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API Box Boreback Stress Relief With Truncated Threads Can Cause Premature Connection Fatigue Failure Gerdes 2010
API Box Boreback Stress Relief With Truncated Threads Can Cause Premature Connection Fatigue Failure Gerdes 2010
API Box Boreback Stress Relief With Truncated Threads Can Cause Premature Connection Fatigue Failure Gerdes 2010
Case Study: API Box Boreback Stress Relief With Truncated Threads Can
Cause Premature Connection Fatigue Failure
Michael B. Gerdes, P.E., Dr. Kang Lee, SPE, T H Hill Associates, Inc.
This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2010 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference and Exhibition held in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 2–4 February 2010.
This paper was selected for presentation by an IADC/SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not
been reviewed by the International Association of Drilling Contractors or the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily
reflect any position of the International Association of Drilling Contractors or the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any
part of this paper without the written consent of the International Association of Drilling Contractors or the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is
restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of IADC/SPE copyright.
Figure 1 - The truncated threads version of the API box boreback is generally preferred by machinists because of the
ease of manufacture. The cutter is set at the boreback diameter, then pulled straight out of the box connection.
An NC46 Drill Collar Connection Failure The failed box was sectioned and dimensionally analyzed.
A 6 ½" OD x 2 1/4" ID drill collar displaying a classic A portion of the connection that was not cracked was used
fatigue crack was examined to determine the cause of the to evaluate the condition of the threads (Figure 3, 4). An
unique crack location. The crack was located at the root of optical comparator was used to precisely measure the radii
the fourth from the last thread of the box in the NC46 of the box threads (Figure 5). The dimensions were used
connection (Figure 2), and the box had been modified with to create two-dimensional models of the connection.
a truncated thread boreback feature. The threads from the
location of the crack to the back of the box all showed
visible wear on the thread crests.
Crack Location
Length to Crack
2 11/16"
Worn Threads
The models showed that the last four box threads at the
back of the box did not engage the pin threads, and further,
that the wear on the threads was sufficient to cause a loss
of contact with the mating pin threads. CFI analysis was
used to evaluate the impact of this loss of contact on the
fatigue life of the failed connection. CFI is based on an
application of the Morrow strain-life model (Dowling,
1993), which considers both the crack initiation and
propagation phases in determining fatigue life. Connection
features and loading conditions are modeled using a finite
element analysis program, which gives a prediction of
fatigue life in the form of cycles to failure. Details of the
process used to calculate CFI can be found in Appendix A
and IADC/SPE 112105 (Ellis, 2008). Figure 6 displays the Figure 8 – API Stress relief groove on pin and box.
FEA results for the example failure, and Figures 7-9
represent alternative hypothetical connection configuration
options holding inputs constant, except as noted.
Table 1 displays the CFI values of the example failure as contact (Figure 11), and a BB thread in which four threads
modeled from Figure 6 at varying dog leg severities have lost contact (Figure 6). As box threads lose contact
(highlighted row). The CFI values for the hypothetical with pin threads, fatigue life shortens dramatically. In the
connection configurations are shown for comparative table below, 23(1.4) represents 1.4 x 1023 cycles.
purposes. These include an NC46 connection with no
stress relief features (Figure 7), a NC46 connection with a CFI @ DLS(degree/100feet)
stress relief groove on the pin and box (Figure 8), and a Connection SRF 1 2 6
connection with a full-thread height boreback box and pin BB
stress relief groove (Figure 9). In the table below, 17(2.0) NC46 no worn 23(1.4) 18(2.3) 11(1.1)
represents 2.0 x 1017 cycles. thread
BB
st
NC46 1 thread 21(1.4) 16(2.1) 8(7.9)
CFI @ DLS(degree/100feet) worn
BB
Connection SRF 1 2 6 NC46
th
4 thread 17(2.0) 12(2.8) 5(4.8)
BB worn
th
NC46 4 thread 17(2.0) 12(2.8) 5(4.8) Table 2 – CFI fatigue performance values for different NC46
worn BB thread contact geometries.
BB w/ full
NC46 thread 24(4.7) 19(6.9) 12(1.7)
height
Table 1 – CFI fatigue performance values for different NC46
stress relief feature geometries.
The values show that the contact stresses between the BB An evaluation of thread contact stress after contact was lost
type connection threads are much larger than other thread with the first thread of a BB cut was also conducted. Table
stress relief modifications. At the same bending moment, 4 shows the amount of contact stress at the last engaged
relatively equal forces will be distributed over a connection thread after all the worn threads have lost contact.
regardless of the type of thread stress relief feature. The
truncated thread crests of the BB reduce the contact area
Ave. Last Engaged Thread
between the pin and box threads and thereby increase the Connection SRF Contact Stress (ksi)
contact stress between threads caused by bending and @ API MUT
make up forces. BB
NC46 166.29
no worn thread
The contact stresses between the last engaged pin and box
BB
threads were evaluated for different thread configurations NC46 st
1 thread worn
133.36
on the same NC46 connections. Figure 12 shows the stress
distribution for a connection with a BB feature at the last NC46 th
BB
69.23
engaged thread. The average principal normal stresses at 4 thread worn
the load flanks between the box and pin last engaged Table 4 – Last engaged thread contact stress for different
threads were used for this comparative analysis. The NC46 BB thread geometries.
comparison of thread stresses at the same MUT is shown in
Table 3.
Thread Wear Dependence on Operational
Conditions
The change in fatigue performance due to the change in
last engaged thread location suggests a dependence of
fatigue life with thread wear and the operational factors
that increase thread wear. The accumulation of thread
wear will be dependent on the level of stress at the threads
Stress at last
and corrosion from wellbore fluids. The stress level in the
engaged threads will be affected by the MUT and bending moment
thread placed on the connection as well as any downhole
vibrations. The MUT should be dictated by standard API
values, so the bending moment will be the primary
operational factor other than vibrations, that increases the
rate of thread wear and fatigue damage.
Figure 12 – Contact stresses at the last engaged thread of a
NC 46 connection with a BB feature. Corrosion can lead to further degradation of the box
threads which will reduce the thread contact. The reduced
height of the BB threads also allows greater exposure to
well bore fluids. Thread dope can be washed away with
less difficulty and there is a larger path to deeper threads
compared to threads with full thread height. Corrosion
impacts the fatigue life of any connection, but any
accelerated corrosion due to the BB geometry was not
quantified as a part of this study.
6 IADC/SPE 128931
The exact relationship between all operational parameters other connection configurations like API box stress
and the resulting effects on fatigue life and thread wear are relief groove and boreback with full thread height
elaborate and difficult to quantify. A study of failed indicates that with wear on the truncated threads, the
threads has shown that the box connection can fail at any other configurations provide vastly improved fatigue
thread along the truncated threads in the back of the box. performance.
An increase in dog leg severity and subsequent bending
moment has not always shown an increase in the number
of worn threads. The increase in bending moment will
greatly increase the fatigue damage to the connection
which can cause the connection to develop a crack and fail
before a large amount of thread wear has occurred. In
other cases with minimal service conditions BB
connections have been shown to generate significant thread
wear. Further research is necessary to determine the
operational parameters and conditions that can lead to
increased wear and reduced fatigue life caused by BB
connections thread wear.
Summary
σ ′f − σ m
εa = (2 N ) + (ε ′ − ε )(2 N )
f
b
f mp f
c
E ………...
(1)
Where:
εa = Strain amplitude
σ ′f
= Material fatigue constant determined
experimentally
σm σ m > σ mys
= Mean stress (psi), when , set
σ m = σ mys
E = Young’s Modulus (psi)
Nf = Number of cycles to failure
b = Material fatigue constant determined
experimentally
ε ′f
= Material fatigue constant determined
experimentally
ε mp σ m ≤ σ mys
= Mean plastic strain, when , set
ε mp Figure A1 – 6-5/8 REG axis symmetric connection model.
=0 Smaller elements are necessary in the regions of interest,
c = Material fatigue constant determined while coarser mesh is allowable in non-critical areas.
experimentally
A quick study of this equation shows that if the mean stress Application of MUT
in the critical area is above the yield strength of the Applying torque to a computer generated model of a rotary
material (100 KSI in the case of the drill collars used in shouldered connection is much more difficult than loading
these studies), the variables that drive the fatigue life an actual connection into an iron roughneck and pressing
calculation are strain amplitude and mean plastic strain. the “GO” button. Successfully modeling a three-
Therefore, the model with the highest combination of dimensional connection (getting a convergent solution) can
strain amplitude and mean plastic strain will have the be a daunting task because of the amount of sliding contact
lowest fatigue life. If the mean stress in the critical area is between the thread flanks, the helical nature of the thread
less than the yield strength of the material, the strain path, and the boundary conditions. As a result, rotary
amplitude and mean stress are the variables that drive the shouldered connections are most easily modeled in two
fatigue life calculation. In these cases, the model with the dimensions. Two dimensional axis-symmetric models
highest combination of strain amplitude and mean stress with asymmetric (bending) loads must be created. MUT is
will have the lowest fatigue life. approximated by either assuming a certain amount of
thread and shoulder overlap, or by applying a thermal
gradient (to expand the material thereby creating thread
Mesh flank and shoulder interference) to the pin and/or box. The
An example of the type and size of mesh used is shown in bulk stresses induced from applying MUT to an actual
Figure A1. Each model that is evaluated is “broken up” connection are known or calculable in three key areas
8 IADC/SPE 128931
Bending Load
Axial loads and pressure are generally simple to apply.
Applying a bending load to a two dimensional axis-
symmetric asymmetric model generally requires the use of
a special element type. When modeling bending in a
rotary shouldered connection, it is important to bend the
connection multiple times in order to generate the best
approximation of the stress state at the thread roots.
During connection make up, the last few engaged pin
threads, any remaining unengaged pin threads, and some
areas of a stress relief groove (if present) are usually
plastically deformed. Since the stresses are plastic,
bending the connection once will not give accurate stress
and strain values. The connection must be bent multiple
times to allow for the effects of stress relieving and stress
redistribution. In an actual connection made up and run
down hole, this will occur once the connection is rotated
more than one revolution while bent or buckled.
CFI Calculation
CFI is expressed as a numeric representation of the relative
fatigue life. The relative fatigue life is determined by the
inputting the stress and strain values determined from FEA
into the Morrow Strain Life equation. These resulting
values are often expressed as a logarithmic value. CFI is
represented by a simplified expression of the logarithmic
value. The exponent of the base 10 multiplier is displayed
as the first number and the coefficient is displayed in
parenthesis. The exponent value affects the fatigue life far
more than the coefficient. By displaying the relative
fatigue life in this manner a quick and easy comparison can
be made.