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Exam+sol 2005-2013 HJ
Exam+sol 2005-2013 HJ
Exam+sol 2005-2013 HJ
and
All exams tasks are always evaluated for transfer to exercise section. Many of the exam questions have already
been transferred to Exercises in Drilling Fluid Engineering. Relatively few remaining complimentary exams
questions are found here. Some tasks that are too similar to the exercises have also been erased from the exam
pamphlet.
Normally all necessary info, found in the Drilling Engineering Book, is accompanying the exams, but not
presented in this pamphlet.
The following exam-front page is the same every year and not shown for the other exams. The same goes
for additional information:
Examination support: D: No written or handwritten examination support materials are permitted. Certain,
specified calculator are permitted.
2
Given the Fann VG readings (θ) for different RPMs below, a) Why are these measurements
performed on a continuous base (i.e. every 15 minutes) on the rig? b) Show how to best prepare
the data for pressure loss estimation.
600 60
300 50
200 40
100 30
6 15
3 11
Question 2
The velocity profile is given by vz(r) = umax (l-r2/R2). Compute the pressure distribution dp/dz and the
shear-stress distribution τ in the pipe, on basis of the cylindrical Navier-Stokes equations in the z-
direction (horizontal), for fully developed, stationary laminar-pipe-flow where v θ = vr = 0. Find
maximum shear stress in the pipe.
2. Pressure loss
Make a graph of pressure loss vs. flow rate in a 1000 m long pipe with inner diameter of 10 cm.
Rheological data points are given below, and mud density is 1.1 kg/l.
d) What are the dominating mechanisms or factors leading to mechanically stuck pipe
(differentially stuck not included).
e) What is the most likely stuck pipe mechanism in salt formations? In case of halite type salts
are present, what kind of mud do you want to use for safe drilling in this salt section.
Task 4
Mention 5 effects which poor solids control may have on the drilling process.
5. ECD
If the cuttings concentration generated at the bottom during drilling is 0.02, what will be the
concentration?
6. Stability
a. Explain the principal function of the two different surface active additives that are always
added to Oil based mud.
b. How is the salt concentration in the water phase, which is added to Oil Based Mud,
determined?
b. The cling factor is used during estimation of surge & swab pressure. How would you stepwise
go about to estimate the cling factor?
c. Find the velocity profile in question b for laminar flow with closed-end drill pipe.
Leave out or do only parts of the question if you are in doubt)
2. Solids transportation
a. Are there any countermeasures to barite sagging?
b. What determines cuttings bed height?
c. Why is cuttings accumulation in wellbore expansions (washouts) a problem?
3. Bit hydraulics
How do you determine when to change from working area I to II of the pump during drilling?
5. Wellbore stability
The drilling fluid water’s phase has an identical water activity with pore water. The water will
penetrates shale in accordance with Darcy’s law, although in small quantities. Is it possible for a mud
engineer to reduce this flow of water (a reduction is beneficial because it will reduce unwanted
reaction between the drilling fluid water phase and shale further away from the wall, where the pore
water activity is different)?
RPM Reading
600 140
300 98
100 54
5
3 13
= Reading x 1.06 x 0.4788
= RPM x 1.703
a. Find Bingham and Power Law constants, for Bingham both through Field procedure and ordinary
straight line constants.
b. Find pressure loss in a 10 m long 6 ¾” x 12 ¼ “ annulus when pumping at 400 lpm. Use Power
3
Law. Ρmud = 1100 kg/m .
c. What effect has entrance length of a uniform pipe on estimated pressure loss?
Give a short explanation to the flow chart you make, so that others also understand it.
a. Verify the shear rate expression for a Bingham fluid (see Appendix), both for pipe and annular
flow. To find the answer you need to derive the so called universal pressure loss model.
b. Prove that the pump pressure is generated purely by friction resistance in the flow system (use
a control volume in the fluid circulating system to prove it).
3. Hydraulic program
Pump characteristics of a 1600 Hp pump are given in the Appendix. While drilling in the 12 ¼ “ well
section at 3 000 mMD, the hydraulic constants are determined:
m = 1.7 (-)
K1 = 2.0 . 106 (kg/m4)
qr = 0.03 (m3 / s)
mud = 1 300 (kg/m3)
6
4. Wellbore stability
While drilling in the 8 ½ “ section, at a depth of 1 500 mTVD / 6 000 mMD, in overbalance, the ECD
will fluctuate and at times be high in this long well. Previous experience from that area indicates that
instable, swellable shale will be penetrated. Your task now is the following:
a. Define what wellbore stability-related processes may take place in the shale while drilling
through it with WBM.
b. Which type of inhibitive mud will you suggest in order to maximize wellbore stability?
Explain how this mud type will affect the wellbore.
c. Does fluctuating ECD have any implications for the stability of the wellbore?
7
Question 2
Navier stoke in z-direction, cylindrical coordinates
z 1 p 1 v z 1 2 v z 2 v z
z r 2 2
z z r r r r
2
z
For given flow it reduces to
1 p 1 v z
0 r
z r r r
Rearranged
p 1 v z
r
z r r r
p 4 u m z / R 2
v
The shear stress is found as u m 2r / R 2 .
r
Maximum of is found when r = R, i.e. at the wall. max 2 u m / R
a) By adding salt to the mud’s water phase corresponding to A w of pore water. No osmotic force
between mud and clay, and thus no water driven swelling. There are 5 ingredients in OBM, the
Aw and the salt type should be as close to pore water’s as possible.
1. Base oil
2. Water
3. Emulsifier (surface active additive I)
4. Surface wetting (surface active additive II)
5. Salt
c) K+ is geometrically suitable in between platelets and leads to high platelet attraction (low
swelling).
d) The higher concentration, the more Na++ is exchanged.
2. Flow in pipes
p 1
a) From attachment and stated condition; 0 rv
z r r r
From boundary condition, rearranging/integrating twice v (r ) is found. Or simply starting by
equating shear forces with pressure forces on a small element.
dv dp / dx R dp
b) w 2R (shear stress is highest for r = R)
dr 4 2 dx
R
1
A
1 dp / dx
R 2 dp / dx
R 2 4 o
c) v v dA R 2
r 2
2 r dr (dA = π 2 r dr)
8
The two eqn. above are valid only for laminar flow.
d) dp/dx = 0,09 MPa/1000 m = 90 Pa/m
0.05 0.05 2 90
w 90 2.25 Pas v 0.53 m s
2 8 0.0538
3. Pressure loss
55
Clearly a Newtonian fluid 0.0538 Pas 54 cP
1022
v dh
v q/A, N Re
Select two in laminar and two in turbulent regime
q v NRe p
l/m m3/s m/s MPa
250 0.00417 0.53 1083 0.09
500 0.00833 1.06 2170 0.18
1000 0.017 2.12 4340 0.85
2000 0.033 4.25 8687 2.98
Flow Rate
9
1: Short questions
b. Cause of Barite segregation
Barite has a specific density of 4.3, average particle size of approximately 20 microns and will
thus stay in suspension for long periods of time in a viscous fluid, but slip slowly due to
gravity.
When mud density is greater than 1.5 kg/l the
concentration is so high that barite tends to
agglomerate and sediment at higher rates.
Sagging takes place only at inclinations between
30-60 deg.
g. Problem:
- stuck pipe, salt creep
- drill string wash out,
- cracks,twist offs and
- Casing collapse loading.
WBM can be used with some additives. Halite has little creep tendency.
One of the more severe consequences of wellbore breathing is the misinterpretation of the
observed flow as a kick when the pumps are shut down.
Task 4
Some effects on the drilling process, related to poor solids control are:
mechanical stuck pipe
higher mechanical friction / reduction in ROP
thicker mud cake / differential sticking
denser mud, high pressure losses / ECD
difficulties during tripping of drill string and casing.
ploss1 43 18 25 bar
ploss2 160 72 88 bar
2 1
m = log ( 88
25 ) / log 60 = 1.86 K 1 = ca 2.0 · 10 6
/
60
Find p d p p pbit
1
p bit 1.11 v 2
2
v = q/Anozzle
Abit = (π/4)de2
= π/4 (d12 + d22 + d32) = π/4 ∙3 ∙ (15/32)2 ∙ (2.54*102)2 = 3.3333 ∙104 m2
q1 = 0.03333 m3/s, q2 = 0.017 m3/s, v1 = 100 m/s, v2 = 51 m/s
2 2 2 15
d e d1 d 2 d 3 3 d1 3 0.0254 0.0206 m 1
32
m
K1D and m are determined from: pd K1D q
11
ln p d 1 pd 2 ln 88 25
m 1.82
ln q1 q 2 ln 2000 1000
88 10 5
K 1 D p d q m 1.82
43 108 /2500 = 1.7 * 106 = K1
0.0333
5a. Settling and lifting of cuttings is a function of q, rpm, A flow etc. in average or at an
equilibrium cuttings height Ch is slightly lower than Co since some cuttings are always
deposited, e.g. Ch = 0,95 · C.
5b. Csurface = Ch / Rtransport , typically twice as high as the original concentration.
6a. Emulsifier is used to reduce the surface tension between oil and water, enabling smaller
droplets, enhancing stability. Wetting agents make sure that oil is wetting the shale.
6b. Find the Aw of clay through its in situ weight and then by comparing with clays with known
Aw. Thus Aw of water phase is determined, and type of salt.
→
And solving ΔpNewton = ΔpBingham for µeff gives the answer.
b. 1. Make a detailed drawing where all parameters are defined
2. Develop velocity profile with the correct boundary condition
3. Mass balance: qup = vpipe ·vpipe + qcling. (mass-up = mass-down)
4. Cling factor: qcling/qdown
3. Solids transportation
b.
1. Making the solids particles smaller or even replace them by high density salt.
2. Tripping faster.
3. Increase viscosity just before tripping.
4. Down hole flow enhanced mounted on the drill string.
c. The cuttings removal forces are countered by gravity and cohesive forces. Gravitational forces are
given by Stokes law. Cohesive forces are influenced by the mud’s gel strength. Removal forces
given by drag and lift forces. Drag forces are a function of particle Reynolds number and
spherisity. These forces can be developed into the critical lift velocity or rolling velocity. At a
given cuttings feed rate, a stationary bed height will form as a function of all involved input
variables. Rotation will enhance removal.
d. Here the bed height will be higher due to higher cross sectional area and thus lower Reynolds
number. When BHA is shoveling many cuttings into a narrower wellbore it is easy to imagine that
the BHA may become jammed.
4. When to shift
12
You start in area II and drill until the depth where qopt II = qmax,smalles liner. Then you turn to qmax,smallest liner and
turn to qopt I at the depth when qopt I = qmax,smallest liner
5. Wellbore stability
a. Yes, it can be reduced by creating a filter in the shale. This can be done by adding particles to
the water phase where the average particle size distribution 1/3 of the average pore throat
size distribution.
pl
140 98 0.4788 1.06 41.710 3 Pas
600 300 1.703
YP 2 pl 2 71.06 41.07 10 3 1022 28.4 Pa
n
12v 2n 1 K d
eff 0.4 Pas
nd 3n 12 v
vd
N Re 200
eff
n
12v 2n 1 L
pa 4K 0.04 105 Pa
d h 3n d h
c. A uniform pipe has an entrance length. Increasing length with increasing N Re
Undeveloped flow at the entrance is turbulent and has higher shear until boundary layer
expands and meets in the middle.
4. Solids control
Bed height can be described with 26 words:
Drag Force (shear stress, viscosity, spherisity, Reynolds N,)
Gravitation (particle diameter, , concentration, transp. ratio)
Cohesive F (YP, van der Waal)
Critical v (friction factor, pump rate, bed height)
Mechanical F (rotation, reciprocation, reaming)
Hole geometry ( dhydr, washouts, inclination)
13
5. Hydr.progr.
1. Find which liner: assume smallest possible liner in the vertical section. In the horizontal section
there might be other optimal criteria than for vertical wells (max ROP).
2. Find depth where changes of liner, qmax, qr, etc is occurring.
3. Find dnozzle from Δpbit = Δpbit,optimal
a. Define as precisely as possible in terms of flow rate q, or velocities v, the fluid pattern during
the steady-state upward pipe movement (tripping out). Draw two sketches, one without
simultaneous pumping and one including pumping.
b. Explain how you will determine the swab pressure, just in principle terms, preferably
stepwise.
Bingham:
b. From the Bernoulli’s equation we see that all parameters are identical in and out of a control
volume of a horizontal (or vertical) pipe, except for the friction term. Can also be proved
through pointing at pressure forces= shear forces in laminar pipe flow.
2. a. The Vcling will be added to the fluid volume displaced by the drill string.
qDS = ADS · vDS, vdisplaced = qDS/Aflow
Vtotal = Vpump – Vdisplaced - Vcling
b. Step 1. Understand the physics and forces in a Drawing
Step 2. Make a control box and entering exiting forces.
Δp·πr2 = τ·2πrΔL
Δp/ ΔL ·r = 2τ
Step 3. Differentiate: Δp/ ΔL ·dr = 2 dτ
Step 4. Integrate over the control volume (along r)
3. a. pb = Δpd + Δpbit
b. From pump characteristics we see that, to optimize available pressure, in a vertical well, liner 5
¾” must be chosen; pmax = 350.6 bar. In a horizontal well one have to start with a flow rate
higher than qr.
= 1.11 . ½ . v2
c.