Abstract
In an effort to develop methods of solving the issue of cuttings bed in horizontal wells, a 3-D transient model is established to simulate the distribution features and the transport mechanism of cuttings bed. The CFD calculation results show that the cuttings at the cross-sectional area of the mutation location such as the drilling pipe connector would easily settle down to build up a cuttings bed and the transport performance of the cuttings in a horizontal well can only be improved to some extent by adjusting the working parameters without using any destruction tools for the cuttings bed, thus the issue of a cuttings bed can not be solved in general. Accordingly, a new approach to effectively prevent and actively destroy the cuttings bed by using the Cuttings Bed Impeller (CBI) is proposed, the sensitivity analysis of which is conducted to determine the optimal structural parameters and the best matched working parameters from a perspective of the wellbore cleaning. Results show that the use of the CBI produces a number of benefits, including the reduced drill string torque to avoid the stuck pipe incidents with corresponding improvement in hole quality, a shorter trip time, and less wear on the drill string, the top drive and the casing. This research offers theoretical guidelines for the design of destruction tools for the cuttings bed and for the wellbore cleaning control in the horizontal drilling.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
WANG Rui-he, CHENG Rong-chao and WANG Haige et al. Numerical simulation of transient cuttings transport with foam fluid in horizontal wellbore[J]. Journal of Hydrodynamics, 2009, 21(4): 437–444.
WANG Zhi-ming, ZHANG Zheng. A two-layer timedependent model for cuttings transport in extended reach horizontal wells[J]. Journal of Hydrodynamics, Ser. A, 2004, 19(5): 676–681 (in Chinese).
THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY AND MARKET OF CHINA NATIONAL PETROLEUM CPORPORATION. Exploration and production company of PetroChina company limited horizontal well technology seminar proceedings[M]. Beijing: Petroleum Industry Press, 2008(in Chinese).
AZIZ T. N., RAIFORD J. P. and KHAN A. A. Numerical simulation of turbulent jets[J]. Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics, 2008, 2(2): 234–243.
SAINTPERE S., MARCILLAT Y. and BRUNI F. et al. Hole cleaning capabilities of drilling foams compared to conventional fluids[C]. SPE 63049. Dallas, Texas, USA, 2000.
ZOU L., PATEL M. H. and HAN G. A new computer package for simulating cuttings transport and predicting hole cleaning in deviated and horizontal wells[C]. SPE 64646. Beijing, China, 2000.
INDRA G., RUDI R. Determining cutting transport parameter in a horizontal coiled tubing underbalanced drilling operation[C]. SPE 101937. Melboume, Australia, 2002.
LIOUMBAS J. S., KOLIMENOS C. and PARAS S. V. Liquid layer characteristics in gas-liquid flow in slightly inclined pipes[J]. Chemical Engineering Science, 2009, 64(24): 5162–5172.
LONG Zhi-hui, WANG Zhi-ming and GUO Xiao-le. Transport mechanism of cuttings in annulus during deviated and horizontal drilling[J]. Journal of China University of Petroleum, (Edition of Natural Science), 2005, 29(5): 42–45 (in Chinese).
CHO H., SHAH S. N. and OSISANYA S. O. A Three segment hydraulic model for cuttings transport in coiled tubing horizontal and deviated drilling[J]. Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology, 2002, 41(6): 32–39.
QUAMRUL H. M., SIAMACK A. S. and BRENTON S. M. Prediction of solid particle erosive wear of elbows in multiphase annular flow-model development and experiment validations[J]. Journal of Energy Resources Technology, 2008, 130(2): 1–10.
ZHU X. H., JING J. and TONG H. Causes and conditions for reamer blade balling during hole enlargement while drilling[J]. Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics, 2012, 6(1): 87–99.
NIU Y. Y., LIN Y. C. and CHANG C. H. A further work on multi-phase two-fluid approach for compressible multi-phase flows[J]. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, 2008, 58(8): 879–896.
GRADECK M., LEBOUCHÉ M. Two-phase gas-liquid flow in horizontal corrugated channels[J]. International Journal of Multiphase Flow, 2000, 26(3): 435–443.
BALASUBRAMANYAM M. S., BAZAROV V. G. and CHEN C. P. Numerical design investigation of a hydromechanical pulsator for rocket motor injector dynamics research[J]. Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics, 2010, 4(2): 314–325.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51222406, 51004082), the New Century Excellent Talents in University of China (Grant No. NCET-12-1061) and the Scientific Research Innovation Team Project of Sichuan colleges and universities (Grant No. 12TD007).
Biography: ZHU Xiao-hua (1978-), Male, Ph. D., Professor
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhu, Xh., Sun, C. & Tong, H. Distribution features, transport mechanism and destruction of cuttings bed in horizontal well. J Hydrodyn 25, 628–638 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1016/S1001-6058(11)60405-9
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1001-6058(11)60405-9