Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-019-04061-9

RESEARCH ARTICLE - MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Dynamic Research and Experimental Analysis of a New Downhole

Drilling Tool
Jialin Tian1 · Lai Wei1 · Tangjia Zhang1

Received: 12 March 2019 / Accepted: 23 July 2019

© King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals 2019

Abstract
With the increasing of drilling depth, the working conditions of the drilling engineering are becoming more complicated.
When drilling in the complex well structure, there are many new problems or challenges such as low rate of penetration
(ROP), serious stick–slip phenomenon, or high risk of downhole tools failure. The most critical factor in solving these new
challenges is improving rock breaking efficiency. Considering this, this paper proposed a new oscillator based on the positive
displacement motor. Combining with new complex drilling conditions, the new structure was designed. The mathematical
models were presented, including the working mechanism of the new design with its structure parameters. Furthermore, the
theoretical models of dynamics under new conditions were analyzed, including the new bottom hole assembly. Based on this,
we can get the vibration displacement, velocity, and the system vibration spectrum at different drill string positions. Compared
with the results of a numerical example, the lab test was carried out. The two important parameters of vibration frequency
and impact forces were compared with the theoretical results, which verified the correctness of the theoretical model and the
accuracy of the solution method. Moreover, field experiments were also tested to verify the results, and the field experimental
data showed that the new design could increase ROP obviously. The method and conclusions of the research can provide a
new reference for the new downhole technology of enhancing the ROP or improving the rock breaking efficiency in complex
well structure.

Keywords Vibration · Drilling · Dynamics · Downhole tool · Rate of penetration (ROP) · Rock breaking · Test analysis

Abbreviations 1 Introduction

PDC Polycrystalline diamond compact With the rapid development of the global economy, the
ROP Rate of penetration demand for energy in the industry has been increasing. Oil
WOB Weight on bit and natural gas resources are still one of the indispensable
BHA Bottom hole assembly important energy sources for today’s society [1]. However,
HWDP Heavy weight drill pipe there are still many problems to be solved in oil exploration
and exploitation. For example, when drilling hard forma-
tions, the problems of low drilling speed and low efficiency
often appear, increasing economic costs. In order to solve
these problems, Lubinski et al. [2] applied the theory of elas-
tic stability to the drill string to provide a theoretical basis for
the study of the dynamics of the drill string. In 1960, Finnie
et al. conducted an experimental study on the vibration of the
B Jialin Tian
drill string, the axial force and torque of the upper part of the
tianjialin001@gmail.com; 309009838@qq.com
drill string were measured for the first time, and the natural
B Lai Wei
frequency of the drill string without damping was determined
1364845946@qq.com
[3]. In the 1980s, modern drill string dynamics began to form
1 Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Equipment Ministry of and deeper research on the vibration of the drill string began.
Education, School of Mechanical Engineering, Skaugen et al. [4] established the time domain drill string
Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, China

123

dynamic model by studying the influence of random vibra-
tion caused by rock inhomogeneity on the vibration behavior
of the drill string. Zifeng Li, Boyun Guo, et al. in 2007 stud-
ied the mathematical model of the longitudinal vibration of
the drill string excited by the bit force and displacement [5]
and they used the variable separation method to solve the
equation. The solution shows that the resonance speed of the
drill string predicted by the bit model is the non-resonant
speed predicted by the displacement model, which provides
a theoretical basis for preventing the drill string from failing
in air drilling. Ritto et al. established a stochastic probabil-
ity calculation model in 2014 and concluded that the friction
model between the drill string and the wellbore is applied to
the random field with exponential autocorrelation function,
which is of great significance for the calculation of failure
probability. In 2018, Hovda et al. outlined a semi-analytical
model of the axial movement of a drill string used to pre-
dict when Coulomb friction dominates the viscous friction
in a deviated wellbore, which can be used to guide drilling
operations at the drilling site [6–10]. Conventional drilling
mainly adopts rotary or downhole drilling tools to break the
rock at the bottom of the well, which is called “rotary drilling”
When drilling a hard or a broken rock layer or a medium-hard
coarse and uneven rock layer, problems will come up, such as
low drilling efficiency, decreasing mechanical drilling speed
[11, 12]. At present, percussive rotary drilling is an effective
way to solve the above problems. Usually, an oscillator is
added to the upper part of the conventional rotary drilling
tool to transmit a continuous, high-frequency impact load
to the drill bit, so that the drill bit can comprehensively
break the rock by impact and rotation. The method is also
called rotary percussion drilling technology [13–15]. How-
ever, most of the previous studies are limited to the theoretical
level, lack of experimental verification, and the current meth-
ods did not combine the drill string with the drill bit for
analysis. This paper proposes a new downhole tool that can
simultaneously transmit rotational speed, torque and stable
high-frequency impact to BHA, achieving the combination
of shear rock breaking and impact rock breaking, and links
the new structure with the theoretical model for analysis and
mutual verification, which confirms the effectiveness of the
tool and the accuracy of the method.
Generally, hard rock has the characteristics of high brittle-
ness and high static compressive strength, but has poor impact
load resistance. The oscillator continuously exerting impact
loads on the rock, which not only generate shearing but also
expand the cracks on the rock surface. Consequently, the
mechanical strength is reduced, creating favorable conditions
for rotating shearing and breaking the rock. This technology
can efficiently improve the rock breaking efficiency, prolong
drilling footage, and thereby reduce the cost of drilling.
Based on the method above, this paper proposed a new
oscillator, and established the drilling dynamics analysis
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Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering
model combined the downhole conditions and working
parameters. According to the theoretical models, we can
get the vibration characteristics of BHA different nodes in a
horizontal well, including the vibration displacements, veloc-
ities and frequency. In numerical calculation examples and
experimental tests, the theoretical research results have been
verified by bench tests, and the practicality and speed-up
effect of the tool are analyzed in the field tests. The research
results show that the new oscillator can effectively improve
the ROP, and the proposed method can provide a reference
for drilling efficiency improvement, bit-rock breaking, and
downhole tool research.
2 Structural Design and Working Mechanism
The new oscillator is mainly composed of two parts, the
power assembly, and the drive shaft-impact assembly. The
power assembly consists of a positive displacement motor
that transmits torque and speed to the drive shaft-impact
assembly through the cardan shaft, which in turn drives the
drill bit to impact the rock through the impact device. The
drive shaft-impact assembly is connected to the lower end
of the power assembly, mainly composed of an upper shaft
body, an upper balance piston, a bearing group, a cam mech-
anism, an impact pad, a lower balance piston, a lower shaft
body, etc., and its structure is shown in Fig. 1.
Different from the existing positive displacement motors,
the new oscillator has impact effect during the drilling
process. The principle is based on the existing positive dis-
placement motors, and there is a cam structure in the drive
shaft to realize the impact function. Figure 2 is a schematic
diagram of the structure of the impact core component of
the tool. Its working principle is that when the tool is in
normal operation, high-pressure mud flows into the interior
of the screw drilling tool through the inside of the bypass
valve housing, and then passes through the motor assembly,
converting the hydraulic energy to the mechanical energy of
the motor rotor. The rotation of the rotor sequentially drives
the cardan shaft and the upper shaft body to rotate. Since
the upper shaft body and lower shaft body are connected by
splines, while the lower shaft body is threaded with the cam,
and sequentially, the cam also rotates with the upper shaft
body.
Due to the structural characteristics of the cam and the
roller, the cam pushes the roller during the rotation, thereby
pushing the upper drilling assembly (including the impact
nozzle, the upper shaft, etc.) to rise, and then drop from the
high point. The upper drilling assembly and the impact pad
generate a stable and soft shock load with a certain frequency.
After the collision, the screw motor continuously drive the
cam rotating, which makes the upper drill assembly and the
Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering
1 2 3 4
1- upper shaft body 2- upper balance piston 3- bearing group 4- cam mechanism 5- impact pad 6- lower
balanced piston 7- lower shaft body
Fig. 1 Transmission shaft—impact assembly structure
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1- upper thrust bearing, 2- upper rubber, 3- lower rubber,
4 - lower thrust bearing, 5- cam mechanism, 6- spline,
7-impact pad
Fig. 2 Oscillator impact core components
impact pad generate intermittent impacts, so the new drilling
tool breaks rock in a different way.
3 Theoretical Model
The new oscillator is mainly used in the fast drilling of hor-
izontal wells and extended reach wells. It generates axial
impact and reduces the friction between the drill string and
the wellbore to improve the rock breaking efficiency and
ROP. The dynamic characteristics research of the new oscil-
lator need to be combined with the actual working conditions
and mechanical properties to obtain the kinetic results under
drilling conditions, including the vibration displacements,
velocities and system vibration frequency of each node. The
calculation results are the basis of the components failure
analysis and provide theoretical support for the optimization
of downhole tools.
For studying the dynamic characteristics of the new oscil-
lator, the mechanical relationship of the tool in the working
process should be considered first. As shown in Fig. 3, the
tool is driven by a cam, and the roller is in the motion of push-
ing and returning, causing the shell to produce axial vibration
and impact on the upper shaft body so that the rock break-
ing process of drill bit has the effect of rotary impact. The
mechanical behavior of the tool during operation is affected
by the interaction force between the tool and the wellbore;
5 6 7
Cam Mechanism
y
x
z
Wheel
Cam
Fig. 3 Schematic diagram of mechanical analysis of oscillator working
process
the force of the drill bit and the bottom of the well; the
force of the drilling fluid and the upper drill string on the
tool.
When establishing the dynamic model of axial vibration
of the downhole drill string, we need to make the follow-
ing model assumptions based on relevant researches of drill
string vibration and actual working conditions of under-
ground:
(1) Both the drill string and the oscillator are small elastic
deformed bodies, and the mass distribution is evenly
distributed, and the axis coincides with the axis of the
wellbore.
(2) The inner and outer boundary of the cross section of the
drill string and the inner wall of the borehole are rigid,
and the cross section of the borehole and the drill string
are a circular or circular form.
(3) The drill string is in uniform contact with the well-
bore, and the forces on the drill string are uniformly
distributed.
(4) The drill string of the horizontal section studied is long
enough to ignore the influence of the upper bound-
ary conditions on the vibration propagation of the drill
string.
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Fig. 4 Drilling tool dynamic model

(5) The effects of the lateral and torsional vibration of the

drill string, the temperature, and the buoyancy of the
drilling fluid are ignored.

Based on the hypothesis of the model, the dynamic model

of the tool in the horizontal well is established according to
the structural design characteristics of the new oscillator and
the actual working conditions, as shown in Fig. 4.
In the axial vibration model of the horizontal drill string
system shown in Fig. 4, the axial vibration analysis model
Fig. 5 Single mass force model
is discretized, ignoring the axial vibration of the turntable.
The drill pipe is discrete into n unit nodes, and the mass
corresponding to each drill string unit is mi (i  1,2,…,n, c,
T, b; c  n + 1, T  n + 2, c  n + 3).In addition, the drill The left boundary condition of the drill string model:
collar is equivalent to the mass mc , the vibration tool to mT , because the impact of the upper drill string on the vibration
the drill bit to mb , and each mass unit is connected by a spring of the drill string in the horizontal section is small, negligi-
having an axial stiffness K ai and an axial damping C ai ; the ble, the left boundary displacement is 0, and the axial force
axial thrust of each drill string system is F a , the bit force of of the upper drill pipe is equivalent to the axial force F a . The
the drill bit is W bit , the gravity of the drill string system is external force received is the equivalent axial force F a and
G, the axial friction of the drill string system is F f , and the the friction force F f of the upper drill string, then the external
axial force generated by the tool in the drill string system is force F 1 (t) received by the first node is:
FT .
Select the appropriate coordinate system and use the coor-
F1 (t)  Fa + F f 1 (4)
dinates of the equilibrium position to represent the i-th node’s
self-balancing position. Then select the drill string system
node mi to analyze the force situation. Figure 5 uses New- The friction between the drill string system and the borehole
ton’s second law to derive the motion differential equation wall is:
[16–20], and we can obtain the following equation:

m i ẍi  −kai (xi − xi−1 ) + ka(i+1) (xi+1 − xi ) F f (t)  Fi f (t)  −μFi N sgn(ẋi (t))  −μm i gsgn(ẋi (t))
− cai (ẋi − ẋi−1 ) + ca(i+1) (ẋi+1 − ẋi ) + Fi (1) (5)

Equation (1) is rearranged as follows:

where ẋi (t) is the moving speed of the i-th node, μ is the
sliding friction coefficient;Fif is the friction of each node, N;
m i ẍi − cai ẋi−1 + (cai + ca(i+1) )ẋi − ca(i+1) ẋi+1 Fi N is the positive pressure of the i-th node, N; and i is the
− kai xi−1 + (kai + ka(i+1) )xi − ka(i+1) xi+1  Fi (2) node label.
Moreover, the sgn(ẋ(t)) is the judgment function of ẋ(t),
For the left boundary of the axial drill string system shown and the expression of sgn(ẋ(t)) is:
in Fig. 4, when i  1, x 0  0, the first mass node corresponds
to the first point of the drill string: ⎧
⎨1 (ẋ(t) > 0)
sgn(ẋ(t))  0 (ẋ(t)  0) (6)
m 1 ẍ1 + (c1 + c2 )ẋ1 − c2 ẋ2 + (k1 + k2 )x1 − k2 x2  F1 (3) ⎩
−1 (ẋ(t) < 0)

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Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering

For the right boundary condition of the drill string system According to the equation of motion of the above formu-
model shown in Fig. 4, when i  b, x b+1 =0, it represents the las, the differential equation of motion for each mass of the
mass node at the drill bit: axial vibration model of the drill string system in Fig. 4 can
m b ẍb − cab ẋ T + (cb + cb+1 )ẋb − kb x T + (kab + ka(b+1) )xb  Fb be obtained as:
(7) ⎧
⎪
⎪ m 1 ẍ1 + (c1 + c2 )ẋ1 − c2 ẋ2 + (k1 + k2 )x1
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ −k2 x2  Fa + F f 1
The right boundary condition of the drill string model: the ⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ m ẍ − ca2 ẋ1 + (ca2 + ca3 )ẋ2 − ca3 ẋ3 − ka2 x1
drill bit is in contact with the bottom rock, and the drill bit ⎪ 2 2
⎪
⎪
⎪ +(k a2 + ka3 )x 2 − ka3 x 3  F f 2
is subjected to the rock reaction force W bit  F b during the ⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ .
drilling process. For the W bit (x, t)in the actual drilling condi- ⎪
⎪
..
⎪
⎪
tions, since the PDC bit is used in the model shown in Fig. 4, ⎨ m n ẍn − can ẋn−1 + (can + ca(n+1) )ẋn − ca(n+1) ẋn+1
according to the Ref. [21, 22], the expression of W bit (x, t) is ⎪ −kan xn−1 + (kan + ka(n+1) )xn − ka(n+1) xn+1  F f n
⎪
⎪
[23, 24]: ⎪
⎪ m c ẍ c − cac ẋ n + (cac + caT ) ẋ c − caT ẋ T − kac x n
⎪
⎪
 ⎪
⎪ +(k ac + kaT )x c − kaT x T  0
Wbit (x(t))  C1 (e(−C2 ẋ(t)) − 1) ẋ(x  L) > 0 ⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ m T ẍ T − caT ẋc + (caT + cab )ẋ T − cab ẋc − kaT xc
Wbit (x(t))  0 ẋ(x  L) ≤ 0
(8) ⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ +(kaT + kab )x T − kab xb  FT
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ m b ẍ b − cab ẋ T + (cab + ca(b+1) ) ẋ b − kab x T
where C 1 is determined by the drilling ROP, N; C 2 is the ⎪
⎩
+(kab + ka(b+1) )xb  Wbit
nonlinear characteristic coefficient between the drilling rock
(12)
and the PDC bit; L is the total analyzing length of drill string
in horizontal well, m.
When x  T, which represents the tool node, we can get The differential equation of motion represented by
the following equation: Eq. (12) can be expressed as a general motion differential
equation in the form of a matrix [25, 26].
m T ẍ T − caT ẋc + (caT + cab )ẋ T − cab ẋb
− kaT xc + (kaT + kab )x T − kab xb  FT (9) M ẍ(t) + Ca ẋ(t) + Ka x(t)  F(t) (13)

The tool force F T can be expressed as follows: where x(t) is the displacement vector of the node;ẋ(t) is the
 kcc ξ t kcc ξ t  velocity vector; ẍ(t) is the acceleration vector; F(t) is the
2δVcc − kcc t e 2δ − e 2δ corresponding mass force vector; M is the axial vibration
FT  e 2δ
ξ 2 drill string system mass matrix; Ca is the damping matrix
 of the axial vibration drill string system;Ka is the stiffness
2δVcc − kcc t kcc ξ t
 e 2δ sh (10) matrix of the axial vibration drill string system.
ξ 2δ
For the motion vector of Eq. (13), the displacement vec-
In which: tor, velocity vector, acceleration vector, and force vector are
⎧  expressed as:
⎪
⎪ 2Fd scc
⎪
⎪ Vcc  ⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤
⎪
⎪ Mcc x1 (t) ẋ1 (t) ẍ1 (t)
⎪
⎨  ⎢ ⎥
x2 (t) ⎢ ẋ2 (t) ⎥ ⎢ ẍ2 (t) ⎥
δ  Ad ρt z E t z (11) ⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥
⎪ ⎢ .. ⎥ ⎢ .. ⎥ ⎢ .. ⎥
⎪
⎪  ⎢ . ⎥ ⎢ . ⎥ ⎢ . ⎥
⎪
⎪ ⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥
⎪
⎪ 4δ 2 x(t)  ⎢ xn (t) ⎥, ẋ(t)  ⎢ ⎥
ẋn (t) ⎥ , ẍ(t)  ⎢ ẍn (t) ⎥ ,
⎩ξ  1 − ⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎢ ⎥
kcc Mcc ⎢ xc (t) ⎥ ⎢ ⎥
ẋc (t) ⎥ ⎢ ⎥
ẍc (t) ⎥
⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎢
⎣ x T (t) ⎦ ⎣ ẋ T (t) ⎦ ⎣ ẍ T (t) ⎦
where ξ is the comprehensive index coefficient of dynamic xb (t) ẋb (t) ẍb (t)
load response; δ is the wave resistance of the impact section; ⎡ ⎤
Fa + F f 1 (t)
V cc is the velocity of the upper shaft body before impact,
⎢ F f 2 (t) ⎥
m/s;k cc is the coefficient of deformation under impact, N/m; ⎢ ⎥
⎢ .. ⎥
Ad is the effective impact area, m2 ; F d is the effective upper ⎢ . ⎥
⎢ ⎥
weight on bit (WOB), N; M cc is the quality of the upper shaft, F(t)  ⎢ F f n (t) ⎥ (14)
⎢ ⎥
kg; E tz is the elastic modulus of the lower shaft body, Pa; ρ tz ⎢ 0 ⎥
⎢ ⎥
is the material density of the lower shaft body, kg/m3 ; scc is ⎣ FT ⎦
the stroke of the upper shaft body, m. Wbit

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 Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering

The axial mass matrix, the axial stiffness matrix, and the axial For the axial damping of the drill string system, the effect
damping matrix in Eq. (13) are, respectively, expressed as: of the drilling fluid on the vibration of the horizontal axial
⎡ ⎤ drill string system needs to be considered. Due to the high
m1 0 ··· 0 0 0 0 viscosity of the drilling fluid, the flow characteristics in the
⎢ 0 m2 · · · 0 0 0 0 ⎥
⎢ ⎥ wellbore are complex, and it is difficult to fully simulate the
⎢ .. .. . . .. .. .. .. ⎥
⎢ . . . . . . . ⎥ influence of drilling fluid on the vibration of the drill string.
⎢ ⎥
M⎢ 0 0 ··· mn 0 0 0 ⎥ (15) The experts in related fields have simplified the model of the
⎢ ⎥
⎢ 0 0 ··· 0 mc 0 0 ⎥ viscous damping of the drill string [27]. In order to solve
⎢ ⎥
⎣ 0 0 ··· 0 0 mT 0 ⎦ the calculation of the axial vibration drill string model, the
0 0 ··· 0 0 0 mb viscous damping in this paper adopts the most commonly
⎡ ⎤ used Rayleigh damping in engineering design. The idea is
ka1 + ka2 −ka2 ··· 0 0 0 0
⎢ −ka2 ka2 + ka3 ··· 0 0 0 0 ⎥ that the damping matrix can be linearly represented by a
⎢ ⎥
⎢ . . . . . . ⎥
⎢
⎢ . . ..
. . . . . ⎥
⎥
mass matrix and stiffness matrix, namely:
. . . . . .
Ka  ⎢
⎢
⎥
⎥
⎢ 0 0 · · · kan + kac −kac 0 0 ⎥
⎢
⎢ 0 0 · · · −kac kac + kaT −kaT 0 ⎥
⎥ Ci  αMi + βKi (19)
⎣ 0 0 ··· 0 −kaT kaT + kab −kab ⎦
0 0 ··· 0 0 −kab kab + ka(b+1)
where Ci is the damping coefficient of the i-th node, N s/m;
(16)
⎡ ⎤ Mi is the node mass, kg; Ki is the stiffness, N/m.
ca1 + ca2 −ca2 ··· 0 0 0 0
⎢ −ca2 ca2 + ca3 ··· 0 0 0 0 ⎥ Because the damping ratio is directly given in the actual
⎢ ⎥
⎢ . . . . . . ⎥ structural damping measurement, the purpose of construct-
⎢ . . .. . . . . ⎥
⎢ . . . . . . . ⎥
Ca  ⎢
⎢
⎥
⎥ ing the overall damping matrix is to use the time domain
⎢ 0 0 · · · can + cac −cac 0 0 ⎥
⎢ 0 0 · · · −cac cac + caT −caT 0 ⎥ stepwise integral analysis, which satisfies the assumption of
⎢ ⎥
⎣ 0 0 ··· 0 −caT caT + cab −cab ⎦
orthogonal conditions. 
0 0 ··· 0 0 −cab cab + ca(b+1)
Substituting formulas Ci  2ξi ωi Mi and ωi2  K i Mi
(17)
into the above formula:
For the axial spring stiffness between the discretized drill α βωi
string masses, the cross section is a circular row, and then +  ξi (20)
2ωi 2
the axial stiffness can be expressed as follows according to
Hooke’s law: By using Eq. (20), the Rayleigh damping coefficient can be
obtained by taking any two-order natural frequency.
π E i (Di2 − di2 )
kai  (18) The equivalent mass of a discrete drilling system is:
4li
1
where i is the equivalent node number of the drill string sys- mi  ρi li (Di2 − di2 ) (21)
4
tem; E i is the elastic modulus, Pa; Di is the outer diameter of
the drill pipe, mm; d i is the outer diameter of the drill pipe, where ρi is corresponding to the mass of the drill string sys-
mm; and li is the length of the joint, mm. tem material density, kg/m3 .
In order to solve Eq. (13), the formula is adapted to the
following form:

⎧
⎪
⎪
F +F
ẍ1  (c1m+c1 2 ) ẋ1 + mc21 ẋ2 + (k1m+k1 2 ) x1 mk21 x2 + am 1 f 1
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
F
ẍ2  cma22 ẋ1 − (ca2m+c2 a3 ) ẋ2 + cma32 ẋ3 + kma22 x1 − (ka2m+k2 a3 ) x2 + kma32 x3 + mf22
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ ..
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎨.
(c +c ) c (kan +ka(n+1) ) k
⎪ ẍn  cmann ẋn−1 − an ma(n+1) ẋn + a(n+1) kan
m n ẋ n+1 + m n x n−1 − xn + a(n+1)
m n x n+1 +
Fn (22)
⎪
⎪
n mn mn
⎪
⎪ ẍc  m ẋn − m
c (c +c ) c k (k +k
ẋc + m c ẋ T + m c xn − m c xc + m c x T) k
⎪ ac ac aT aT ac ac aT aT
⎪
⎪ c c
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
c (c +c
ẍ  maTT ẋc − aTm T ab ẋ T + m ) cab
ẋc + kmaTT xc − (kaTm+k ab )
xT + m kab
xb + mFTT
⎪ T
⎪ T T T
⎪
⎩ ẍb  cab ẋ T − (cab +ca(b+1) ) ẋb + kab x T − (kab +ka(b+1) ) xb + Wbit
mb mb mb mb mb

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Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering

Defining system state vector y:  

B 0 1
mr 0 0 ··· 0 0 0 0 0 0 (27)
y  (x1 , ẋ1 , x2 , ẋ2 , . . . , xn , ẋn , xc , ẋc , x T , ẋ T , xb , ẋb )T  
Ff 1 Ff 2
 (y1 , y2 , y3 , y4 , . . . , ym−1 , ym , ym+1 , F(y(t))  0 m1 0 m2 ··· 0 0 0 FT
mT 0 Wbit
mb
(28)
ym+2 , ym+3 , ym+4 , ym+5 , ym+6 ) T
(23)

where m  2n, the system state vector order is m + 6 due to 4 Example Calculation and Analysis
the existence of drill collar, drilling tool and drill bit mass.
Then, Eq. (23) can be used to reduce the order of the According to the above model assumptions and modeling
differential Eq. (22) of the drill string system to obtain the analysis, the model can be solved to obtain the results of
system dynamics equations:
⎧
⎪
⎪ ẏ1  y2
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
F +F
ẏ2  − (ca1m+c1 a2 ) y2 + cma21 y4 − (ka1m+k1 a2 ) y1 + kma21 y3 + am 1 f 1
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ ẏ3  y4
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
F
ẏ4  cma22 y2 − (ca2m+c2 a3 ) y4 + cma32 y6 + kma22 y1 − (ka2m+k2 a3 ) y3 + kma32 y5 + mf22
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ ..
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ .
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎨ ẏm−1  ym
(c +c ) c (kan +ka(n+1) ) k Ff n
⎪ ẏm  cmann ẏm−2 − an ma(n+1) ym + a(n+1) kan
m n ym+2 + m n ym−3 − ym−1 + a(n+1)
m n ym+1 + m n
(24)
⎪
⎪
n mn
⎪
⎪ ẏm+1  ym+2
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ ẏm+2  cmacc ym − (cacm+cc aT ) ym+2 + cmaTc ym+4 + kmacc ym−1 − (kacm+kc aT ) ym+1 + kmaTc ym+3
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ ẏ  ym+4
⎪
⎪ m+3
⎪
⎪ caT (caT +cab ) cab kaT (kaT +kab ) kab FT
⎪ ẏm+4  m T ym+2 − m T ym+4 + m T ym+6 + m T ym+1 − m T ym+3 + m T ym+5 + m T
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ ẏm+5  ym+6
⎪
⎩ (k +k )
ẏm+6  cmabb ym+4 − (cb +c mb
b+1 )
ym+6 + kmabb ym+3 − ab ma(b+1) b
ym+5 + Wmbit b

The state space Eq. (24) can be simplified to:
ẏ  Ay(t) + Bu + F(y(t))
where u  Fa is the system input parameter, and the state
matrix A, B, F are, respectively, expressed as follows:
the vibration displacement of the model, the results of the
vibration velocity of the model and the frequency domain
(25) results of vibration (Table 1).
We can also obtain the results of F T as shown in Fig. 6.
From the graphics, we can find that during the push phase,

⎡ ⎤
0 1 0 0 ··· 0 0 0 0 0 0
⎢ − ka1 +ka2 − cma21 ka2 ca2
··· 0 0 0 0 0 0 ⎥
⎢ m1 m1 m1 ⎥
⎢ 1 ··· 0 0 0 0 0 0 ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎢ ka2 ca2
− (ka2m+k2 a3 ) − (ca2m+c2 a3 ) ··· ⎥
⎢ m2 0 0 0 0 0 0 ⎥
⎢ m2 ⎥
⎢ .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ⎥
⎢ . . . . . . . . . . . ⎥
⎢ ⎥
A⎢ 0 0 0 0 ··· 0 1 0 0 0 0 ⎥ (26)
⎢ ⎥
⎢ 0 0 0 0 · · · − (kacm+kc aT ) − (cacm+cc aT ) kaT caT
0 0 ⎥
⎢ mc mc ⎥
⎢ ··· ⎥
⎢ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 ⎥
⎢ kaT caT (kaT +kab ) (caT +cab ) kab cab ⎥
⎢ 0 0 0 0 ··· − − ⎥
⎢ mT mT mT mT mT mT ⎥
⎣ 0 0 0 0 ··· 0 0 0 0 0 1 ⎦
kab cab (kab +ka(b+1) ) (cb +cb+1 )
0 0 0 0 ··· 0 0 mb mb − mb − mb

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Table 1 Study parameters tle influence on the upper drill assembly. Figure 7b shows the
Parameter Value calculation results of the vibration velocity of the tool. The
amplitude of the vibration velocity from the upper drill string
Drill pipe OD D1 (mm) 178 to the new oscillator is also increasing. It can be obtained that
Drill pipe inner diameter D0 (mm) 71 the velocity of the vibration displacement at tool node is the
Drill pipe density ρ (kg/m3 ) 7850 highest and the maximum velocity fluctuates around 2 m/s.
Drill string node length l(m) 15 Figure 7c is a spectrogram obtained by Fourier transform
Number of drill string nodes (n) 10 for the vibration displacement of the dynamic model. The
Stiffness between the drill string 5.1 × 107 frequency (12 Hz) corresponding to the maximum response
and tool K c-t (N/m) 2 × 109 value of the amplitude of the vibration displacement is an
Stiffness between the tool and bit 2.1 × 1011 integer multiple of the fundamental frequency (6 Hz) and
K t-b (N/m)
Elastic Modulus E 1 (MPa) the fundamental frequency corresponds to the excitation fre-
Stiffness between the roller and 1 × 107
quency at a tool rotation speed of 120 r/min.
cam K cam (N/m) In order to analyze the influence of the tool on the drill
Stiffness between the bit and the 1 × 109 bit, the node 12 is taken as the research object. We ana-
rock K b-r (N/m) lyzed the vibration characteristics of the drill bit, and the
Scale factor β 1 × 10−3 results are shown in Fig. 8. Figure 8a shows the vibration
Scale factor α 0.1 displacement of the drill bit, and the displacement of the bit
Coefficient of friction μ 0.3 fluctuation range is about − 2 mm to 2 mm. The displacement
Drill M bit (kg) 120 is obviously increased each time under the impact, and the
displacement is also reduced rapidly due to the short contact
time. Figure 8b shows the vibration speed of the drill bit and
the fluctuation range of axial impact velocity of the drill bit
the force decreases with time and reaching a minimum at the varied from − 2 m/s to 2 m/s similar to the displacement. The
highest point of the cam. increase in the axial impact velocity of the drill bit contributes
The cam stroke of the tool is 12 mm, the WOB is 100 KN, to the rock breaking ability of the drill bit.
and the rotational speed is 120 r/min. Taking into account
the impact of the tool’s rubber shock absorber and impact
pad, the calculation results of the vibration characteristics of
new oscillator working in the horizontal well are shown in 5 Experiment and Analysis
Fig. 7. The calculation results of the vibration displacement
of drill string nodes 1, 3, 9 and node 12 are shown in Fig. 7a, In order to verify the theoretical models, the new oscillator
and the amplitude of vibration displacement increase from was tested and analyzed by the bench test and field experi-
the upper drill string to the new oscillator. It can be seen that ment, and the test results were compared with the theoretical
the vibration displacement is maximum at the tool node and results. According to the theoretical analysis results, the
the fluctuation range is about 12 mm, which is in accordance working parameters of the new oscillator were determined,
with the stroke of the cam mechanism. When the vibration of and then two important parameters (vibration frequency and
the tool passes to the upper drill string (Node1), the vibration impact force) were obtained through analysis and test. The
amplitude is very small and rapidly attenuates, which has lit- parameters of the oscillator tool used in the experiment were

Fig. 6 Results of F T FT when WOB=60KN

FT when WOB=80KN
x 10
4 FT when WOB=100KN
14

12

10

8
FT (N)

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Time t (s)

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Fig. 7 Dynamic model vibration x 10

-3
characteristics 15
Node1 Node3 Node9 Node12

Displacement (m)
10

-5
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Time (s)
(a) The vibration displacement results of the drill string
3
Node1 Node3 Node9 Node12
2
Velocity (m/s)

-1

-2

-3
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Time (s)
(b) The vibration velocity results of the drill string
log Amplitude (m)

-6
10

-8
10

0 5 10 15 20
Frequency (Hz)

(c) The calculation result of the vibration spectrum

the same as those in the example, and the bench test used clear joint, and the water flowed back to the water tank through
water as the drilling fluid. Based on the fundamental experi- the outlet pipe. Flow and pressure regulation were achieved
mental data shown in Table 2, the bench test was carried out by controlling the bypass valve and the throttle valve in the
on the new oscillator. experiment. In the process of the bench test, the axial force
The experimental process is shown in Fig. 9. The double was applied by a pressurizing mechanism, and the total length
pump system was used to supply the new oscillator tool, and of the drill pipe was 7.5 m. According to the working prin-
pump 1 and pump 2 absorbed water from the water tank, ciple and working conditions of the new oscillator tool, the
then entered the new oscillator through the exit valve and the outer cylinder and the mandrel (a bit) had a relative rotational
inlet pipe. The front end of the tool was a free end, and two movement relationship during the drilling process, and the
support frames were arranged in the backward direction; the pressurizing mechanism shown in Fig. 9 was designed.
bit joint was connected to the water pipe through the rotary

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Fig. 8 Drill dynamic model

vibration characteristics

(a) Drill bit vibration displacement

6

-2

-4
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Time t (s)
(b) Drill bit vibration speed

Table 2 Bench experimental parameters According to the test results, under certain conditions, as
No. Input flow Pump pressure Working time the input flow rate increases, the impact frequency test value
(m3 /min) (MPa) (min) of the new oscillator gradually increases. Moreover, as the
drilling pressure applied to the tool increases, the peak value
1 1.0 2.0 4
of the impact force generated by the new oscillator is also
2 1.2 2.4 4
gradually increasing. Comparing the theoretical calculation
3 1.4 3.1 4 results of the impact frequency and the impact force peak
4 1.6 3.7 4 with the experimental test data, respectively, the relationship
5 1.8 4.4 4 between the theoretical value of the impact frequency and
the test value and the peak value of the impact force can be
obtained as shown in Fig. 13. We can find that the theoretical
The cam structure and bearing of the oscillator tool used calculation value is slightly larger than the test value, which
in the experiment are shown in Fig. 10. The strain of the is due to the leakage of the drilling fluid during the test, the
test piece was tested by strain gauges, and transmission line test method and the accuracy of the instrument. The error of
and connector are shown in Fig. 11. After all the prepara- the test result is within the allowable range, which verifies
tions had been done, the test shown in Fig. 12 was started. the reliability of the theoretical calculation of the dynamic
First, by adjusting the pressurizing mechanism to maintain model and the effectiveness of the tool mechanism. It has a
the axial load at 20 kN, then opened the pump, and slowly particular guiding significance for the downhole experiment.
adjusted the flow to 1.0 m3 /min. Increase the flow rate by To further validate the model results, field experiments
0.2 m3 /min for each measurement, and recorded the pump were conducted using the same new oscillator to analyze
pressure and impact frequency. The axial load was controlled changes in drilling efficiency. The field drilling assembly
at a low level of 20–40kN, and the flow rate was adjusted parameters were: φ241.3 mm PDC bit + φ177.8 mm new
to 1.2–1.8 m3 /min, respectively, then the impact frequency oscillator + adapter + φ203.2 mm oblique short section +
and pump pressure of the new oscillator were measured. φ203.2 mm non-magnetic drill collar + 239 mm centralizer +
During the test, the drill pipe rotated at an average speed 196.85 mm drill collar + φ239 mm centralizer + φ196.85 mm
of 112.45r/min, and the average ROP of the drill bit was drill collar + drill collar adapter + φ177.8 mm drill collar +
7.23 m/h. φ127 mm weighted drill pipe + φ127 mm drill pipe. Dur-

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Fig. 9 Experimental flowchart
Fig. 10 Parts of the new oscillator
Fig. 11 Transmission line and connector
ing the drilling process, the new oscillator was drilled into
the well section from 4360 m to 5371 m. According to the
site situation, four sets of new oscillators were selected for
drilling, the drilling pressure was mainly 6–10 t, the rota-
tional speed was 60 r/min, and the displacement was mainly
30–34L/s, pump pressure was 25–26 MPa. The field exper-
imental drilling parameters are shown in Table 3. It can be
found that using the new oscillator in deep wells, the aver-
age ROP can reach 4.71–7.95 m/h, which is 1.57–2.65 times
compared with the general drilling speed (Fig. 14).
Three adjacent wells were selected as A, B, and C,
respectively. Their geographical location is close, the rock
composition is the same, and the mud density is similar. As
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 Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering

Fig. 12 The experimental setup

Make oblique point (5740m)

New oscillator

Fig. 14 Well body structure

oscillator; and well C section using the new type of oscillator,

the whole average ROP is 6.88 m/h, increased by 134% than
the whole average ROP of well A, increased by 155% than
the whole average ROP of well B. It can be concluded that
the well C using the new oscillator has a significantly faster
speed-up effect than the well A and the well B without the
use of the new tool.
Fig. 13 Comparison of theoretical and test values

6 Conclusion
can be seen from Table 4, the whole average ROP of well
A is 2.94 m/h, without the use of new oscillator; the whole Different from the existing PDM tools, the new oscillator
average ROP of well B is 2.70 m/h, without the use of new can simultaneously transmit the rotational speed, torque and

Table 3 On-site drilling parameters

Well number WOB (t) Rotational speed Displacement Pump pressure Down into the Take out the Average ROP
(r/min) (L/s) (MPa) depth (m) depth (m) (m/h)

1 6–8 60 33–34 25–26 4360 4480 7.95

2 6–10 60 33–34 25–26 4480 5160 7.72
3 6–10 60 32–33 25–26 5160 5363 4.83
4 6–8 60 30 25 5363 5371 4.71

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Table 4 Comparison with

adjacent wells Well number Well section (m) Footage(m) Pure drilling Average ROP Whole average
time (h) (m/h) ROP (m/h)

Well A 4360–4480 120 39.1 3.07 2.94

4480–5160 680 201.7 3.37
5160–5363 203 99.5 2.04
Well B 4360–4480 120 63.4 1.89 2.70
4480–5160 680 233 2.92
5160–5363 203 76.5 2.65
Well C 4360–4480 120 15.1 7.95 6.88
4480–5160 680 88.1 7.72
5160–5363 203 42 4.83

stable high-frequency impact force to the BHA, and make
the rock breaking method combining shear rock breaking
and impact rock breaking to improve ROP.
Based on the new presented method and considering the
downhole working conditions, the dynamic vibration charac-
teristics model of a horizontal well is set up. The multi-DOF
(Multi-degree-of-freedom) differential equations of the new
tool are established connected with the BHA, so the vibra-
tion displacements, velocities, and vibration spectrums of the
system can be obtained at different nodes.
The experimental tests results were analyzed about the
new oscillator in lab and field conditions. The test results
verify the effectiveness of the tool and the accuracy of the
theoretical models. The same time, the downhole tool test
shows that the speed increase effect of the new oscillator is
obvious.
Acknowledgements All authors gratefully acknowledge the support
of the Open Fund of Key Laboratory of Oil & Gas Equipment
(OGE201701-02), Ministry of Education (Southwest Petroleum Uni-
versity), The State Scholarship Fund of the China Scholarship Council
(CSC) (No. 201608515039), National Natural Science Foundation of
China (NSFC) (No. 51674216), National Science and Technology
Major Project (No. 2016ZX05038).
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