Pressure Drop through Surface Equipment

by DRILLINGFORMULAS.COM on FEBRUARY 16, 2015

Pressure drop through surface equipment is one of the components

in drilling hydraulics that must be considered. When we talk about surface
equipment, we usually refer to those following equipment as a stand pipe,
surface hoses, a swivel, a gooseneck and a Kelly.

Surface equipment on the rig more detail :

1. Mud tank

16. Stand (of drill pipe)

2. Shale shakers

17. Pipe rack (floor)

3. Suction line (mud pump)

18. Swivel (On newer rigs this

may be replaced by a top

4. Mud pump

drive)

5. Motor or power source

19. Kelly drive

6. Vibrating hose

20. Rotary table

7. Draw-works

21. Drill floor

8. Standpipe

22. Bell nipple

9. Kelly hose

23. Blowout preventer (BOP)

10. Goose-neck
11. Traveling block
12. Drill line
13. Crown block
14. Derrick
15. Monkey board

Annular type
24. Blowout preventer (BOP)
Pipe ram & blind ram
25. Drill string
26. Drill bit
27. Casing head or Wellhead
28. Flow line

29.
30.
Because of a number of several combinations of surface
equipment, four popular combinations are selected and the surface
equipment coefficients for calculating pressure loss are shown in the
below table.
31.

32.
33.How to determine the pressure drop thought the surface equipment

Fine out the surface coefficient show in the table above.

Use the following equation to figure out the pressure loss.
34.

35.
36.
37.Where:
38.P = pressure loss, psi
39.W = mud density, ppg
40.Vf = viscosity correction factor
41.PV = plastic viscosity, centipoises
42.Q = flow rate, gpm
43.Di = inside diameter of pipe, inch
44.Cse = general coefficient for surface equipment
45.
46.For more understanding, please following the example to calculate
pressure loss through surface equipment
47.
48.Surface coefficient is in case#2 therefore Cse is 8.
Mud weight = 9.5 ppg

Plastic Viscosity = 12 cp
Flow rate = 600 GPM

49.
50.P = 155 psi.
51.
52.Conclusion: With the given example, the pressure drop through
surface equipment is 155 psi.