SPE

Md~H@
SPE 18047
An reproved Modeling Program for Computing the Torque and
Drag in Directional and Deep Wells
by H-S. Ho, NL Petroleum Services
SPE Member

CW@ht

1SSS.Society of Petroleum Engineers

ffrls paper waa prapered for preeantatiorr et the S2rd Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition of the Society of Petroleum Engineers held In
Hou$ton, TX, October 2-5, 1SS8.
This pepw waa eelected for preeerrtetkm by an SPE Program committee following review of Information contained in an ebstraot submitted by the
dvx(a). Oontenfe of rho paper, ee preeemed, have not beerr reviewad by the society of Petroleum Errgirrearaend re subjeof to eorreofiorr by the
euthor(s). The meteriai, u preeented, doee not necaaearily refleot eny position of the Society of Petroleum Erwineers, its officara, or mambers. PaPars

to publkAtiorr review by Ediiorial Commlfteea of the Sooiefy of Petroteum Engineers. Pcrmieeion to q

is
feebkfed to m ebefrect
ofnotmorethan2Wwofde,
Illuatrefiorre mey not be copied. Tha abefrecf shoutd conteln oonepkuous acfr-ment
of
Tdex,
720SSS
SpSOAL.
wtmre and by whom the paper hpmantxd
Writs
Publkatbne
Manager,
SPE,P.O. Sox SSXK?S,Rkhardaon,
TX720W-SSM,

preeenfed
tSt%
meefinw
are
subject

an increasing
urgency to reduce the total
drilling,
cmpletion, and production cost of a
-11 in order to develop a reservoir more
economically. This will reduce the influence
of price fluctuation
of the worlds crude oil
on the exploration aml devalqment programs of
the ognxating coqanies. Directional drilling
is now regarded as one way to achieve this
objective.

In directional and deep wells, the torque

ad drag generated by contacts between the
drillstriq
and the borehole play major roles
in the fol wing operations of the well: planning, drilling
(trouble diagnosis and prevsntion), and casing running/setting .They also
af feet the cca@etion/cemmting operation.

is increasingly
Directional
drilling
being regarded as an effective means to minimize overall
development and production cost
of an oil field,
particularly
for the following situations:

lhis paper discusses

the shortcomings of
the soft-string
model, which has been widely
used in the drilling industry. The soft-string
model ignores the effects of drillstring
stiffness,
stabilizer
placement, and borehole
clearance.
Consequently it generally
shows
redU@d sensitivity
to local krehole crookednessand underestimates the torqr,te and drag.

(1) Drilling
multiple directional wells
from the same platform or rigsite,
particularly
in offshore and arctic
areas, to reduce rig cost;

An improved modeling program is presented

here that combines a BHA(bottomhole assembly)
analysis in the stiff collar section, coupled
with an improved soft-string
model for the
remainder of the drillstring.

(2)

Case studies are presented to demonstrate

the difference between this improved model and
the soft-string
nxxiel; and also to justify the
approach of the improved nmdel.

(1)
(2)

I, INIROLWCrION

Challenges In Directional

Drilling
horizontal
wells to improduction
drainage,
avoid
prove
water coning, and develop very thin
reservoirs.

while the outlook on directional drillir.g

is very positive,
there are many unique
technical problems that need to be resolved in
order to further
reduce the total cost of a
directional well. The following two problems
are particularly
significant:

For deep vertical

wells, spiraling of the
WO1lcan result
in very severe torque and
drag. Simplified
formulas are derived, and
examples are given to demonstrate the exponential increases of torque and drag as the well
depth increases.
In essence, deep vertical
wells with spiraling
tendencies should be
handled as directional wells.

A.

Trajectory prediction and control\

Torque and drag generated by the
drillstring~s
eccentric
deformation
and the consequent contact between
the drillstring
(or casing) and the
borehole.

comprehensive drilling
progrartttrtust therefore address the following issues in an integral manner:

Drilling:

AS oil

and gas exploration becomes more

due to more severe environments
(deeper offshore, or arctic
areas), there is

(1)

expensive

*-.

&fling/prediction/control

of

well

AN IMPROVEO
FKWELING
PROGRAM
FORCONPUTING
Tt
(2)

Avoidancefirediction/advisory
drilling troubles

(3)

lbtel cost minimization.

of

It(1) is imperative,
since the target
must be reached within certain offsets if the
wall is to be effective.
In general, the drilling trajectory
does
not conform to the
plennad well path. Mglegs cauaed by unwanted
deviationa are the major source of drilling
trouble, and require costly course corrections
causes of these deviation tenand trips.
dencies need to be well understood, in order
to plan for khem if at all pzsible,
and to
monitor and account for their effects on the
drilling o~ration.
During wdl planning,
optimm~ll
~th
should be de:ined to minimize total drilling
cost. Conventional well-path planning merely
defines the trajectory
connecting tmpoints,
mostly asauming 2-D trajectory.
This should be
expanded to include the anticipateti deviai.ion
caused by the BHA end the formation; the
generated torque end drag, end the ensuing
implications
to
drillstring/casing
design
requimmmts.
while drilling,
constant monitoring is
needed to maintain proper well trajectory,
taking corrective actions
if needed. If@UWt3d
cmtrol am3 predictive
capabilities
will require fewer cxrective
actions, and result in
major coat savings.
Item (2) deals with the many potential
troubles during drilling,
such as: fluid pressure control (kick or lost circulation);
insufficient cuttings transport
and hole cleaning; drillstring
failure; severe hole crookedness which may cause key-seating
and stuck
pipe . Severe drilling
troubles may require
side tracking or even hole abandonment. Most,
if not all of these problems, become more
acute andmre difficult
to resolve in directional wells. JWS it is essential to understand the causes of these drilling troubles,
and develop capabilities
to monitor, intt?rpret, control and predict them.
Item (3) deals with the optimization of
cost for the entire wsll, by considering trade-offs
between conflicting governing parameters.
TMs task is considerably
more difficult
in directional drilling since
more parameters are present. Therefore better
understanding is needed about the effect of
variation of each parameter on the overall
drilling cost. k example of trade-off is the
choice of drilling
mud, Lubricated muds can
reduce borehole friction
but are much more
expensive and mere difficult
to dispose, while
the water-based muds are cheaper but will
cause higher torque and drag.
the total

B. Role Of Torque-Drag Model Programs In

Directional Drilling~
In directional and deep wells, the torque
and drag generated by contacts between the
drillstring
and the borehole play major roles
in the following areas: well-planning, drilling operation
(trouble diagnosis and preven-

TORQUE
AWDDRAGIN 01RECTIONAL
ANDQFFP WLLS SPE ~
tion),and casing ruming/eettin9
~rati~-~.
They also affect
the completion/ cenmting
ration.
Their
accurate predic;ons
are
x refore very iqnxtant if the well is tobe
successfully
and economically drilled
and
coepleted.

A gOOdtorque and drag model, especially

when coupled with improved surface torque and
hook loadmasurements,
can be used for the
following purposes:
(A)

planning
IIIprWed well
reduce torque and drag;

design

to

(B) nore realistic

drillstring
design eni~
surface eqi-+cnt selection;

(c) ll~~lfte

trouble-spotting
using diagdrilling
(tripping)
logs:
Ccmparisonof measured and predicted
torque and drag
can help s~t
potential troubles;

(D) Aid in casing running and setting;

(E) Inferring

dwnhole loads (W, ZUB,

or casing landing force) from surface
msazuresmnts;

(F)

Quantifying the casing eccentricity

and its effect
on cementing, using a
program that
cosputes the actual
deformation of the near-bottcnm section of the casing;

(G)

Aid in depth
asurements;

(H)

Aid in jarring
operation: Identification of the free point and the
overpull needed to activate jarring,
since both are affected by drag;

(I)

Means to redefine borehole trajectory

and geometric condition:
Using successive (time lapsed) tripping logs,
one can detect changes in the trajectoryand/or
geometric conditions of
the borehole.

correlation

of tIWOme-

At present,
applications
of torque and drag
are mostly limited to (A), (B), rind some limited cases of (C) and (D), Increased usage of
such models will be possible
only with improved reliability
and sophisticationof
such
models, along with improved surface measurements of hook load and torque.
Some directional
drillers
use steerable
&&hole motors to change the drilling direcrotary drilling,
motor
Ccnnpred to
driliing generates much higher drag in the
drillstring,
because frictior
it generated by
sliding along the axial directiun,
rather than
the circumferential
direction,
of the drillstring. For horizontal
and for extended reach
directional wells, there may be adepth l?.mit
beyond which one can no longer apply proper
w to the motor,
Recently, the
voted considerable
tal understanding

drilling
industry has deeffort to develop fundamenand analysis software pro..

,
Mm
eumu
M
-----nnm-annn
nu
[ 16047
. .
internal arsl external
flting
fluids will be
grto a&lress the rnjor iumes in direcpresented in a later paper.
timal
drilling
-timed
in the previous
section. In particular,
several BHA(bottose
B. Limitations Of lhe Soft-string
Model:
hole aaaed31y) analysis
programs [1-51 and
acm predictive
bit-rock
interaction swdels
Aa described
in Appendix B, the aoft[1,2,6-10] have been proposed anrVordevelstring n&al neglects
the stiffness
of the
heae programs, if proven in the field,
drillstring,
and is independent of the clearY llpeve thewy for a true predictive direcante between the drillstring
and the borehole
ticwl drilling program that canba usedbdh
wall. AS a result,
effects
of tignt holes and
in the office as a planning aid, and in the
severe local hole crookednesses cannot be
fielda$
a mnitoring
ml advisory tool. BY
easily detected by such a model. AS a result,
coupling such a predictive
drilling prowun
the soft-string
nmdel generally underestimates
with a trcuble analysis program which accounts
the torque and drag, or overestimates the
for theeffectofh oledeviatibnon
torque and
friction coefficient,
drag, we have the basic
elements of a directional drilling sinulator
that will enable us
These limitations
are clearly illustrated
to drill swell ona ccmputer.
in Figs. 3 and 4 to be presented in the following section. They will severely limit the
usefulness of the soft-string
model as a rigsite monitor/advisory
tool for trouble-spot11. PREVICUB
~E0RCOf4PUTIN0
IWVEW
ting.
~

Reportedly, some major oil companies have

incorporated a stiffness
correction factor to
the soft-string
model. However, the exact
nature of this, correction
is not yet publicized and is unknown to. the author.

Several papers have hen presented on a

mdel,tobe
called the soft-string model,
for computing the torque and drag indirectional wells [11-14]. However, up to now,
there r-in
SCSU! doubt and confusion about
various as cts of its theoretical foundation
@or
li r tation. rhe following briefly disCUSSSS theSS
iSSUS6.
A.

Besic Premifies Of The Soft-String

M Itb arivations:

The derivationof

(1)

(2)

(3)

for

folthe frW~s. Its~contains

~ the

Itasaumes the drillstring

co continuously contact the bore!lole. This
implies that effectively the borehole
clearance
is zero (or rather,
no
effect of actual borehole clearance
is seen).
It ignores the presence of shear
forces in the drillstring
in its
Under general
force
equilibrium.
conditions,
the assumption of zero
stiffness
does not imply vanishing
shears, as shown in Appendix B.

from the large

seemingly erroturns out to be
verified by equ.

A mOre complete

*Ai.
discussion

AII in-house
developed soft-string
sudal program, lURORA-O=,coded with
a very stable numerical integration
technique.

(2)

A BHAanalysis
program for the stiff
collar section. This is modified from
DIDRIL-1~ (a finite-difference
based
large
program using
defornution
theory [5]) to account for the drag
generated wh+le tripping.

rhis improved torque-drag program,Toritm&Ism, can handle top drives when the drillstring is rotated while tripping. It is also
being modified to allow the computation of
stiffness effect
in more than one segment of
if
needed, Itarrently
conthe drillstring
tains the following options:

the effective
To handle the fluid effects,
tension Tewill be used in place of the true
tension T and the sulxnerged weight density
will rep!ace the drillstrings
dry weight
~da;t~i$as
in [12]. The relation between Te
Te=T+po*~-pi

(1)

The rationale of the improved program is

to include the effect of drillstring
stiffness
where such effect
is the greatest, namely in
BHA analysis also enables
the collar. Wing
of stabilizer
placeus to include the effects
ment and hole clearance.
In addition, when
used for casings with centralizers,
output of
the BHA analysis
portion will enable us to
determine the amount of eccentricityof
the
casing.
This information is important for
proper cementing operation.

infinitesimal
drillstring
For an
element, it violates
momentequiliFOr
brium in the lateral direction.
any finite
drillstring
segment, the
assumed torque transfer is incorrect.

Ironically,
when viewed
defornwtion theory [51, the
neous torque transfer equation
a correct simplification,
as
(A-17) in [5].

IMPROVED
rCewE-DRAG
MODEL

maccount for the effect of drillstring

stiffness,
an iqmved
torque-drag model pre
gram~-r=,
has been developed. It combines two progrerss:

Model

the governing equations

~d:~~~~i~
~~
1 ng premises:

III.

(1)

Soft-string analysis
analysis bypassed;

only, BHA

(1)

of the effects

TWDRA,DIDRIL are sevice marks

of NL Petroleum Services

of
Am

NJ INPROVED
MODELING
PROGRAM
FORCOMPUTING
THETORQUE
ANDDRAGIN DIRECTIONAL
ANDOEEPHEELS SPE 18047
changed, since the soft-string
raodel is independant of the borehole diameter.

(2)

Inverted BHA analysis,

where the
stiff collar
section is not located
near the bit.
It canbe run in two modes: (1) Forward mode:
Given friction
coeffici~~;
to find surface
Given surface
loads;
(2)
Inverse
load(s), to find friction coefficient.

c.

Limited analyses have been carried out on

existing wells using the improved model, and
compared to those using the soft-string
model.
Wemake the following remarks:

The following case studies provide the

basic rationale
for the development smof
K!ROSA-I. These case studies
alN? Cl@ttdy
illustrate
the shortcomings of the soft-string
model.

(1)

Consider a situation where measurements at

twm adjacent survey stations show the borehole
to be in a smooth trajectory,
when in fact
there exists local crookedness, Ms can arise
when drilling through hard and soft formation
sequences, as depicted in Fig. 2. The question
is: canwe use torque-drag
tripping logs to
detect such local hole crookedness?
A.

Firat consider the situation

where the
local hole crookedness is a step kink, shown
in Fig. 3, es&ddad in a suppxedly straight
hole. Assusm the bit to be at point A, tripping out. we examine the effective tensionat
point B, aa a function of the length of the
The shorter the
curvad secticm of the w1l.
curved section (with the same total change in
deviaticm angle),
the more severe the local
hole Crookedness is. Intuitively
this will
lead to larger
tension at point B. Results
using the soft-string
tiel
are shown as dotted lines (for collar,
HWDP,and drillpipes)
in Fig. 3. ~
show clearly that the softstring umdal is totally
insensitive to such
local hole crookedness.

lherefore,
when using MWDsurvey, care
must be taken to reasonably snwoth the data by
the following:
(a)

Superimposed in Fig. 3 are results using

a Similar
the mcdified BHA program, US@
mske-up for collar,
HWDP, and driUpipe. We
can conclude:

(2)

Me improved nmdel consistently obtains larger

surface loads than the
soft string mmiel. rhis implies that,
when the average friction coefficient
is computed from the soft-string
model,
its
value
tends
to be
somewhat higher. However, for reasonably smooth holes (less than 1.5
deg/100 curvature
anywhere), the
soft-string
mcdel
does
give
reasonably good results.

(2) Whenuncorrected Mwo survey data are

used, particularly
if the interval is
very small (some at 7~ intervals),
both our soft-string
model and our
stiffness model obtain surface loads
considerably
in
excess
of what
has been actuslly
observed, with the
stiffness umdel showing consistently
higher values. The major problem here
is that the inferred
borehole trajectory
beces
unrealistically
crooked, which is more faithfully
reflected in the higher torque and
drag obtained by the stiffened model.

Comparison Of Trip-out Tension Across A

Step Kink

(1)

EXpWienCe Of The Improved Model

(b)

Stiffness effect
is very significant
when passing
in
collar
section
severe local hole crookedness. For
curve section
example, when the
length is 50, tension at point B is
greater
than that
about 8 kips
computed from the soft-string
model.

(c)
(d)

Such effect
Iessens dramatically for
HWDP,and is negligible
for drillpipe .

Use reasonable survey interval (no

less than 25);
Correct intrinsic errors of the survey measurements. One type of systematic error is caused by the deformation of the instrument sub, causing
the instrument axis to differ from
the borehole axis.
Smoothingma be necessarytoeliminate random ! nstrument errors.
In depth regions where prior trips
and/or reaming runs have been carried
out, the borehole geometry has been
considerably
altered.
Therefore,
additional
survey should be taken
while tripping
in. Precaution should
be followed similarly
as mentioned
above.

CO&O&j~~ Of Trip-out. Tensior, Across A

IV. SIMPLIFIEDMODEL
FORDEEPVERTICAL
WELLS

TM case study is similar

to the one
above, except the hole crookedness is now
assumed to be a down kink, as shown in Fig.
4. Results show entirely
similar trends as in
the previous case. When the curved section
length is 50, difference
in tension at point
B i$ SkQut 12 kips.

In theory,
there will be no torque and
drag in truly vertical
wells.
In reality,
comnonly observed hole spiraling will lead to
continuous wall contacts generating torque and
drag. The problem
rows in exponential manner
as the well depth ? ncreases, and become~ serious for very deep vertical wells. Once hole
spiraling occurs, a vertical well behaves much
like a directional well, and needs to be handied as such. Causes of hole spiraling are:

B,

~rthermore,
in Fig, 4, when borehole
clearance is reduced for the curved length at
100, the improved mcdel shows drematic increase in the effective
tension at point B,
whereas the soft-string
model remains un-

(1)
.Am
41U

Bit tilt
from an i;,itial vertical
position, due to buckling of the
collar when ~ is applied,

HiJA-SHAN
HO

SPE 18047

B.

5
TOr~e-DMg CKMIpUtatiOn
For A Spiraled

(2)

The applied torqua generating a walk

force, as fully described in [5].

(3

Up-dip drilling
deviation
tendency
[1,9,101 when drilling
into anisetropic formation with non-horizontal
badding.

~s.
(7,8) show that torque and drag are
uniquely determined by the following quantities: the equivalent
curvature k the coefficientof
friction f, andt hewal Y depthS.

Note that the phenrsaenonof hole spiraling

is different frcxn the helical bucklingof the
drillstring
ina vertical hole, the latter not
generating any drag while tripping.

It is very useful to compare the torque

and drag of such spiraled
wells to those of a
slanted well having the same constant deviation angle, Ad. we will neglect the second
term in the bracket for Mt(s) (if exists at
all), since it is small compared to the first
term for deep wells.
The following load factors are useful indicators
for such comparisons:

A.

Simplified

Vertical

Relations

To compute the torqv

and drag, particularly in irregularly
spiraled vertical wells,
an improved model including stiffness effects
should be used. In the following, simple fornulas are derived based on the following assurqtions:
(1)

Spiraling is periodic
pitch. This implies:

d(~)/ds

= O)

d(~)/dS

(1) The over-pull factor t , defined as

the ratio of added surfgce pull over
the sticking force, To:
~ - eXp[f kb s];

with constant

(2) The drag factor

td, definedas the

ratio of the surface hwk load over
the tot~~kdeadl~~ght
(#proximately
the
slanted
straight well):

= const.= kz
(2)

(2)

The kale
constant

deviation
but

vary

,angle,

small,

~,

is

so that

sin ( ) is negligible with respect

to uni?! . his
is@ies, in general,
that [sn(Ad)
Y
d(~)/dS]
is negligible
when ccapared to ~ term. This results in a lwer
estimate of the
drag generated.

td=(~-1)/(fkb6);
(3) me tOrwe factor ~,
definedas
the ratioof
over-torque fthe difference between the surface and the drnm
hole torque, if any) over the torque
generated by a slanted well with
constant deviation angle ~:

Variation from a uniform helix is very

important and needs to be defined, because
such variation
also tends to increase the
surface torque and drag, Improved torque-drag
xudel should then be used instead. For better
results, MIAdeformation must be determined to
correct the B9WIsurvey data.
For the simplified
to A-12) can b written
kb~--.

sin(~)

situations,
as:

~-kb

equs. (A-6

-Tkb=

(4)

T Sin(Ad)

kz;

dT/dS-fTkb=-gcos(Ad)
For tripping
out
equ. (6) leads to:

Nb= 0;

-..9;
condition,

T(S) =Toexp(fk
S) +g [eXp(f kbS)
-11 /tf kb);
Similarly,
to:

integration

Mt(S)=~+rfkb(.5g

of

equ.

(1) The surface loads are much higher

than what would be for inclined
straight holes.
For example, for a
40,000 well
with
an equivalent
curvature of only 1 degree / 100~ and
a low friction
coefficient
of
0.2, the over-pull factor t is 4.o4,
the drag factor td is ~.18, and
the torque factor tmis 100.

(5)
(6)

integration

of

(7)

(A-13) leads

S2 -TOS]

sin(Ad)).

The table
shows dramatic exponential
increases in torque and drag as the well depth
increases,
and illustrates
the significant
impact of deep hole spiralingon
drillstring
design and surface equipment selection.
We
observe:

kz (COS(AJ ii?-sin(Az) fi~);

kb= AbS(kz SiII(Ad);

s/(2

TO show hcw the well depth influences

these factors,
sample cases are included in
Table I, using a friction coefficient of 0.2.
At present, it is not possible to predict the
degree of spiraling in a vertical well. Therefore, equivalent curvatures
of kb = .5, 1.,
and 2, deg/100are considered.

(3)

N-Nnm

Well

sensitive
(2) These values are very
the curvature of the spiral.

to

(3) Variation
from the perfect
spiral
assumed herein
tends to increase
the surface torque and drag. Thereof
the
fore, accurate
definition
~ot~le
trajectory
is very impor-

(8)

,.4

Qll

AN IMPROVED
NODELING
PROGW4 FOR CONIWTIN(i. THE TORQUE ANLY!DRAG IN DIRECTIONAL

TABLEI

(4) Very dsep

EFFBCTOF~CAL?iOW
lURQUE& IRIP*

10.

SPIRALING
DRAG

1.09 1.20 1.45

1!20 1.45 2.11
1.4s 2.1s S.41

1.13 1.42 2.01

1.42 2.01 4.04
2.01 4.04 16.32

12,5 25, 50.

25,
50. 1::: N

--------------------------- ---------------------------- --------------C-S*C:

(1)

kb -

0.S

(2I kb - 1.0
(3) kb= 2,0

dm/100t

dw@OO~l
d*q/100~)

Ml

bawd

on f = 0.2/

Ad * 2 d,q,

In sunssary, w should regard deep vertical wells with spiraling

tendencies as directionsl wells with extended reach. The following considerations
are essential for successful drilling to.the total depth:

wells

should be

walls.

(5)

Torque and drag in vertical spiraled

wells ~.hth spiraling
tendencies inwith depth.
exponentially
crease
Si 10 formlas have been derived for
T r estimation.
the

(6)

Improved surface load measurermts

are needed for nmre accurate estimate
of the drag generated. A 5 %error in
the total hook load msymean an error
in excess of 50% in the generated
dnlg.

the
(7) With improved understanding,
improved torque-drag model can be
used for many other applications to
help the drilling process.
VI. ACxNmmGSMENTE

(1) Well-planning should account for the

potential of hole spiraling.

The autho~~ishes
to express his apprefollowing
persons: John
ciation
to
Fontenot for his guidance while he was at NL;
Paul stodney and Vik ~o for their sustained
suppxt and encouragesumts; Steve Sawaryn of
Britoil snd James Dech of Arco for their well
dataandhelpful
discussions.
rhenksalsogo
to Cathy Connally, nary Spencer, andmary
Pouts for their rush t ings~rt.
Lest but
s NL management for
not least, the author L
the penaissiont opblishthispepar.

(2) Surface torque and drag requirements

as well as drillstring
and casing
strength require=nts
must be planned
as in directicmel wlls.
(3) Frequent aurveys are needed toaccurately define the borehole spiral
end variation
frixa helical spiral.
Errors in survey Smeasurants (e.g.,
effect
of survey tool departure from
borehole
centerline)
should
be
eliminated if possible.

VII. ~IURS

(4) Every effort

should be made to reduce/control
spiraling
while drilling. Theuae of a predictive drillahead program with rock-bit interaction is very desirable for this purpose, especially when used iteratively in conjunction with MWD
surveys.
(5) Results shown in Table I are only
lower estimates,
Whenhole spiraling
beccdses irre lar,
the simplified
formulas no Yonger suffice.
An improved torque-drag model program such
as IORDRA-I
should be employed.

Ai:

Drillstring
section area
defined by inner diameter
Di

~:

Drillstring
section area
defined by outer diameter Do

~!

Deviation angle

As:

Asimuth angle

E:

V. CCNCLUSICNS:
In conclusion,

vertical

hendled as directional

---------------------- ---------------------------- -------------------I tocqu:mfamr

DCa9t~t0t
@@r-w:;factor
----------------------------------81$ ....................
(21 (3I ,
(1) (a) {I) ~ti}
(1I (al (3)
-------- ---------------------------------------- .. ... ...--------I :::

AND DEEP UELLS

SPE Inn&
..--- ---..-.,

we note:

(1) The soft string model violates fundamental equilibrium

of the drillString. It is a useful model only
when the well trajectory is reasonably Smoth.
(2) The effect
of stiffness is dominant
in the collar section, less important
in the heavy weight drillpipe section, and negligible for drill pipa.
(3)An i roved stiffened torque-drag
model1s formal
combining a nonlinear BSA 62WS1YS
? s for the collar
section, coupled with a soft-string
model for the remainder of the drillstring. Such a maciel should provide
moooalistic
torque end drag compu-

(Youngs) mdulus

(fi;,~~,~~):

Unit base vectors in global

system, pointing in East,
North, and up-vertical
directions

(~,~~l~~)!

Unit base vector in natural

curvilinear system

~;

Frincipal

~~t

Binormel direction;

--4
Et:
i$
. .-

Elastic

normal direction;

Tangential direction,
positive uphole;
Resultant force vector at
seetion of drillstring

------

UU&-WAU

Ilwn-avnuvWIw

16947
f:
t::

(F1,F2,F3):

g %

Friction

coefficient

Distributed Contact force

vector on drillstring

Te:

Effective axial tensionl

- n+(po~-p~
Ai)

To:

Sticking

force (effective)

t:
Components of resultant
vector force P at a section
in global coordinates

Distributed torque per unit

length on drillstring

~:

vector of sulxnerged drillstring weight per unit

length:

Wer-pull factrw, =Surface

tension inducedby To,
divided by To

~:

Drag factor =lbtal

surface
tension (To= O) divided
by total suspended string
weight

~:

Torque factor =Surface

torque divided by torque on
a straight hole of same
constant deviation angle, ~

%/-%

sulxnerged
- gfj
weight density;

gs:

Drillstrings
density

dryweiqht

Fluids=@tde@W

(Vn,Vb,T):

Physical c~~ne
resultant

curvilinear
I: Moment of inertiaof

drillstring
= n (D04-

(x, Y, z):

section
M4)

64

kb:

Total bending curvature

kn:

Wstural tortuosityof
drillstring
centerline

k~:

Rate of change of
azimuth angle: ~dS

I
VIII.

tit

Resultant momentvector ata

positive section of BHA

*:

Distributed n$rmal cg~tact

fOrCe, -Nn ~+ NbEb

Mt~ Drillstring
(O,Mb,-Mt)\

t>rque

Components of fiin
curvilinear coordinates

PO: Annulus fluid pressure

Pi:
r(S):

Ss

~re

fluid pressure

Torque-generating
drillstring

radius of

I
I

lengthof borehole/
drillstring
centerline,
positive going uphole

Arc

T! ACtUSl SXial tension

I
1

A*.

ts of

force $ in
coordinates

Fixed global coordinate

system, in:
East, North, and tip-vertical
directions

RE~

[1 ] Lubinski, A. end Woods, H.B.: Factors

Affecting the Angle of Inclination and
DOg-leg9ing in ROta~ Bore Holes, API
1953, pp. 222Drilling
& Prod. Sract.,
--Z>u.
[2 ] Williamson, J. S. and Lubinski, A.I Predicting Bottcahole Asse~ly Performance,
IADC/SPEConf., payr
no. 14764, Dallas,
Feb. 1986.

[3 ] Millheim, K., Jordan, S. and Ritter, C,

J.; Bottom-hole Aasembly Analysis Using
Element Wethod, JPT, Feb.
the Finite
1978, pp. 265-274.
[4 ] Jogi, P. N., Burgess, T. m. andsowling,
Three-Dimensional Bottomhole
P. :
J.
Directional
Assembly Model I~roves
Confo, paper no,
IAWSPE
Drillin9,
14768, Dallas, Feb. 1986.
[5 ] Ho, H.-S.: General Formulation of Drillstrin
Under Large Deformation and Ita
SPE M.
Tech.
Use ! n BHA Analysis,
Conf., Oct. 1986, NewOrleans, SPE rh?msr
. .
#15562.
llFactora
Affectin9
tie
[6 ] ~~a~ , W. B,:
r of Borehole Angle in Straight
and DiEeCtiOnSl Wells, JPT~ June 1973,
pp. 679-688.
[7 ] Millheim, K. K, and Warren, T. M.; Side
Cuttin Characteriaticsof
Xock Bits and
SPEpaPSC
stabil f zers while Drilling,
7518, Fall Annual SPEConf. 1978, 8P.
J. A.; 8s11, R. K.
8 ] ~ttir~otl.
tiyA Method of modeling
tho Directional
Sehavior ofsottomhole
Aasenbliea Including Those with Sent Subs
and Downhole FIotoks, 8PZ/2ADCconference, Feb. 1986, Dallas SPE paper 14767.

_...
,.

..-, ------- ... . .---0

nil

brlrn,

*wb-**.

..-.

-.

v..

. .

. . . . .

----

.--m

-A -- . ... .

. .,--

----

#h

---

.,-

[9 ] No, X.-S, : Discussic!I on: Predicting

Perfonmnce
Bottomhole ~sesbly
w
S. S. Willimeon
& A, L@inski, Spe/
Drilling &qng.
J., Mat. 1987, pp. 3746, SPE@S, Sept.

[10]

[11]

[121

[13]

[14]

1987, pp. 2S3-284.

HO, H.-s. : Prediction

of Drilling TraDirectional
wells via a
jectory
in
NSW Rock-Bit
Interaction
mdel~ SPE
Paper
#16658, Presented at SPE Conf.,
Oct. 1987, Dallas.
y=ik.
C. A., Dawscn, R. and Friesen,
Torque and Drag in directional
Prediction
and measurement~
&lls
2ADC/8PE conf.,
SPE paper 11380, New
Orleans, 1S?3, pp.201-208.
Sheppard, IL C.t Wick, C. andsurgess,
T.
M.: Designing Well Paths tO ReduCeDrag
and Tcrgue, SPEpaper #15463, Presented
Oct. 1986, NewOrleans, 12 p.
at SPE Conf.,
Ma~la~, E. E. and WOjt6ncwiCZ, A. K.:
Cceqpison
of
2-D and 3-D
methods for
the
Borehole
Friction
Evaluation in
Directional
wells,
SPE
paper 416663, Presented at SPE Conf., Sept.
1987, Dsll&s, pp. 125-139, Drilling.
Brett, J. F., Seckett, C, A. andsraith, D.
La U6e6end Limitations of a Drillstring
&ion arsl Tque
Model to Monitor Nolo
conditions, SF%
r #16664, Presented at
SPEConf., Sept. w97, Dallas, pp. 125-139,
Drilling.
(A)
APPSWDIX

.-m.-

(A-4)

d~/dS_-kb~+kn~;
(A-5)

Where kb is the total flexural curvature and

kn the natural tortucsityof
the hole g$nter~$ne, !mcanexpress
the base vectors Etand
~ in terms of the deviation (or inclination)
and azimth angles, Adand As as follows:
ii;= -sinAd sirlAz E;-siq

co*

E;+ coaAd-33;
(A-6)

-5;

{CQj/ds CO* CO* -dA#ds

sinAd si~)}

-*3

(~dssinf@l
(A-7)

kb2= (d@8)2+

(d?@)2

kb >0.

(Sill%d)2;

Therefore:

DERIVATI@4
OP BOF%STRING
_

IN NAIURAL
-IIWES

The basic governing equations are given

here in natural
curvilinear coordinates for the
soft-string
model,
When compared to the
Constrained stiff umdel given inlippendix B,
and further to real situations,
the assumptions of the soft-string
model will thenbe
apparent.
the internal and external
fluids, with pressures pi andpo,are taken
into considerationas
in [12], by using the
effective tension, Te\
The effects

of

le=T+po&-p~Ai

(A-1 )

and replacing the dry weight density,

the aulxnerged density, ~:

g~, by

9V= 9s - 9fr

(A-2 )

where gf is the fluid density, A more detailed

and related probtreatment of these effects
lems will be presented in a future paper.
With those substitutions,
equilibriumof
the
soft-string
model is describsd as follows, per
Fig, 1, while tripping out~
d(Ti$)

/dS+fi

(A-3)

contact

(A-9)
we obtain
dT/dS

- fN+g~~*~~=O;

(A-it))

Nnm-(TKb+g~~*~)t

(?-11)

Nb=-g~@~.

(A-12)

The moment equilibrium

d(-Mt@)

/dS+

is described by~
f

rNii~=

O.
(A-13)

Along the ~~ direction,

-fN~:+g~@.

USing thO Frenet-Serret formulas for the

centerline of the borehole;

Separa ing thediatributed

lateral
force k into two components:

dNt/dS=frN.
Along the ~ direction,

we have:
(A-14)
egu, (A-13) impliesl

SPE

NliA-SMN

18047

w:l?%z~~~==$=

~kb=O,

because the drillstring

isasamadtobs
cqnpletdyccmtrained~
tha borehole, and
therefore the centerline
of the drillstring
has the sem trajectoryas
that of the boralwle. Equilibriumof
the differential
segment
dswhile tripping outisgivsnby
(Fig. 6):

fiisviolatss
equilibrium, unless kb= O.
lhxthermore, uhen any finite lengthof the
drillstring
is takenas a free bcdy, overall
maent aquilibrhas is clearly violated in all
directions,
unless the borehole is straight.

a$jds+z;+gi$.of

lb illustrate,
Fig. 5a isa finite seg~ntof
the drillstring
with constant (2-D)
curvature kb subjected to torque Mtl andmt~
at both ends, end en asawaecl constant distrlbutad torque, t, for ease of illustration.
To
consider masent equilibrium, w do not need to
include all the fyces acting on the free
body, since there is in general no force couple. W can therefore consider mcmentequilibri~abouta
point
on the line of action of
the resultant total force.

Length CD = LOn9th
( froa (A-14) ) I

AS + Arc

(s-1)

&ds+iQx$+t

E;=o;

(B-2)

where

Fig. 5b is a ge~tric
constmction of
the total moment acting on the free i.edy by
the applied torque. The straight lines Asand
CDdanotethe torque at band c, i.e., ~land
%2 respectively,
whereas the curved (circular
arc) section BCdsnot~ the integration of the
distributed
torque t ~. Note the following:
(a)

M)

t.

iLr@g+NbEJ;

fr

@J;
(s-3)

and the resultant bending momant, ~, isdefinedby the kxxeholes flexural curvature,
kb, by:
Mb=kb*EI.

length SC

Noting that:
(b) Ve&rcCD

is

tangent to arc sCat

&ds=ayas+E;xi,
where Iij is the natural
vector of the borehole:

Similarly, for any point pwithin the section

SC in Fig. 5a, the corresponding torque is the
the above two
vector PQ in Fig. 5b, satisfying
conditions. Note that if t is not constant,
then, the curve sCwill not be a circular arc,
tut the above conditions still
hold.

(B-4)
total

curvature

with k being the tortuosity of the borehole

center !!Me, we can obtain, similar to [511 the
following four equilibrium equations:

The above relationships canba interpretedas

follows: The torque integrand curve
APC is the evolute of the torque integral
curve A@, which in turn is the involute of
AX.

(1) Momentequil,

(M$/ds - t;
Therefore, the total resultant moment for
this section is the vector AD, and not zero,
rhis implies that the section is not inmcment
equilibrium,

in fi~ direction:

t=frN.
(B-5)

(2) Force equil,

in~~ direction;

d/dS (T + Mb2/(2EZ))

-fN+g~~*~;=()!
(B-6)

APP~IX (B)
RI~RWS DSRIVATIWOF
CONSTRA2NSD
DRILLSTRING
MODEL

(3) Force equil,

If we assure, as in the soft-stringlt

nmdel, that the drillstring
isccspletely
constrained by the borehole (resulting in
conthmw
contact), but do not neglect the
then a rigorous
stiffness of the drillstring,
theory can be derived for computing the contact force, and the generated torque and drag,

in~direction$

-d2M~dS2 + kn (kbhlt+kn

Mb)+1Kb

+Nn+g~~*-<.Oj
(4) Force equil,
_d(kbMt+knMb)/dS~

The derivation is basedon the large deformation formulation tecentlypresentd

in
416

(B-7)

in~~direction~
kndM~dS+Nb

IHPROVED NODELING PROGRAM FOR CMPUTING

In additiorh

we have:

(s-9)
Note that the asmxnption of zero 13tif fness by
the soft-string
mdel implies Mb= O. However,
we cannot therefore assume zero shear force ~
as does the soft-string
model, because of the
teKmkb~.
ThiSerKOK Will lead to inCOKKeCt
normal contact force.

THI

ORQUE AND DRAG IN DIRECTM)NALANDDEEP~

SPE ~

(2) The interpolated borehole trajectory

between survey stations is smooth (atmst
lineacly varying curvature) and has sero tortuosity. In such situations the soft-string
model does provide very good results within
each such survey interval,
Whenviaw! frcmthe entire borehole trajectory, one can see the following probleme
with the soft-string
model:

several coassants canba made atmut equations

(B*5-8):

(1) The drillstring

centerline does not
conform to that of the borehole, particularly if the borehole has reversad curvatures
(local hole crookedness).

(1) The bending mznmt always contributes

tension, However, this
to a positive t3ffS@iV(!
effect is generally small and negligible.
For
a 4.5 pipe under 30 deg/LOO~curvature, this
armnts to about 25 lbf; for a 7 collar,
about 330 lb.

(2) ~tothe
above condition, the
drillstring
twist is different from the borehole tortuosity and not zero, and does contribute to the tortuosity of its centerline (also
discuesed in [5]). rherefore significant error
exists in the c~tation
of the contact force

N.

(2) -ring
(s-7) to (&8) in ~ting
the contact force ~,
the norsul ~tof
w see that the soft-stringmdel
(A-8) raiaaes
the first tw terms. Aaatming planar curves
(8s is the caee with moat aurvey~in~otion
mrthoda), then the tortucdty
Therefore, if themsent
(or hoe
? curvature)
varies linearly~ no rror is irwolved. @herwiee, substantial error will occur in the *stiaate of%. Note that real boreholes doposSeSS *VSniShi~
kn.
(3) comparing (B-8) to (A-9) in conqmting
the binormal conponentof the contact force
Nb, undrx the assumption of zero tortuosity,
we see that the soft-string
mdel misses the
term:

kbdMt/dS

+Mtdkb/dS.

The second term vanishes if the circular arc method is used, but the first term is

always present, baing equal to:

4

m-kbti(frN),

Wecan conclude that the soft-string

model provides reasonably gocd estimates of
the torque and drag under the following conditions
(1) The drillstring continuously contacts
the borehole, i.e., the drillstring centerline
nearly coincides with the borehole centerline,
This raquires the borehole trajectory to be
very snmoth and contain few if any reversed

curvatures.
IYAsis amajorassumption
and the
source of Significant error. It completely
of hole clearance,
ignores the effect

any finite length eegmentof the

suswnt equilibrium is violated,
as proven in Fig. 5aand5b.
(3) For

drillstring,

M@+5s)

.. ... .

T(S
+ 0S) /

1
-

SIU19
~=
..

L
/

...

S8nd -

%%
.....*...L~/

---

kMm#t2d

1
#

1-EQUL3XIUIII a! !SdV3trtma Elemenl

......

Suid...
.......%..
.

sluh
_

_.

......
......
SMd

/sufml

St8ii&

Fig.2-kNalan4htmp01alMMp@.5.

B./AT

i\

AT

40K

+,
w

~.

%..
-.

-.-

e-

40

Tatd s-zm

%titmha,

--*--*

D12rn0-u m2u

~-e-

m22mrc

--K:

Mo2u

a-m?2e/ft
EI-52XXPMI?

HWDP
9 =3s.24

b/ft

E1-8xlfP2Ai

A-

~.+.

2.5

R---------____

--

DPfOD.+.
9 = IS.21 Wfi
so

FIG. 3 EFFECT

OF S*EP

W.3

--
X d b-$12)

1
209 &ffu

KINK ON DRAG (f=O.2)

o
*
w

*,,

1!
II

,1

l!

18047