See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/254503878

Formation Compressive Strength Estimates for Predicting Drillability and PDC

Bit Selection

Article · February 1995

DOI: 10.2118/29397-MS

CITATIONS READS

17 992

5 authors, including:

Harvey Goodman
Chevron
36 PUBLICATIONS   167 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Nonlinear acoustics & elasticity projects View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Harvey Goodman on 27 December 2017.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

SPE/lADC 29397

Formation Compressive Strength Estimates for Predicting Drillability

and HX Bit Selection
J.R. Spaar’ and L.W. Ledgerwood,* Hughes Christensen, and Hawey Goodman,* R.L. Graff, and
T.J. Moo, Chevron Petroleum TechnologyCo.
●SPE Member
CopyTighr
19ss, sPEilAoc DrillingConrsrenm.
----- - - .
Thb psper w pmparwdfw pmwmtatbn at the 1SS3SPWIA6G ummg i%riibww t@ii h Arisie,”d,m, = !+!%wy=z !ih@? !=.

mbpspWwnnbcmdrc4 pMWnWon by M SPMAOC ProgmmCemmiiw Mowing rwiw d Informationcontdnd lnanebstmct wbmiltarJbythoqs). @M0nt80fth0WPW.
--~v~ti~n~w~lti~tiw~ Contmwsor tha$ockiyof pctrobum Ensln@of8ti ue8ub)ecItocc+MUM by tk -8). mO
rnatwM, a8pr8anM, doe6nc4 nocoNuilY Mrbct MY PaitbnoJsW%
lAoc,tw-,or mernbom. pw-~d$~-lw~-~~
rwbw by Mltorid Commlttess01the SPE M IAOC. PormWontocapy 19m9trblodtoan~ofnc4 mmstMn Wwards. UlustmUmm maynotbeapbd.lto ~8hMJld
-n~*~td*d W*ti-b~. w*~*, spE. p.o. *x~. R~, TX 750SXWSS, U.S.A.Tobx, 16SS45SPEUT.

Abstract
various indkect measuring techniques are presently employed
for esbmadng
“ formation strength, which in tmn is conelated
tii drriabifity d po!ymfs’M!ine dianxmd co”-. (PDC) bit
selection. Formation mechanical properties dtived fmm
conventional open-hole logs in cmnbiiation with a rigorous
assessmnt of formation shear wave velocities can be used
mcessflly ‘w @&UIItlE
“ ‘—”-- u4!UalJ
=’”%lity as it pertt *= !S!
selection. Formation drillability is beat detemid from
unconfined compressive srmngth and the angle of internal
friction assesament. Rock strength is found to correlate well
with the overall measmes of bit effecdveaesa.
Further, the angle of internal friction, which is a subsidiary
rock strength parameter, correlates with PDC bit wear rates.
Compressivestrengthand drillabiity have been linked in the
laboratory and observed in the field since the early 1%0’s.
Compmsive strengths, however, need to be qualified as a
function of confinement stress. The concept that compressive
strength increases with confinemcm stress is well-understood
and can be easily explained with Mohfs failure criteria With
the Motu% faihue technique, it is importmt to understand that
inhereat rock stmngtb properties (coheshm and angle of
internal fiction) must be known before compressive
strengths can be estimated
This paper also presents case histories tim Gulf of Mexico
wells that illustrate how unconfined compressive strength and
angle of internal fiction can be employed to indicate
drillability as it pertains to optimized bit selection.
Intlwduction
Aggmssiveneas and wear resistance are two fundamental
yoper!ies tQtattrmt be considered W!MII selecting a bit for a
specific applicatim” For simplicity’s sake, these two bit
P_eSS w~e not to~y ~L my be co~i~
separately.
The aggressiveness of the bit is &@mined by the depth of
cut it is desQned to take. In roller cone bits, aggressiveness is
detemined by projection, pitch of the teeth, and cone 0-
In PDC bits, aggresaivexmssis &@mined by the exposme of
the cutters and the cutter angIe (baclcrake).
Wear resistance, on the other h~ is detamhd by the
density of the cutters, eqecially those on and near the gauge.
In roller cone bits, increasing wear resistance is accomplished
by adding more gauge cutters; more durable shapes of cutters;
applying diamond to the cutters that contact gauge; and
modifying carbide grade (at the expense of making cutters
more brittle) or increasing the number of carbide inserts on
the shilusil.

The wear resistance of PDC bits is improved by increasing

the length of the gauge so that more cutters can be placed on
References and figures at end of paper and near gauge and increasing the carbkie or diamond content

569
2 FORMATION COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH ESTIMATES FOR :9397
----.~-.,fi mm..r *
rmm~ I uw 2m2wABUXR? ANI F-C BETSELECTION

of the gauge pad. Some of the tradeoffs that make a bit more 2) G =txY(COS2e-sin22e) - (6X- crY)sin e cos e
wear resistant also make it more susceptible to cutter breakage
and whirl. It is generally awepted that a ilat profile is more And using trigonomehic identities, these equations can be
resistant to off-center blt whirl than a tapered profile, which is rewritten as:
mom resistant to wear. Typically, bits designed with a specific
degree of aggressiveness am available with or without gauge 3) 66= 1/2 (CJX
+ CYY)
+ 1/2 (CYX
- @ cos 29 + ~ sin 29
wear enhancement. 4) ~=%c0s2f3-l~(6x-0y)sin20

When the selected bit is too aggressive for the targeted
application, it is liily to sustain cutter breakage. Convenely,
when a bit with low wear mskance is selected for an
application requiring maximum durability, severe cutter wear
typically rcaults. In selecting bits that have the best
opportunity for optimum performance in a specific
application, it is vital to identify those rock propmties that
govern the aggressiveness and wear resistance of a particular
bit.
When s~st$ ~ting on the com s~- 6. d 6~ ~
normal to the extent that shear stresses ~ and ~ vanish,
these normal stresses are called principle stresses and are
renamed CTland 63 respectively. This convention is similar
to that used in structural geology whete al is the maximum
principle stress and 63 is the minimum principle stress. The
intmmdate stress, not considered in this two-dimensional
analysis, is oz.

For any application, the primary goal is to select a bit that will - com testing, the compressive load at failure
drill moreholeata maximum rate of penetmdon to produce (compressive strength) is cJ1. The confining stress applied
the lowest cost pa meter. Relying solely on trial ad error and circmnferentially around the specimen is 63. When the
knowledge of a particular region all too often produces confining stress is zero (63 = O), q is the unconfined
excessive trip tim and can result in an overall higher well compressive strength. Furthermore, as the contining stress
cost. 63 is increas@ the compressive strength 61 increases. In
othex words, as confinement stresses increase, compressive
Rock Strength Measuras for Sekction of Bit strength also increases. Using the 61 and 63 notation, the
A~ following equations define stresses at the com specimen’s
plane of failure
Historically, measures of rock compressive strength have
been used to aid in bit selection. 1s HOWWX, rock 5) 60s 1~ (61+63)+ 1~ (61-63) cos 2e
.- —- . -*L ●L.”*:. . . . .. @ 5=119
Wn@essiw streqy buub = —Uii m3 core Gr estiti”mted ~— ., -,-,(m, .tsa)sin~0
-=, .-
from opm hole logs is very much a function of the state of
stress under which the ~t is made. consequently, Mohr’s Circle
a brief summary of rock mechanical concepts typically used
when masuring compressive strength is in order. A convenient graphical represatation of these relationships
uses Mohr’s circles (Fig. 2), which are constructed from
Compressive strength tests performed in the laboratory on destructive core @sts. l%ese analysis, ( known as triaxid
cylindrical core specimens exhibit a common mode of tests), are performed on cores from similar rock (i.e.,
diagonai (sti) hike ~@g. i j. The Mohr-Couiomb theory --— - 1SAL-1
--- , -..-...:..,
cu~tiic tiUIWJ&Y ~W=l$Y, -+
G&.),
\ nlhbh
W UAWU
am
-U
4..**
. . .
m
Ad

.s
WI #.q&=
la pomiates *dtat faa’utt wii! oc~ar tvitm the nrmmd
=.-=-—
U*
--
fml&@i conditions and !Oaded to M- 6!

maximum shear stress exceeds the shear strength of the rock. at selected confining stresses 63.3
The theory also holds that the normal stress ~ting across the
plane of failure increases theshearresistanceoftherockby TEe line drawn tangeat to at ieast two Mohr% circies defines
an amount proportional to the magnitude of the normal Mohr’sfailure envelope. Mohr’s envelope can be defined by
stress. Thenor2nal andshearstmsaes atthefailute plane can a linear equation representing shear failure when the applied
be derived as follows: shear stress exceeds both the coheshe strength of the rock
and the frictional shear resistance. Thus:
In Fig. l,mm=ti *=6,,6Y, ~d~~h0wn
and 6q ai-d -t aiXmg GE ● C*:)..-e plcuJe
b AU8W -I *- %4mss 330rmm 7\ ~=so+ge~p
~1
makes angle 0 with respect to the horizontal axis are desired.
Summing forces leads to: The unconfined compressive strength COexpressed in terms

of cohesion So and angle of interred fiction ~ is:

1) co=cfXcos20 +crYsin20+ 2~Ysinecos9

570
 29397 J. SPAAIL L.W. LEDGERWOOD,
8) ~=(2S0cos ~)/(1-sin~)
As shown in Fig. 2, the Mohr’s circle intercept required for
failure expressed as (al - 63) / 2 increases as the angle of
internal friction increases and the shear strength of the rock
increases, i.e., for a given loading condition in terms of al
and (S3.The angle of internal fiction is dependent on the
lithology. For example, sandstones generally have Aatively
large angles of internal fiction cornpamd to shales and even
some limestones and dolostones.
Usually, the larger values of angle of inteanal friction am
associated with angular, rather than rounded formation grain
geometry, causing higher degrees of grain interlockment and
reduced sorting coefficients.3
Stresses at TD
Previous investigations have shown that confinement due to
U-1A ;e nw~i,wl-m
6--4+ - r - ------
C-C
----
ie ~uliaihlp
.“ -“e-w.-”
nC far m rlrillinu
- - - .-...=
strength is concerned.’ A strengthening of the rock, which
affects drilling, is caused almost entirely by the differential
pressure between the mud column and the pore pressure.*
Confinement stresses at the bottom are negligible when
drilling at or near balanced conditions.
Thus, according to Sellami et alll, the MotmCouIomb
c-:-..
muum rnodd adeqiidy .. -L1..I.”GL-.
I- ●k :. —
Ue dedme 111 ~leu -d..
UUuu
rates experienced in the field and laboratory when mud
pleasure overbalance is increased. Conversely, if the mud
weights are balanced, the rock is drilled effectively,
according to its unconfined compressive strength.
Compressive Strength According to Acoustic Wave
Veloeitks
Compressive strength has been successfully related to
drillability since the early 1960’s. Gstalder measumd rock
htudness horn cores and compressional velocities for two
wells, comprising shale and oolitic limestones, that were
drilled in the Paris Basin? Gstakler’s study concluded that
rock hardness increases as comprcasional velocities increase.
Sornmerton measmed compressional velocity and drilling
strength at laboratory conditions and found that drilling
strength increased with an increase in compmssional
velocities.
Thus, it is clear that a strong correlation exista between rock
hardness and compmssional travel times. Essentially, as
travel times become faster, the rocks harder. However,
H.E. GOODMAN, RL. GRAFF, TJ. MOO 3
compmssional wave velocity can be very sensitive to
formation fluid. This can be especially problematic when
gas, even in concentrations as low as 5%, is present in the
formation. Even small concentrations of formation gas can
greatly reduce the P wave velocities. Therefore, if one only
considered compressional wave velocities, rocks strongly
saturated with gas would appear to be “weak.”
Formation fluid, on the other hand has little or no effect on
shear wave velocity. Therefore, correlations between
formation strength and shear wave velocity represent a
significant improvement over compressional wave
techniques.
Data sets generated by Mason’ indicate the strong tendency
of rock strength to increase with increasing shear wave
velocities. Although a very simplistic method of estimating
crucial shear wave velocities horn lithologies, the Mason
technique is being used with some success for bh selection
purposes.
A hypothetical example follows illustrating how unconfined
compressive strength can be used for optimum bit selection.
A well is to be drilled in near-balanced conditions in a low
permeable sand that has an unconfimd compressive strength
of 10,000 psi. An IADC Class 437 roller cone bit is to be mn
on 9 ppg mud with a targeted penetmdonrate of 9 m/hr (30
Whr). La@ the mud weight is increased to 16 ppg,
whereupon the increased difikreatial pressme strengthens the
rock to 17,000 psi, causing the ROP to drop to 3 nvhr (10
ft/hr).
At this point som consideration maybe given to pulling the
437 class bit in favor of a less-aggmasive IADC 517 type.
However, the wiseat course would be to keep the 437 type bit
in the hole. Eva though plastic rock strength has increased
by 7000 psi, it would be insufficient to break the 437-class
teeth. The use of a leas aggressive bi~ therefore, is not only
unmcesmy, but would further lower the penetration rate.
While unrelated to aggressivemeas,it must be pointed out that
the plastic strengthening of the rock conceivably could
tig#ZVft@cutter W-, Si33Cethe lower dt?ptb Of Cut would
require the bit to compiete more revohitiom to &iii a giveai
section. In such a case, the 437 class bit would still be
recommended providing it incoprated enhanced gauge
wear features.
TT“:...-,
u Mug ~.wf~ .Wtnpresk
. Stret@i ‘Q detemine bit
aggressiveness results in the selection of a bit that is too
consavative for the targeted formation. The end result is
lower penetmdon rates.
 FORMATION COMPRESSIVE
PREDICTING DRILLABILITY
This phenomenon holds true when drilling in normally
pressured rocks, but in depleted sands, where the overbalance
typically exceeds 2,000-3,000 psi (4-6 ppg at 3,04Sm), a less
aggressive bit may be in order. When overbalance beams
the overriding mechanism for bit selectiom it is impossible to
assign a hard and fast vaiue to tbe cutoff point. This wiii not
be addressed in this presentation. However, it should be noted
that dlihlg Very OVti_Ced S3rKk, such as thOSe
eawountered in the Gulf of Mexico, negatively impacts bit
wearandpenetmdon ratetothepoint thatnatural diamondor
TSP bits maybe required.
For bit selection purposes, a logical explanation as to why
unconfined compressive strength is superior to confined
compressive strength is the fact that unconfined compressive
strength is a propaty of the rock. As such, it remains constant
with drilling conditions, assuming the conditions am
balanced.
Confined compressive strength, on the other han4 is greatly
influenced by the drilling environment. Since it is not a
constang contined compressive strength cannot be compared
from well to well. For example, a well drilled with a unique
casing and mud program will have a particular confined state
of stress. For that reason, it would be imprudent to use the
confined compressive strengths of this well in the planning of
a futme well having different casing and mud programs.
Another data analysis technique that may be exploited by
means of unconfined compressive stmagth is the use of
specific drilliig energy to calculate drilliig efficiency.
Specific energy, which is the energy expended in drilling a
unit volume of rock, has units of force per square kngtix
AB ABR
It has been observed that the lowest specific enagy with
which a rock maybe drilled happens to be numerically equal
to the unconfined compressive strength of the mck.a9”0 Such
unfavorable drilling pammetas as impropa blt selection,
poor hole cleaning, poor solids control and high difkential
pmssum, to mum a few, can result in the expending of
specitic energy that is higher than the unconfined
-——4.,. VG—
wuqJ1- -@h
Improving the parameters can lows specific energy.
drilliig
Ideally, the specific cmergy may approach a minimum, the
magnitude of which will be close to the unconfined
compressive strength. The ratio of unconfined compressive
strength divided by specific enagy produces a number
between zero and one that is defined as the drilling efficiency.
STRENGTH ESTIMATES FOR 29397
AND PDC BIT SELECTION
The optimum drilling efficiency is reached when it
approaches one.
When unconfined compressive strength is ua a log of
drilling efficiency may be plotted. On such a log, the sections
-L-.. .—— 1 ---- _i_nl:-- -=-:——.:-A:----- -.L— ●L- -..&
snowing low Orllllng Glmmzlby IIIUI- WUWG - -b
improvement can be rode. Improvement may COIIEin the
form of a new casing and mud program to lows difkaential
pressure and increase penetmdon rates. Such an improvement
will change the confined compressive strengths, which, as
mentioned dler, are products of the drilling environment
and cannot be used to identify optimaI opportunities.
Rock Abrasiveness Measures for Sekction of Bit Waar
Resistance - Angle of Internal Friction/Wear Correlation
TIE literatw does not document the rock properties that may
hutiti~eti w==is-ofati~=mtim
propose that the angle of internal ftiction correlates with
formation abrasheneas and, thaefore, provides a nrasum of
abrasiveness, Both field pafonnance and laboratory testing
support this tbxy. As nmtioned earlia, the angle of internal
friction is very dependmt upon lithology with sandstonea
generally having a relatively large angle of internal friction
when compared to shales, limewones, and dolostones.
This hypothesis has been tested empirically. Five sandstones
having a wide degree of abrasiveness wae selected for
evahmtion. The sandstones used were the Crab Orchard,
Nug~ ~ Salt Wash, and Navaho. In laboratory wear
tests, a PDC core bit equipped with PDC cutta blanks
without tk diamond table was used to chill these rocks under
atmospheric pressure.
The volumehic wear of the carbide cutta blanks was
measured and divided by the volume of rock remOVed.‘his
ratio of cutter wear to rock removed is considered the most
radistic mans of quantifying Ml blt abrasion since it is a
measure of how much a bit will wear while &Ming a given
section of rock.
Compressive strength teats under vtious confining pmssurea
wae conducted on samples taken km the sam five rocks.
The @sts were done to quantify the inWnal angle of fxiction
and the compressive strength of each rock. As S- the
txf~
-- *v-1A
. .. —- t-
--- .i~
. -s ------
ctrnneer rnrrdrntinn
—---—-- Mween
----- — the nde
— —e-
Of internal fiction and wear than them is between
compressive strength and wear. The conjecture was confirmed
when the mnking of rocks in terms of abrasiveness was
shown to be identical to the ranking of rocks on internal angle
of friction. The test data is shown in Table 1.
 29397 J SPAAR L.W. LEDGERWOOD, H*. GOODMAN, RL. GRAFF, TJ. MOO 5

Rock Mechanks Algorithm(RMA) Both bks however, performed very poorly in Well A. Neither
bit was able to drill a 27-meter (90 ft) stand and penetmdon
Chevron Petroleum Technology Company’s Rock Mechanics rates dropped toaslow asl.5rn/hr(5ft5r).
Algorithm (RMA) program estimates unconfined
compms.sive strength and angle of internal friction from basic When looking only at compmasive strength, the bits should
have’- .—-d Ulla.
capabk of driiiing’* furmau ..- nil
A - -...1.. d,.- ,4
electric log data The output fhm this aigorithm consists of a Gvuluauuu WI

log-like plot of unconfined compmasive strength, angle of the angles of internal friction showed them to be a conaistcat

intend fiction and related data. 42° to 44° for both of the inefficient bit runs. When their
perf~ fell short of expectadons, natural diamond bits
In the pat% making bit recommendah“ens baaed solely on dc&gned to drill such abrasive formations on turbii wem
compressive rock strength frequently led to premature blt eventually run. ‘lEese natural diamond bits achieved longer
faihn. All too often, this failure was a direct mault of whirl- runs at rates of pmetmtion that wem consistently more than 3
induced cutter bmkage. Over the last several years, several m5r (lo fuhr).
methods have been used to reduce the effbcts of whirl. Fig. 3 presents the RMA program output for the two PDC bit
Improved bit de&gns have successfully addmssd this runs indicating the high angle of intend friction.
problem. For example, some bits am now designed to resist
whirl by direcdng load forces genemted by the cutters during Caae History Two-WeUB
chilling through a low friction gauge pad. By des@ing the
optimum lesuhant cutting lod to be dinxxed through the Multiple runs of identical 12 1/4” PDC bits were conducted
gauge pal the bit self-stabiizes while drilling. As a msul~ the in Well B. The two btts being presented wem eight-bladed
bit drills smoothly and is capable of penetrating a much wider with spiral layouts and enhanced cutter configurations. Both
variety of formations without the catastrophic cutter fmcture bits wem mu on rotary.
sustained by conventional PDC bits. While the instances of
cutter breakage have diminished, abrwion-iuduced wear has Although the compressive strength remained relatively
become a more critical factor in detwminin g bit life. consistent for the runs, blt life was substantially reduced on
those runs with a higher angle of internal friction.
The angle of internal friction has proven to be a good measure
of abrasion. Experience has shown that when the average Bit No. 1: 378 m(1242 fi)
angle of internal friction consistently stays above 40°, 5.3 In/hr (17.4 Whr)
formations are too abrasive for a conventional PDC bit. 24BTSXIROPR
Bit No. 2: 70 m (230 ft)
case Histories 1.6mihr(5.4ft/hr)
TQRfMYIW’’lPR)
--.-”.- .. . . . ..
Selected bit runs ftom two wells follow, illustrating the log-
derived unconfined compressive strength and angle of internal A review of the angle of internal tiction indicates that for Bit
friction estimates and their strong relationship to bit No. 1, the angle of internal Iiktion remained at 32°. On Bit
performance. Both wells were drilled east of the Mississippi No. 2, however, the angle of intend immased to a consistent
River where offshore wells are generally deeper and 36° to 40°.
encounter more carbonates and abrasive sands than do typical
Gulf of Mexico wells. Bit No. 1 predominantly ddled limstone, while Bit No. 2
encountered sandstone and siltstone. The lithological impact
Caae History One- Well A on angle of internal friction detedmm “on cannot be
overemphasized. An inspecdon of the mud log shows that Bit
Twoofthe 61/2’’ PDCbitsrunin Well A had been very No. 2 commenced drilling at a msonable rate of pendradon
successful in drilling hard formations elsewhere in the U.S. (ROP), but slowed soon afterwards. The reduction in ROP is
The first bit effectively drilled hard formations in West Texas attributed to the high wear rate of the cutters in the more
(below 6,095 m -20,000 ft); however, the angle of internal abrasive formation.
fliction was less than 40°. ‘l%e second bit mconled good
Perf~ in the Rocky Mountains that possessed high Compssive strength alone would not have indicated the
compressive strengths (>15,000 psi.). ~y*cedtit run. Fig.4h5_wti RMA
--m-
plvpalu
~..k..t
Vwp”.
#.*
,“,
An
-
+um
..”
hit
. ...-”
nmc hdit.s~no
—- .~
twcentimllv nn
--.—., -.

change in the compressive strength, but a substantial change

in the angle of internal fiction only.

573
6 FORMATION COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH ESTIMATES FOR 29397
PREDICTING DRILLABILITY AND PDC BIT SELECTION

Conchlaiona Acknowledgments

Cotined or unconfined compressive strengths by themselves
am insufficient to detamme
“ optimum bit selection. While
unconfined compressive strength provides a good measure of
the required aggressiveness of a particular bit the
abrasiveness of a targeted formation also must be takem into
consideration when selecting the optimum blt for a given
situation.
The authors wish to thank the managements of Chevron
Petroleum Technology Company, Chevron USA, and Hughes
Christensen Company for permission to publish this paper.
Thanks to Jim Redden and Sandy Adams for preparation of
the manuscript and illustrations, respectively.
References

The angle of intend friction, which can be estimated from 1. OnyiaZE.C.: “Relationships Between Formation
basic electric logs, has been shown to be a good indicator of Strength, Drilling Strength and Ekchic Log
frmnatinn &&@7~s. ~~**~pw.~Nn
. ..=”..-”. “. -. y.-
lft166
. . . . . . . . .. —td
=.-— m 1awl . ... .
Annual SPE Technical conference, Houston, Oct. 2-
Confined compressive strength must account for pen 5.
pressure, mud weight angle of intednal friction and cohesion
*Ak —m:mmfi,l Pnmfind -Vfi-ma.-A-mm:w- —Ah
VW *uuu~ul
MA..+.
-w
9
4. Cmma.. TD R_.._ T A fl...dmm.
u —,
U lZ
L1.u.
.-,4
-
“ - —6*-~. -W=~— 0-. an., Lmvvvu, b.n.,

which do not take such contributing fwtors into account are
no mom useful thao using unconfined compressive stxengths
alone.
It is important to keep in mind that cordined compressive
Stmrlgths am mquiled when drilling severely overbalanced,
and full account must be made of all factors that influence
confined compressive strength.
Bomar, B.B.: “Integrated Approach to Bit
Programming Improves Drilling Efficiency of
Offshore Mobile Wells: SPE Paper No. 26342,
presented at 1993 Annual SPE Technical
Conference, Houston, Ott 3-6.
3. Jaeger, J.C. and N.G. Cook “Fundamentals of Rock
Mechanics; Chapmau aud Hall, London, 1979.

While bit wear is extremely difficult to evaluate, laboratory 4. Cunningh~ R.A.: “An Empirical Approach to Relate
and field results support the use of the angle of internal Drilling Pammetem, SPE Paper No. 6715, pll?sellted at
friction for predicting wear. Often, the breaking of cutters 1977 Annual SPE Technical Confemnce,Denver, Oct.
caused by CkCUIUS~ceS such as drillstring whirl, he 9-12,1977.
presence of ju& and improper operating parameters, may
mask the actual bit wear and lead to inccnmct conclusions. 5. Gstakkx, S., and J. Raynal: “Measurermnt of Some
Mechanical Reperks of Rocka and Their Relationship
to Rock Drillabilityfl JPT, Augus4 1966.
Nomenclature
‘t = shear StKSS 6. SommrtorL W.H. and S. El Hadidi: “Well Logs
6= normal stress Pm&t Drillabiity, Aid Computers: Oil and Gas
X5 = shear strength JOUHld, NOV. 23, 1970

S(I = cohesive shear strength (at zero

confining stress) 7. Mason, U “Tricone Bit Selection Using Sonic
P= angle of internal friction Logs: SPE Paper No.13256, presented at 59th Annual
e angular position of specimen failure plane SPE Technical Conference, Houston, Sept. 16-19,
Es== Specific Energy 19s4.
w= Weight on Bit
A~ = Borehole diameter 8. Anderson, E.E. and Azar, J.J.: PDC Bit Performance
T= Torque under Simulated Borehole Conditions: SPE Paper No.
-A..- —.–––—.—- —..L.ze.L A— --..., ““-- –- L—!. – *

N= RPM LU+IL prcsemeu at me oxn mmutu sr~ lecnmcai

R= rate of penetration Conference, New Orleans, Sept. 23-26,1990.

9. Hussain, R.: “Specific Energy as a Criterion for Bit

Selection: JPT, July 19S5, pp 1225-1230.

574
 29397 J. SPAQ I-W. LEDGERWOOD, H.E. GOODMAN, RL. GRAFF, TJ. MOO

!0. .Pec~ier
—..-, ----- and .M.J.
R .C. —- ...- . Feat ..-= Common
- -—. “OuantifviniZ
=——-—., - .
Drihg problems with Mechanics specific Energy and
a Bit-Specific Coefficient of Sliding Friction: SPE
Paper No. 24584, presented at the 1992 Alullld SPE
T_hm;.d Pnnf—
A---’al WVu.wuuw,,-o W-chinatnn
Tr U—-&V+ 11
-.-.,C ~t
-“- &l
. ..

11. Scllami, H., FairhursQ C., D&ac, E., Dclbam B.: ‘The
Role of In-situ Rock Stresses and Mud Pressure on the
Pactration Rate of PDC bits: from “Rock at Great
Depth Vol. 2: A.A. Ballumm Brooldield 1989.

575
 Table 1 - Angle of Internal FrictionVs. Abrasive Wear

SandstoneSample Angle of Phsse II Unconfined

Internal Friotion CutterWear Rstio Compressive
(Degrees) (in’ cutter/ in’ rock) Strength(psi)
(x 10”)

Crab Orchard 52.3 775 22,290

Nugget 49.5 100 1,780

~~:~~ q~.~ ~.A 10,110

Salt Waah 38.4 3.3 1,520

Navaho 37.7 0.094 10,360

maws
- w--
1
. . “
M-s
. ..-.
(# TWsunmd
“. --”—
Kb+
\“—
lhaihq -r” 6Y

576
 Mohr’s Fti]we
t
Envelope
Shear Stress
\

I ,

) 6(
Normal stress

I
Figure 2- Mohr’s Cimk

BIT #1

m’ #2

Figure 3- RMAOutput-WellA (2 PDCBitRuns)

 Fig. 4- RMA output and drillability data for Bit No. 1- Well B

Fig. 5- RMA output and drillability data for Bit No. 2- Well B

!578
View publication stats