Peer-Reviewed Technical Communication Passive Compensator Load Variation for Deep-Water Drilling Jan T. Hatleskog and Matthew W. Dunnigan Abstract—This paper explores the dynamic behavior ofa passive aril string compensator being used for deep-water drilling in mod erate seas using a detailed dynamic simulation. Vessel heave, even ‘moderate, gives rise to a disturbance; the purpose of the compen- salor is to mitigate this effect and to maintain a near-steady load ‘on the drill bit; any variation is ermed “load variation”; the com- ‘pensator is imperfect with various friction elements and viscous losses affecting the compensator performance; the simulation set fou in this paper illustrates the load variation in a manner consis ‘tent with that experienced during actual drilling, Significant load ‘variation is demonstrated by the simulation, with the main contr sar friction in the compensator seals; in addition, significant contact instability occurs when drilling on a yery hard bottom formation resulting in bit bounce; this effect is commonly observed, Index Terms—Bit bounce, bit weight, contact instability, dill string compensator, load variation, passive compensator, sensor noncollocation, 1. InrRopuction |HE drill string compensator has been widely used since the 1970s for drilling offshore and has since evolved and bbeen adapted over this time to meet the particular need. The compensator was designed to enable drilling while the vessel heaves up and down; the measure of performance is load varia- ‘tion as applied tothe drill bit while drilling. Maintaining a steady weight-on-bit is important even in modest heave conditions be- cause of the demands of modem drill bits, In this context, the prevailing sea state in terms of significant waveheight and wave period poses the main disturbing element; deriving a statistical measure of vessel heave activity helps to quantify the problem. One such method is illustrated in Fig. 1 using wavescatter data collected over many years and applying this to the selected drilling vessel. Fig, | illustrates that significant vessel heave generally oc- curs in a heave period range of 8-12 s where the vessel heave attenuation by design is reasonably good. In the diagram, the ‘heave amplitude is shown as double amplitude and the 1.2-m double amplitude is generally the limitation for a number of op- erations. For drilling, the load variation actual is more often the Manusrit received May 17,2005, revised September 11,2006 and January 14, 2007 accepted February 12,2007 ‘Artoclate Editor: FS. Hove, The authors ae wath the Electra, Blestonic and Computer Engineering Deparment, Henot Wate Univecsty, Ricearton, Edinburgh EIIL4 48S, UK (email: jan@etcon.co th), Digital Object Ider 1011087108 2007.895276 ‘applied te a fourth generation ding i, Fig, 1 Projected vessel heave days per yea determining factor. Modern drill bits tend to require tighter load variation limits stil to ensure optimum “life.” ‘Woodall-Mason and Tlbe [1] outline the advantages of a drill string compensator; the book by Sheffield [2] explains the de- tailed operations and constraints. Benington and Stevenson [3] outline the fist compensator with a hydraulic active subsystem as installed on the Glomar Challenger; the passive compensator ‘was sucessful, but the ative subsystem was less so. Hatleskog [4] described different compensating equipment, set out an early ‘method for quantifying the compensator load variation perfor- ‘mance, and outlined a revised active subsystem approach, which wwas later successfully implemented when using the compen- sator during landing operations. The U.S, Patents [5-17] pro- Vide abroad description of te passive and active compensators. This paper gives a brief background to this topic and Sections I and HI describe the passive compensator and consider the different features that affect the compensator performance. The dynamic model of the system is derived in Section IV and comprises the following four main elements: the compensator, the wire rope and traveling block, and the upper and the lower dill string sections. The simulation model is developed in Section V and the results are described in Section VI with a summary in Section VIL The main contibution ofthis paper, fist having established 4 suitably detailed dynamie model of the compensator and drill string for use in moderate heave conditions, is to illustrate the load variation because of the seal friction then highlight the problem of contact instability and to demonstrate the limitations (0361.9058/525.00 © 2007 IEEECrown Block Position yf Compensator Cylinder _—Diameter DI Lenata Stand Pipe _-—Diameter D3 Lenata 13 Wire Rope 14 falls “Diameter D2 Lengths avelling Block. Position y2 _Top Drive and Swivel River Tensioner CF Wire Rope (12-16) = MomPed 7 “| 4 ( purse LO Marine Riser ~~ Stip Joint Fig. 2, Chown mounted campensator (CMC) of measuring the load variation in the wire rope dead line, The simulation is further intended to form the basis for further work using an active subsystem in an attempt to improve load vari- ation and reduce the contact instability while drilling by modi- fying the impedance of the system. IL, PASSIVE DRILL STRING COMPENSATOR Fig. 2 illustrates a typical crown compensator arrangement ‘with the fast and dead line compensation arrangement omitted for clarity. As the load pushes the cylinder piston downwards, this reduces the air volume and increases pressure until the in- ‘erease in pressure balances the load. The mean air volume is made up of the ar in the compensator cylinders which are con- nected to a much larger air bank with a set of standpipes. In the case that the pistons move downwards, the air Volume is reduced and compressed, thus increasing the pressure. The air pressure is equalized in the compensator cylinder and the air bank, resulting in air flow through the hoses and pipes. Con- versely, as the piston rods move upwards, the total volume is increased with the effect of reducing the pressure and a net air flow to the compensator. The mean air pressure is adjusted to support most of the hook load, letting the drill string carry the rest, This is applied directly to the dril bit as it applies a force on the formation, By opening and closing the valves, the air bank size can be increased or decreased thus altering the spring rate to suit the particular circumstances, which relates to the prevailing heave and the drilling conditions. It is important to make sure that the drill string is not lifted off the bottom of the well. As the vessel heave lifts up the compensator, it will extend and in- crease the upward pull and, as it heaves down, the compensator closes and the upward pull is reduced: This gives rise toa vari- ation in the weight exerted by the drill bit on the formation and is referred to as the “load variation.” IIL. Compensaror DETAIL DESCRIPTION The compensator is designed to run smoothly with arelatively low load variation as it compensates for heave. A number of factors contribute to the load variation A. Compensator Spring-Gas Compression In any continuous compression process, the relationship of absolute pressure p to volume Vis expressed by (1) using the polytropic coefficient k [10]: The plot of pressure versus volume for each value of exponent fis shown in Fig. 3 and is known as the polytropic curve, illustrating the work performed in pro- ceeding from py to py along any polytropic curve pV" =omnst wo 7 w raw: Q i It follows thatthe amount of work required is dependent upon the polytropic curve with the value of n. The path requiring the least amount of input work isn = 1,0, which is equiva- lent to isothermal compression. For adiabatic compression, that is, no heat is being added or taken away during the process, n= k = ratio of specific heat at constant pressure to that at constant volume. The passive compensator works continu- ously over extended periods; initially, the compensators compo- nents will warma up until a thermal balance is reached. The com- pressed air expands and contracts over the heave cycle, which is {oo short to transfer all the heat in and out of the system; how- ever, some heat is exchanged, Thus, the system is neither strictly isothermal nor purely adiabatic but must be considered to be operating somewhere between the two. Field testing result ona. specific installation is outlined in [18] and shows a polytropic. ‘octficient of 1.33, B. Pressure Variation Because of Change in Compensator Stroke and Vessel Heave The two compensator cylinders support the hook load by air pressure acting on the pistons. Ifthe load is increased, the imbal- ance forces the pistons downwards reducing the total air volumeAn>k K (adiabatic) Pressure Voune Piston Rod - position 7 ‘Cylinder area AT ‘Ais Bank Number of APV's NZ Volume of each APY. ¥2 ‘Vessel position UT (heave) Fig 3. Polytopic curve and ar arangemeat which increases the air pressure until the increased pressure balances the load. Thus, the compensator acts as a simple air “spring,” where the spring rate is determined by the size of the nominal air volume with respect to the volume change be- cause of change in compensator stroke, Consider the compen- salor being arranged to work midstroke; it follows that the mean air volume of the compensator cylinders is half the total volume of the two cylinders, namely, the same as the volume of a single Syndr whichis (2 2 ‘The average or mean volume of the compensator system is made up of the mean cylinder volume, the volume of the air bank, and the volume of the connecting pipe work expressed as lL. @ W=V +o + Ve oO) ‘The change in compensator system volume, as illustrated in 3, is directly related to the change in compensator stroke, As the drill string remains in contact with the bottom, the volume cof a compensator is reduced as the vessel heaves upwards in- creasing the pressure. The relationship between vessel heave variation and volume change is AV =A -3 ‘ws 6) J © PRE | conn | | Wined 5 [Deaé-ine Anchor Fig. 4. Wie rope arangement Using (345), the change in the system pressure with respect to the mean pressure is © Expression (6) clearly illustrates that when the compensator strokes upwards the cylinder volume increases and the system pressure is reduced, It is seen that any pressure variations are reduced by increasing the overall system volume increasing the size of the air bank. C. Wire Rope and Drill String The compensator supports the “crown block sheave as- sembly.” which is linked to the traveling block sheaves using ‘wire rope, typically 14 falls. A sensor at the dead line anchor measures the suspended load. A top-drive suspended from the traveling block is used to rotate the drill string and the drill pipe is suspended from the top drive The traveling block and top drive have a set of dollies, which run in a set of guide rails to prevent any lateral movement giving rise to mechanical friction between the vessel and the compen- sated load. The wire rope is arranged as shown in Fig. 4, running from the draw work over a half-stroke sheave down to the traveling block, then up and over the crown block for the required numberof falls, and then back over the second half-stroke sheave and down to the dead line anchor. The amount of wire rope stretch is given by o D. Pressure Drops Because of Air Flow ‘The flow of the high-pressure air between the compensator cylinders and the air bank will result in pressure drops, which is form of speed-related friction. To calculate the pressure drops, the following assumptions are made which relate directly to the ‘compensator. This flow isa litle higher than the actual flow be- ‘cause of the compression effect in both the CMC and the stand- pipe volumes. The airflow through the pipes is highly turbulent with a very high Reynolds number and, therefore, mainly sub- Ject to the kinematic effects, This is because of the very low air viscosity and density. The compensator air density must be modified to correspond to the actual air pressure. In this case, the pressure drop is less than 10% of the mean pressure which ‘means that the standard Darcy’s formula applies. The speed of the air in the standpipe is designed to be well below the speed of sound, meaning that any shock wave effects may be discounted, ‘With the Reynolds number (8) greater than 10.000, the next step is to find the solution to the Colebrook—White equation [8], [11] O. 4 where the Reynolds number is Me ‘7 Dat Va ® This relationship is solved and the actual pressure drop is cal- ‘culated using the Darcy Weisbach equation (9). plbalatt D2 ‘Note that the actual pressure drop of viscous friction is propor- tional othe square ofthe speed of the air through the standpipe Ap o E. Kinetic Friction—Seal and Bearing In each cylinder, there are two sets of seals and two sets of bearings: the piston seal and bearing and the cylinder gland seal and bearing. The cylinder gland seal typically sees a nominal pressure of 0.65 MPa as the annulus partis filled with flame ro- tardant oil for lubrication and to contain the speed of the piston assembly in the case of a sudden loss of balancing load. This oil is also used to lubricate the two bearing areas. The system air pressure acts on the full piston area of both cylinders and acts to pressurize the piston seal. This means that the seal grip will increase as the air pressure increases; however, at low pres sure, the seal must stil grip sufficiently to prevent the oil leaking through to the arside. The seal grip gives rise tothe typical static ot stick-slip fiction exhibited by most seals. The two alignment bearings also give rise to Coulomb or kinetic friction, but this nips sev Nw pe ea te tera omen | || ase eats me Lower Drill ‘Sting section (05,10). Well ation prey Fig 5, ill string id fow arangemeat clement is normally very small compared with the seal friction as the piston and rod moves vertically and presents very light side loads. The seal friction is expressed as follows: Fo= posien(in = 1). This type of crown compensator has a set of large sheaves for the fast and dead lines arranged to move at half the com- pensator stroke, which are used to cancel out any differential rope movement between the vessel and the compensated crown, block. These sheaves run in a set of guides and will exhibit bearing friction, and rope-over-pulley friction; this friction is primarily kinetic and can be included with the previous friction clement, which is much larger. a0 F. Drill Siring and Fluid Flow The drill sting forms the main load as suspended from the compensator and is attached below the top drive and the fluid swivel illustrated in Fig. 5. The drill string is passed inside the ‘marine riser, which is relatively straight down to the seabed to the "blow-out-preventer” and through casing or liner, which gets progressively tighter (o the bottom of the well; this section is typically not straight consequently with considerable mechan- ical friction; the last section being newly drilled has no casing of liner and the mud weight is adjusted to halance out the for- ‘mation pressure‘The drilling fluid comes out of the drill sting at the drill bit and is used to transport any cuttings to the surface, The Grilling fuid is typically thixotropic, that is, itis a non-New~ tonian fluid; its viscosity decreases when no longer subjected to shear stesses (9]. The column of fluid inside the drill pipe is decoupled from the vessel vertical motion by the rotary hose be- ‘oveen the fluid swivel at the top of the drill string to the goose- rneck connecting it to the pumps; the entrapped mass of fluid column acts in consort with the dell string, but it does not add to the drill string Weight. As the return fluid flow is uncoupled from the vessel motion, it will exert a drag friction effect on the Gril pipe with respect tothe static environment. Because of the external pipe geomelzy of the drill pipe and the upward move- ‘ment of the fluid, the external added mass effect of the fluid is relatively small, The drilling fluid being pumped through the Grill pipe exits at the drill bit and will create small cushion between the drill it and the formation; this will also have the effect of educing the contact stiffness particularly while drilling ‘on avery hard formation. The bottom formation may range from relatively soft to very hard. The Muid return flow travels up the well through the marine riser past the slip joint where itis emp- tied out of the riser and returned to the pits after the cuttings have been removed. The slip joint allows forthe relative motion between the moving vessel and the static marine riser. The drill string being submerged in drilling fluid and the weight is mod- ified by a buoyaney factor as indicated by Poa Ps, Pe B ay ‘The drill sting is made up of lengths of drill pipe of varying diameter and wall thickness, which makes up the weight of the Gril pipe; this forms the main load to be carried by the compen- sator, The drill pipe will stretch under its own weight modified by the buoyaney factor and the stiffness is indicated by Par [D3 = (Di= 241] a2) ‘The drill pipe is subject to two types of friction: mechanical friction as it rubs against the side of the well and drag as itis pulled through the drilling fluid. The mechanical friction is de- ppendent on the conditions in the well, tightness, straightness, and the formation. The expressions for the drag factors are il- Iustrated by a3) ‘The drill string is considered in two parts to accommodate the different friction regimes; the friction experienced by the Gril string in the upper section is predominantly viscous drag whereas the lower section will ypically experience a fair degree of coulomb friction, which will change significantly ifthe drill string is turning thus reducing the Strbeck effect [19]; however, CompensstorPul «Sealand mechanical Mean Force pO:at Friion t t Crown Block: -posiiony? - mass mf i cemt Wire Rope Pull -64,92)42 Fraction t ‘Travelling lock: - postion y2 -mass m2 i com UpperDall Sing Pull -6245)43 Drag ‘Upper Drill String: - position y3 «mass (ms+ms) i | “Bem Lower Dil Sting Pll 63,994 Drag Lower Drill String’ = posiiony# «mass (tome) i t bem Formation Sines 04 grok (compression only) Fig 6. Fee body diagram, this does not apply to directional drilling where a mud motor is cused with the drill string taking the reaction, The drill string will have a number of different vibration regimes mostly of relatively higher frequencies but, in this paper, only the contact instability between dril bit and forma- tion is considered IV. Dynamic Move. ‘The compensator and load is described by a set of four second-order differential equations: one represents the com- pensator; the second describes the wire rope system; and the next two deal with the dril string being modeled in two parts to describe the very different friction regimes being experienced by the section within the marine riser from that within the actual well; an cighth-order system results. The formation stifiness hy can vary greatly from, for example, soft sandstone which has a ‘bulk modulus of typically 14 GPa and quartz sandstone which is 140 GPa, This can be shown to equate to the stiffness seenLisr oF Coxstasts Deepen Dexepion A [ Tas Aes compensor inde mm] Wall hickness OFS pipe upper ee D065 m | Diameter eormpensator eying Ko [ERIN ae suns of dil pipe (S00 ent 1, [762m — | Length compensator elinder pe | TaF kL” | Densiy of dl pipe Vi [1182 E | Volume compensitr cylinder Lo | 200m | Length of dil pipe Tower seston D.—[ at mn | Diameter wire ope ‘| 29 mm —] Wall hens of dil pipe lower section r Om | Lergih of wie ope pera Ee [ESN | ines of del pipe 1200 ent FL [a GPa] Modulus of last wire ape E 33] Polyrpic constant i: Ta__—| Number of wie rope al Ve [1325 1 | Vole of air preseue sel Ke] SP Na Sines of wire ope Vi | —a000L | Volume of pipe wor D.—[ 183 mm —[ Diameter of tndpipe c 095 | Drag coeticient duet sea wae Ly | srm Long of sand pipe pr [105 kg | Density of air at 7 MPa and 20°C | 0rs2 mi | Fiton factor in stan ea Te po | isk Density of deling Fad Dz | womm | Diameter o il of pipe upper sec | |v, | 0.11 etakes | Kine viscosity oF air af MPa and IOC Le 1.5 | Buivaent engi for bonds i [21400 N | Kinetic fiction of sels Lx [tm | Length én of pipe upper sean ur [0082 ep | Dye viscosity of ai aT MPa and 10°C eenipoeT [1a GPa | Modulus of las of dl pipe TABLE Desriion Deseipion = ‘n__| Normalized Postion of compensator F_[ News| Diag ction free doe ding Tad | Normalized Position of traveling Block Fe NP Kinet tion fore in well y ‘| Normalized Position of dil pipe E TN Coulomb Ficuon {| morales Position of suspended Tad BL [ats | Buoyancy factor % a Reference poston ofthe dil bi “ap | ratio Presure drop due wai Tow [kg Mas of crown biock and compensator pL MPa | System pessure ma [kg | Mass of sveing Book and op dive br MPa | System pressure ean ms [kg | Mass oF upper dl pipe section m im ——[ Normalized heave postion me [ kg Mas flower dal pipe section Noo] tro 16 Nunber of air pressure vessel meg | Added mass in upper dil pipe t Fanning ition Fastor me [kg Ado mas in tower dil pipe Re Reynolds Number i N | Rineie fiction force dust seals es ee F,_ | Nem? | Wiseous fction free due to ai ow v, Tier [Mean system volume Fz | _N | Kinetic retin force du to bear ve | ms | Vetoes oF air fow Fe_[_N | Kinetic tion freon wel WL ms] Velocity of dil pipe sear by the drill bit as $00 kNim on soft formation, 1600 kN/m on bard formation, and 5000 kN/m on very hard formation. A. Dynamic Diagram Representation ‘The compensator system may be represented by four ele ‘ments: compensator, block and top drive, upper drill string sec- tion, and the lower drill string section illustrated in Fig. 6. ‘These blocks are linked together by a set of compliant ele- iments translating a force from one to the other. The compli- ance of the high-pressure air bank links the vessel to the moving parts of the compensator and crown block; the wire rope con- nects the compensator crown block to the traveling black and lop drive; the stiffness of the upper drill string section is linked to the lumped mass of this section and the stiffness of the lower drill string section is linked to the lumped mass of this section ‘concentrated at the drill bit, which is linked tothe static environ- ‘ment via the compliance of the formation being drilled, In this ‘case, the compliance of the formation can support the weight of the drill bit, which can lift clear without any downward pull from the formation, In addition, there are several different friction elements acting ‘on the system: compensator seal and viscous friction acting be- ‘ween the moving vessel and the compensator and crown block; ‘mechanical friction acting between the moving vessel and the traveling block and top drive; and both sections ofthe drill string being submerged in drilling fluid which are subject to both fric- sion and drag linked to the static environment. The drilling uid also provides a buoyaney effect. The differential equations re- Iating (o each subsystem are set out in the following: the con- stants and variables are listed in Tables I and IL B. Compensator and Crown Block Newton's second law states that the sum of all the forces acting on the mass of the moving portion of the compensator and crown block is zero. The weight of the moving portion of the compensator and crown block plus the suspended load acts downwards and these combined weights ate cartied by the pres- sure of air acting on the compensator pistons pushing upwards. The air pressure is adjusted by charging or venting until the load is balanced with the compensator typically at midstrake and with the drill bit applying the required load on the bottom formation.‘The vessel is disturbed by wave action resulting in a heave ‘motion and as the compensator tries to cancel out this motion it strokes up and down reducing and increasing the air pressure correspondingly. As the compensator moves, it becomes a sub- ject to friction which resists the movement: seal friction, beating fiction, and viscous or flow friction. In this installation, the vis cous friction, that is the pressure drop in the standpipe, i rela- tively modest whereas the seal friction is rather significant; the ‘mechanical bearing friction is normally very small ‘The forces acting on the compensator are summarized in the following dynamic equation: math + sien(th =a) [Fi + Fa(ih = ta] + 0dr «f+ fa-w] han —)— mg as As can be seen, there are several nonlinear elements in (14). C. Traveling Block and Top Drive ‘The traveling block and top drive is pulled upwards by the compensator via the wire ropes and downwards by the weight of the drill string and the traveling block. It is subject to amodest amount of nonlinear static and kinetic friction; these friction Components act between the traveling block and the heaving vessel. The traveling block dynamic equation is shown as mata + sien ia) + hou — ye) holy =p) —mag= 0. 3) D. Drill String Top Section ‘The top section of the drill string is pulled upwards by the traveling block and downwards by gravity modified by buoy- ancy and the lower drill sting. It is also subject to substantial nonlinear static and kinetic friction acting between the drill pipe and the side ofthe wel, the static environment. This friction will effectively reduce any residual heave. ‘The fluid column trapped inside the drill pipe is considered ‘part of the inertial mass but does not exert any drag on the pipe. ‘The dynamic equation of the drill string top section is shown as (ma +ms)iis + seni) [Fi + Fsi8] +ha(e 4s) — kilts — 44) — Bimag= 0. (16) E. Lower Drill String Section ‘The lower section ofthe drill string is pulled upwards by the top section of the dril string and downwards by gravity modified by buoyancy and is partially supported by the bottom of the well, the static environment, acting against the compliance of the formation. It is also subject to substantial nonlinear static and kinetic drag friction, The bottom of the well position is designated by year and, when the drill bit is in contact withthe formation, there is an up- ward force which relates to the compliance of the formation, Of course, there is not any corresponding downwards force when the drill bit is lifted clear of the bottom. The dynamic equation Gamat me) + signs) [Fo + Frail] + kas — vs) Bye malo vel Panag a a7) F. Compensator Particulars The compensator slected for this simblation is the Shaffer 454-on, 7.62-m stroke CMC, which is probably one of the better performance compensators on the market. The two cylinders each have a 0444-m diameter. The crown block has a total of 4 falls carrying the traveling block. The compensttor is connected to the air bank vin two 200-mm standpipes and the sir bank is made up of a maximum of 16 air pressure vessels (APVs). The pressure deop is calculated to be 28:kPa imaximum, Actual measurements of the seal friction of the cylinders are carried out as part of acceptance testing and are typically found to be between 70 and 100 kPa, This data is typically proprietary and only available from compensator manufacturers; the friction is pressure dependent in this set of simulations, the lower figure is used asthe system pressure will be nominally 6 MPa and will not exceed 7 MPa. These values illustrate that the losses because of the seal fiction will affect the load variation significantly more than the flow friction, fortis particular installation, Other compensators and installations may have different ratio of losses. V. SIMULATION MoDEL Equations (14)-(17) can readily be combined to produce a nonlinear state-space dynamic model for the system, which is then evaluated, The initial conditions are evaluated based on first calculating the steady-state stretch and then setting the initial conditions accordingly including 2g. This is assumed to be the compensator zero midstroke position in the calculation of air volumes, as in (18) and (19), shown at the bottom of the next age. VI. SIMULATION RESULTS ‘The simulations use a vessel heave of 1,2-m double amplitude in a 10-s period, which is experienced on a regular basis as per Fig. 1. Tn addition, a set of simulations are performed with heave periods of § and 6 s(oillustrate any differences in load variation, Fig. 7 shows the vessel heave and the relative motion between the vessel and the compensator It can be observed that the compensator movement has similar amplitude to the vessel heave or disturbance but that it has the ‘opposite direction, that is, the required compensator displace- ‘ment, which is necessary to cancel out or compensate for the heave, However, the compensator amplitude is a bit smaller and hhas a more square shape. Observing a compensator in action, this feature is noticeable; it scems that the compensator docs not move smoothly at the extremities of travel. The driller will adjust the air pressure and the draw work to ensure that the com- pensator operates just below midstroke applying the required bitFig. 7._ Vessel heave andthe apparent motion of te compensator viewed fom the dil floor ‘eight. For the purpose of the simulation, the air pressure is set to balance the required mean bit weight; the bottom reference ‘Yea is then adjusted such that the mean or average compensator position is just below zero, as seen in Fig. 7, In Fig. 8, the displacement of the compensator, the traveling block, the drill string, and the drill bit are shown with respect, to the static environment; the relative displacement is because of the stretch in the wire rope and the two lengths of the drill string. ‘This amount of stretch is normally experienced, but is a spe- cific function of dill sting length and sections being used. The ‘compensator displacement mean is zero; this is arranged by set- ting the bottom reference to allow for the combined stretch and to adjust the pressure to carry the required weight with part of the load still acting on the drill bit, The driller will achieve a similar situation by using the traveling block position using the i, ose ae Fig 8. Displacement with respect to state environment atthe compentatr, ek, dil pipe, an dil ie draw works and to adjust the system pressure by charging or venting. Of course, as the drilling proceeds, the compensator position moves down accordingly and the driller will lower the ‘raveling block accordingly, The load variation on the dill bits, shown in Fig. 9; this is assuming a relatively soft and compliant bottom formation and the drill bit pushing into the formation, the rotation, and cuttings removal effects are not considered. Figs. 10 and 12 illustrate the load variation as the bottom for- ‘mation is progressively made harder; the load variation remains constant but the frequency content of the variation increases ‘ntl the behavior illustrated in Fig. 12; making the formation still harder does not make much difference. Fig, 14 illustrates the performance at shorter heave periods and indicates only a ‘minor difference in the load variation performance. Fig. 11 illustrates the load variation where the bottom forma- tion is the same as for Fig. 10, but with the air volume reduced —poAL a -#a- “o] signa — ta) [Fi + Fale — ta)'] + hele — 25) tag om a 21@ Tai J as) ayLHATLUSKOG AND DUNNIGAN; PASSIVE COMPENSATOR LOAD VARIATION FOR DEEPWATER DRILLING co & ig 9. Load variation tthe dil bit 0 sft bottom formation. & Fig. 10. Load vaiatin atthe dil bit ona bard bottom formation from 16 APVs to 4; i can be seen thatthe load variation perfor- mance is worse, as expected, and lifts off bottom. Fig. 14 shows the load variation at &- and 6-s periods on ahard formation; as expected, itis broadly similar tothe load variation at 10 s and the shape illustrates the local resonance at the drill bit. ‘The simulation was also used to compare the load variation at the drill bit with that in the wire rope between the compen- sator and the traveling block; this is illustrated in Fig. 13. Itis noticeable that the two signals are different both in amplitude and frequency content ‘This distinction is important to the extent thatthe suspended load was normally measured by a sensor in the dead line; the ‘measured load variation was typically filtered or snubbed to re- duce the high-frequency content in the load variation signal. VI. SuvMaRy ‘The simulation looks at the variation atthe drill bit, whereas, ‘on a typical drilling vessel, the load is commonly measured at the vessel using a sensor in the dead line, which is convenient, bout a case of sensor “noncollocation.” The compensator sim- ulation describes the dynamic behavior in relation to the ac- tual behavior with good correlation based on observations of Fig. 11. Load variation tthe dil ito hard bottom formation bat with oly ARVs online Fig. 13. Load variation nthe wirerope and atthe dil bit on avery bard bottom formation actual situations and relating this to the description by drillers. ‘The previous results support many drillers’ contention and in- dicate that reducing the air bank volume by 75% had only a small corresponding increase on the load vasiation performance; the maximum air bank volume is designed to accommodate theaol 3 I. 4 i * ®) ©) Fig, 14. Load variation a ferent heave periods a) Ss period and (b) 6 etiod large heave conditions typically working in heave conditions of 3.66 m in 12-s periods. The simulation highlighted a most interesting feature of the compensator, namely, the rapid flue- ‘uation in the load variation while drilling in hard formation. This effect, commonly referred to as bit bounce, has been ob- served while drilling on hard formation and has usually been ascribed to the turning of the drill bit as this effect also mani- fests itself as high torque fluctuations. In this simulation, there is no disturbance input from the turning of the drill bt, hence these fluctuations are likely to be the effects of contact insta- bility [14]}-{17] It had normally been assumed that the actual load variation atthe drill bit would be less than that measured at the vessel because of the well friction; an unexpected outcome of this simulation shows that the variation at the drill bit can be higher than assumed, Looking to improve the load variation, itis clear thatthe seal friction is a major contributor, finding a lower friction seal would be tempting but it i not obvious that such seals will be available, Another avenue may be to use a ‘modified version of the active drill string compensator [7], [12] [13], which was originally designed for lowering loads onto the seabed by adding a control mode to improve Toad variation per formance while drilling. Future work on using a controller for active compensator for drilling should look at the possibility of using the controller to modify impedance in order that the con- tact instability may be alleviated REFERENCES [0] N. Woodal-Mason and JR. Tike, "Value of heave compensates to eating dling, J, Petroleum Technol, pp. 938-958, Aug. 1976. (2) R Shettelé Floating Dring: Equipment ands Use. Houston. TX Gul, 1980, pp. 2585, [3] €°K. Benington and W. D, Stevenson, “A servo-contolled mation compensator forth eshore dling indus.” pesented at he OF hore Technol. Conf, Hosston, TX. 1972, Paper OTC 2231, onpab- dished [4] 5.7 Huteskog, "Dill ating compensators andsiser tensioning systems for oltshore ding,” Tranr. fst Mar fing, vol. 95. pp. 2-11, 1983, ISSN-030-3918, Paper 2. [51 W.D. Stevenson, “Heave compensating device for marine se" US, Patent 3946559, 1976. (6) J.F Meeker, M’D. Keep, L.B.Lee, and RC Alvin, “Masion com ‘ensiton andlor weigh ont st 3912227, 1975, (0) LAR Robickaux and. T Hateskog, "Semi-activehaave competsaton system for marine vossels” U.S, Patent § 209302, 1993, [8] C.C Heald Cameron draulic Data: A Handy Reference om the Sub ec of Hydralicn and Steam, Wooselll, NI. Tagerot Ran, Jan, 1904, pp. 88-89, ISBN: 9950620303, [9] RH. Pery and D. Green, Per Chemical Engineer's Handbook: Sih iit. London, UK: MeGraw-Hhil, 1986, see. 5, pp. en [10] 11D. Young snd. A. Peedman, University Phsice, 90d, Reading MA: Addison-Wesley, 1995, pp. 997-098 11] C.F Colebrook, “Turbueat ow in pipes? J. Inst, Chi Eng. no. 1, pp. 133-142, 1938, [12] UA. Korde, “Active heave compensation on deil-ships in iegular waves” Ocean Ent, vo. 25. 9p. 581-561, 1998, [us] TA Tohansea, TH Fossen, 81 Sagat, and FG. Nien, “Wave synchronizing crane contol dung water eatyinollshore moonpoo] opecations—Experimental esis,” IEEE J. Ocean. Eng. ol. 28,20 pp. 720-728, Ox 2003 [us] D.E, Whitney, “Porce feedback contol of manipulator fine motion,” J. Dy. Syst Meas: Control, pp. 91-97, 1977 Hogan, “Impedance contol: An approach to manipulation: Part [Theory Dyn Spit eas Control vo. 10, pp I=, Mat. 1985, [16] D_ A Lawrence, “Impedance contol stably properties in commen Iimplemsatation.” in Poe. IEEE Int. Conf Robot. Autom, 1988. pp. 1185-1190. [UT] J.B, Colgate and N. Hogan, “An analysis of contact instability in ‘erm of passive physieal equivalent in Proc. IEEE Int Conf Robot ‘Autom. 1989, pp. 404408, lus) W-Arpiaza, MIT Thatcher, and E.R Sebwelm,“Heave compensation systems: Analysis anders of eld esting” presented atthe Offshore ‘Technol. Coat. Houston, TX, 1953, Paper OFC 4561, unpublished [n9] W.S. Owen and B, A. Croft, “The reeueton of stcislip triton in dbydaulieaetstors,” IEEE/ASME Trans. Mechavonice, vl. 8, 0.3 pp. 362-371, Sep. 2003, ns Jan T. Hatleshog received the BSe. and MSc. “ree ‘rom the Heit-Watt University, Eainburgh, UK. in 1969 and 1973, respectively, where he is ‘eurenlly working toward the PRD. degre. 1a 1981, be established Excom Systems, Lid. that provides aetive heave system solutions, Previowly, hhohad extensive expenence with avepios, seeing, stailizang andpasive heave compensation systems Matthew W. Dunnigan rcsived the BSe, Me and PRD, degrees in 1985. 1989, and 1993, spectively Carey, he i Senior Lecturer at the Depa meat of lecial, Hlectonie and Computer Bog. recrng, Heriot-Wat Univers Edinburgh UK, Hit research interest aein he are of applying advanced ‘onal eetniques across a wide range of application omnins including eectc dives, robot systems, ‘ib eduction ad laser eating.