
the range of -0.7/30 m to 0.7/30 m, depending on the
intrinsic bit walk angle. It is also interesting to note that for a
given bit walk angle, the predicted turn rate depends on the bit
steerability. The influence is more important as the bit
steerability increases. This tendency can be attributed to the bit
side cutting ability that makes the bit walks on the wall of the
borehole. Comparison between prediction and actual turn rate
for the well #2 shows that the theoretical bit steerability
(BS=0.04) and walk angle ( = -12) enables to produce a turn
rate very close to the measured value (0.3/30 m).
Synthesis
Even though the directional behaviour of a drilling system can
not only be attributed to the bit directional behaviour
(formation effect, curvature of the borehole, hole enlargement,
friction phenomenon, etc), these simulations have shown
that the bit steerability and the walk angle have a strong
influence on the well trajectory.
Conclusion
The analysis of the directional behaviour of PDC bits
presented in this paper leads to the following conclusions :
References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Nomenclature
8.
PDC
BHA
BS
IADC
Dlat
Dax
WOB
Flat
Fx
ROP
MD
f
c
9.
10.
11.
12.
14.
Acknowledgment
Part of this work was carried out within the EEC Thermie
PAB-BIT project conducted by Ecole des Mines de
Paris/Armines, TotalFinaElf and Security DBS. The authors
would like to thank the European Commission for its financial
support enabling to carry out a part of the work presented in
this paper. Thanks are also addressed to DrillScan company
for performing well trajectory calculations.
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HOW THE BIT PROFILE AND GAGES AFFECT THE WELL TRAJECTORY
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HOW THE BIT PROFILE AND GAGES AFFECT THE WELL TRAJECTORY
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Figure 9 : Off-Bottom lateral drillability versus lateral force for the Bit B (configuration #3)
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HOW THE BIT PROFILE AND GAGES AFFECT THE WELL TRAJECTORY
Configuration #1 (CS+AG+PG 4)
Configuration #2 (CS+AG+PG 2)
Configuration #3 (CS+AG+PG 1)
Configuration #4 (CS+AG)
Configuration #5 (CS)
Bit A
Steerability Walk angle
0.032
-11
0.080
-11
0.110
-12
1.6
-12
5.4
+23
Bit B
Bit C
Steerability Walk angle Steerability Walk angle
0.016
-10
0.012
-11
0.033
-11
0.038
-12
0.118
-11
0.093
-12
1.1
-12
0.5
-12
9.2
+7
3.5
-30
Table 1 : Bit steerability and walk angle computed from the 3D rock-bit model
Figure 10: Bit walk angle measured on the directional drilling bench
11
12
Bit X
Bit Y
Bit Z
Bit steerability
0.1
0.01
0.001
Bit walk angle -20 < < +20 -20 < < +20 -20 < < +20
Table 2 : Bit steerability of the Bit X, Bit Y and Bit Z used for simulations
Hole diameter
Stabilizer diameter
Inclination at the bit
Mud weight
WOB
ROP
RPM
Bit type
Friction coefficient
Collar Outside Diameter
Collar Inside Diameter
WELL #1
97/8
97/8
52
1150 kg/m3
7.1 tons
108 m/h
155
PDC
0.17
61/2
27/8
WELL #2
97/8
97/8
13
1150 kg/m3
5.7 tons
22 m/h
137
PDC
0.17
61/2
27/8
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HOW THE BIT PROFILE AND GAGES AFFECT THE WELL TRAJECTORY
Figure 13 : Effect of the bit steerability and walk angle on the predicted build/drop rate and turn rate (well #1)
Figure 14 : Effect of the bit steerability and walk angle on the predicted build/drop rate and turn rate (well #2)
13