Drillstring Design

The drillstring constitutes the connection

between the rig and the drill bit.
The main components of the drill string
are: (1) kelly, (2) drillpipe, (3) drill collar and
(4) drilling bit.Along with these main
components, heavy-weight drillpipe, jars,
stabilizers, reamers and various subs (kelly
sub, bit sub, shock sub, cross-over sub, etc.)
are connected to establish a properly
designed drillstring.
Drillstring components
2
 Drillstring functions
3

 Some problems that can arise due to improper design of the

drillstring are twistoffs, collapse failures or washouts.
 In general, the drillstring provides multiple functions like:
 1. Imposes required weight on the bit
 2. Transmits rotary motion from the kelly to the drill bit
 3. Provides a two way fluid conduit from the rig to the drill bit
 4. Medium to lower and raise the drill bit in the hole
 5. Stabilizes the bottom hole assembly (BHA) and minimizes
vibrations
 6. Permits pressure and formation fluid testing through the
drillstring
 7. Allows through-pipe running of formation evaluation tools
when they can not be run in the open hole
 Drill Pipe Classification
4

 The following sections discusses various design criteria like

determination of appropriate length and grade of drill pipe
as well as drill collars, placement of stabilizers and reamers,
dogleg severity analysis and calculation of critical rotary
speeds.
 Drill Pipe Classification
 Grades of drillpipe
 API steel grades for drill pipe:
 Steel grade Min.Yield [psi] Max.Yield [psi] Min.Tensil [psi]
 E75 75,000 105,000 100,000
 X95 95,000 125,000 105,000
 G105 105,000 135,000 115,000
 S135 135,000 165,000 145,000
 5

Non-API special H2S Steel for drill pipes:

Grades Min.Yield Max.Yield
Min.Tensile
DP-80 VH 80,000 95,000 95,000
DP-95 VH 95,000 110,000 105,000
MW-CE-75 75,000 90,000 95,000
MW-CX-95 95,000 110,000 105,000
 Drill pipe ranges
6

The length of one drillpipe is according to APT

ranges:
 Range 1 18 to 22 [ft]
 Range 2 27 to 30 [ft]
 Range 3 38 to 45 [ft]
All size, weights and grades are classified according to their
use as:
 Class I white band new pipe, everything nominal Premium
class two white bands reductions generally up to 80%
 Class II yellow band reductions generally up to 70%
 Class III orange band any imperfections or damages
exceeding class II
 Cont...
7

The different classes are also used to reduce

the nominal yield strength where following
wear assumptions are made:
Premium wear rate: 20%,
Class II wear rate: 20%,
Class III wear rate: 37.5%,
 Cont...
8

The end of drillpipes can be manufactured

geometrically different. The female portion of
the tool joint is called “box”, the male portion
“pin”. The portion of the drillpipe to which
the tool joint is attached has a larger wall-
thickness than the rest of the drillpipe and is
called “upset”. The upset can be shaped as:
internal upset (IU), external upset (EU) and
internal and external upset (IEU), see figure
6.2.
Geometric ending of drillpipe
9
 Cont...
10

Tool joints are manufactures as regular, full

hole and internal flush.
So called heavy weight drillpipe or heavy wall
drillpipe are often applied in between
drillpipe and drill collars.
They are manufactured with outside
diameters ranging from 3-1/2 [in] to 5 [in]
and are used to reduce the sharp change of
cross-area and stiffness from drillpipe to drill
collars which otherwise leads to fatigue
failure.
 Calculation of Neutral Point
11

When the drillstring is lowered into the borehole,

the total length of the drillstring is under tension
due to its own weight which is partly
counterbalanced by the buoyancy. To drill a well,
the rock beneath the bit has to be destroyed. Part
of this destruction force is obtained by a certain
amount of weight on bit (WOB) which forces the
bit against the rock. Therefore during drilling, the
lower part of the drill string is set under
compression, leaving the upper part of it still
under tension.
 Calculation of Neutral Point
12

The neutral point is defined as point along the

drillstring where it is divided into two parts, an
upper part, being suspended from the elevators
and which is under tension as well as a lower part
that generates the appropriate WOB and is under
compression.
Due to the geometrical shape of the drillstring
(length/diameter ratio), it has a tendency to
buckle. To reduce this buckling tendency, it is
aimed to design the drillstring in such a way that
the neutral point is located inside drilling collars.
Sketch of buckling tendency of
drillstring
13
 Calculation of Neutral Point
14

This design criteria is often used to evaluate

the length of required collars. Taking these
considerations into account, the neutral point
can be calculated for different scenarios as:
In the absence of mud (drilling with air as
drilling fluid):
ln =WOB/12.Ws
In the presence of drilling mud:
ln =WOB/[12. (Ws − ρs.As)]
 Calculation of Neutral Point
15

 When differential pressure is considered as well, the neutral point

is found at:
ln =WOB/[12. (Ws − ρe.Ae + ρi.Ai)]
 where:
 ln [ft] ... distance of neutral point from the bottom of the hole
 WOB [lbm] ... weight on bit applied
 Ws [lbm/in] ... average weight in air of the tube per unit length
 ρs [lbm/in3] ... density of tubing
 As [in2] ... cross-sectional area of the tubing wall
 ρe [lbm/in3] ... density of mud in the annulus
 Ae [in2] ... area corresponding to tubing OD
 ρi [lbm/in3] ... density of mud in the tubing
 Ai [in2] ... area corresponding to tubing ID
 Drillstring Design Calculations
16

As mentioned above, to prevent the

drillstring from buckling, the neutral point
must be placed inside the drilling collars.
Other influencing factors for the drillstring
design are: depth and seize of the well,
applied mud weights, desired safety factors,
minimum margin of overpull, desired
drillpipe seize and class as well as applied
WOB. The design itself is based on meeting
tension, collapse, shock loading and torsion
requirements.
 Tension
17

The total weight when the drillstring is

suspended into the borehole is carried by the
top joint of the string. This weight [lb] is
given by:
P = (Ldp.Wdp + Lhw.Whw + Ldc.Wdc) .BF
where:
L [ft] ... total length of the individual tubular
W [lb/ft] ... nominal weight of the individual
tubular
BF [1] ... buoyancy factor
Table of drillpipe properties
18
 Cont..
19

with the indices dp for drillpipe, hw for heavy-

weight drillpipe and dc for drill collar.The
buoyancy factor BF, assuming that the
drillstring is not lowered empty (ρsteel = 65.5
[ppg]),can be computed as:
BF =[1 − ρmud/ρsteel]
Table of drillpipe properties con
20
 21

Ordinary, a safety factor of 0.9 is applied to

calculate the maximum allowed yield strength
Pa from the drillpipe yield strength Pt, which
is taken from tables 6.4 through 6.9:
Pa = 0.9.Pt
or when the class wear rate is applied:
Pa = Pt.(1 − wear rate)
Table of drillpipe properties con.
22
 23

Having the maximum allowed yield strength and the

total weight carried, the so called margin of overpull
(MOP) is defined by the difference of them:
MOP = Pa − P )
Knowing the MOP is important in case of stuck pipe
when an additional pulling force has to be applied to
free the drillstring. In practice, the determined
margin of overpull must not be exceeded since the
drillpipe would fail otherwise. Typical values of
MOPs requirements for drillpipe selections are in the
range from 50,000 to 100,000 [lbf].
Table of drillpipe properties con
24
25
 26

In practice, the drillstring consists of

drillpipes with various grades. This
configuration is called tapered string. The
different grades required are determined by
first taking the lightest grade and calculating
the maximum useable length as bottom
section. Successively, stronger grades are
added to the drillstring as the well is drilled
deeper
Table of drillpipe properties con
27
 Collapse
28

Collapse (plastic deformation) of a tubular is

caused when the differential pressure acting on
the tubular exceeds the so called collapse
pressure of the tubular. In case of oil-well drilling
the differential pressure is caused by the different
pressures inside and outside of the tubular.
A practical situation when collapse of drillpipe can
occur is during a drill stem test (DST). Here, to
lower the pressure that is applied against the
formation to be tested, the drillstring is run
partially empty causing a lower hydrostatic
pressure.
Table of drillpipe properties con
29
Collapse
30
 COLLAPSE
31

Δp =Y.ρ/19.251 (6.14)
Having calculated the differential pressure, a
safety factor for collapse can be computed.
Therefore the collapse resistance pcol is
divided by the collapse pressure Δp.
SF =pcol/Δp (6.15)
 Biaxial Loading
32

Under normal drilling conditions, the

drillstring is subjected to both tension and
collapse loading at the same time. This is
expressed as biaxial loading. It is recognized
that the tension loading of the drillpipe causes
a reduction of the collapse resistance. This
can be evaluated using fig. 6.10.Since figure
6.10 shows the general description of a biaxial
loading behavior, it can be applied when
collapse or burst pressure is combined with
either tension or compression of the drillpipe.
6.10 Biaxial stress diagram
33
 correction procedure
34

The correction procedure consists of the following steps:

 At the depth where the collapse or burst pressure is
acting calculate the tension or compression of the
drillpipe.
2. Then the value ( T/Ap).Ym.100 can be computed.
The fig. 6.10 is entered at the horizontal axis using above
value.
 Going vertically from this value, the ellipse curve is to be
intersected
 From this intersection, going horizontally to the vertical
axis gives the value for Pca/Pco.100.
The adjusted pressure strength of the pipe is found with
equation 6.16:.
35
 Shock Loading
36

When the movement of the drillpipe is

suddenly stopped (e.g. by setting slips), shock
loads develop that compromise an additional
tensile force. This force is expressed as:
Fs = 3, 200.Wdp (6.18)
where:
Wdp [lbf/ft] ... weight of the drillpipe per unit
length
Fs [lbf] ... shock loading force
 Torsion
37

When making or breaking connections as

well as when torques are applied during
drilling operations,
the minimum torsional yield strength of the
drillpipe must not be exceeded. The minimum
torsional yield strength of a tubular is
calculated as:
Torsion
38
 39

Note that the nominal drillpipe weights,

given in tables 6.4 through 6.9, are meant to
be used for classification. To estimate the
total weight of the drillpipe section of the
drillstring, tool joint weights have to be
included as well.
 Drillpipe Bending resulting from Tonging
Operations
40

 During making and breaking of a connection, the tool joint

should be kept as close as possible to the rotary slips to
minimize bending of the pipe. The maximum recommended
makeup or breakout torque depends on the drillpipe or drill
collar as well as the joint type. Knowing them, the maximum
hight that the tool joint can be placed above the rotary slips is
defined.
The maximum height itself is therefore governed by:
 Minimum yield strength of the pipe,
 Maximum recommended makeup torque of the connection,
 Tong handle length,
 Angle of separation between the tongs to makeup and
breakout a connection, see sketch and can be calculated for
different tongs (see sketch 6.11) as: for tongs at 90◦:
Figure 6.11: Tongs for making
connections
41
Drillpipe Bending resulting from Tonging
Operations
42
 Drillpipe Bending resulting from Tonging
Operations
43

where:
Hmax [ft] ... maximum hight of tool joint
shoulder above the rotary slips
Ym [psi] ... minimum tensile yield stress of pipe
LT [ft] ... length of tong arm
I/C [in3] ... section modulus of pipe, see table
6.12
T [lbf-ft] ... makeup torque applied to tool joint
P [lbf] ... line pull
Section modulus values of drillpipe
44
 Selecting Drill CollarWeights
45

 The maximum permissible drilling bit weight WOBmax that can

be applied without bending the drillstring is calculated as:
WOBmax = (1 − F) .BF. cos θ.Wdc.Ldc
 where
 WOBmax [lb] ... maximum permissible WOB without bending
the drillpipe
 F [1] ... longitudinal friction between drillstring and borehole
wall
 BF [1] ... buoyancy factor, see equation 6.5
 θ [◦] ... inclination from vertical
 Wdc [lb/ft] ... nominal weight of drill collars
 Ldc [ft] ... total length of drill collars
 46

 For each bit, the bit manufacturer recommends a range for

operating WOBs and operating RPMs.
 Practically, the WOB applied during drilling is determined
by the bit, the formations penetrated, the trajectory to be
drilled and experience with previous BHA performances.
Out of these considerations,
 WOBs and RPMs to drill various formations are planned
and the drillstring is checked for buckling.
 Note that the equation above is derived for absence of
stabilizers. Ordinary, stabilizers are part of common bottom
hole assemblies (BHA). Where they are placed determine
the turning behaviour of the drillstring. Fig 6.13 gives some
stabilizer configurations and their expected behaviors.
BHA configurations
47
 Stretch of Drillpipe
48

 The elongation or stretch of the drillstring is caused by pulling the string

as well as due to its own weight. The amount of stretch itself depends on:
the amount of pull, the length of the drillstring, the elasticity of the
materials and the various cross-section areas. The elongations are found
as: due to weight carried:
e1 =P.L/735, 444.Wdp
 due to its own weight:
e2 =L2/9.625.107 . (65.44 − 1.44.ρ m)
 where:
 e1, e2 [in] ... drillstring stretches
 P [lb] ... weight carried
 Wdp [lb/ft] ... weight of drillpipe
 ρm [ppg] ... mud weight
 L [ft] ... length of drillpipe
 To calculate the total stretch of the drillpipe, both stretches (e1 and e2)
have to be added.
 Critical Rotary Speeds
49

Rotating the drillstring at critical rotary speeds causes

vibrations which lead to excessive wear,rapid
deterioration, crooked drillpipe and fatigue failure.
In general, critical rotary speeds depend on length, seize
and makeup of of the drillstring. The caused vibrations
can be distinguished into:
Vibration in nodes. Here the pipe between each joint
vibrates.
 Vibration of the total drillstring. Here the vibration is
classified as a spring pendulum one.
Equation below calculates the critical rotation speed for
vibration type 1:
RPM =4, 760, 000/l2 .(d2o− d2i)1/2
 Critical Rotary Speeds
50

 Equation below is used to estimate the critical rotation speed

for vibration type 2:
RPM =258, 000/L
 where:
 l [in] ... length of single pipe
 do [in] ... outside diameter of drillpipe
 di [in] ... inside diameter of drillpipe
 L [ft] ... total length of the drillstring
 The critical rotation speeds calculated above are accurate to
about 15%. In this way, rotation within ± 15% of these speeds
have to be avoided.
 Special care has to be taken to avoid rotary speeds that are
close to the critical rotation speeds of vibration type 1 and
vibration type 2. Their coexistence can lead to severe damages.
 BOTTOM HOLE ASSEMBLY DESIGN
51

The physical properties of the various downhole

components of the BHA have a significant effect
on how the bit will drill. In most drilling
situations, the bottom 100 to 300 [ft] of the
bottom hole assembly has the greatest influence
on its behavior.
 The construction of the bottom hole assembly can
be as simple as consisting of a drill bit, collars,
and drill pipe, or may be as complicated as
including a drill bit, stabilizers, collars of different
sizes and materials, heavy-weight drill pipe,drill
pipe etc.
 Drill Collars:
52

 Drill collars are the predominant components of the bottom

hole assembly. The primary function of the drill collars is to
be able to apply weight to the bit without buckling the drill
pipe. Since the collars are under compression, they will tend
to bend under the applied load. The amount of bending will
depend on the material and the dimensions of the collar.
 The shape of the drill collar may have a circular or square
cross section. A string of square collars provides good
rigidity and wear resistance, but it is expensive, has high
maintenance costs for certain conditions and may become
stuck in key-seated dog-leg. Typically, standard and spiral
drill collars with external grooves cut into their profile may
be used to reduce the contact area between the BHA and
the formation.
 Cont..
53

In deviated holes the total weight of the drill

collars is not applied to the bit. Part of that
weight is applied to the wall of the hole
depending on the amount of deviation. The
actual weight on bit is a function of cos α
where α is the angle of inclination.
 Stabilizers:
54

Stabilizers are fairly short subs with blades attached

to the external surface. By providing support to the
bottom hole assembly at certain points they can be
used to control the trajectory of the well. Drilling
straight or directional holes requires proper
positioning of the stabilizers in the bottom hole
assembly. It is important to note that the position of
the first stabilizer and the clearance between the wall
of the hole and the stabilizers has a considerable
effect in controlling the hole trajectory. Stabilizers can
be grouped into rotating blade stabilizers and non-
rotation blade ones. A rotating blade stabilizer can
have a straight blade or spiral blade configuration.
 Stabilizers:
55

In either case the blades may be short or

long. The spiral blades can give 360◦ contact
with the bore hole. All rotating blades
stabilizers have good reaming ability and
good wear life. Non rotating rubber sleeve
stabilizers are used to centralize the drill
collars, where the rubber sleeve allows the
string to rotate while the sleeve remains
stationary. Since the sleeve is stationary, it
acts like a drill bushing and does not dig or
damage the wall of the hole. It is most
effective in hard formation.
 Placement of Stabilizers and Reamers
56

In the previous section the maximum WOB

that doesn’t cause the drillstring to buckle
was calculated. To prevent buckling when
higher WOBs have to be applied, as well as to
steer the well into certain directions, both
stabilizers and reamers are placed within the
drillstring configuration.
Home work
Different between stabilizers and reamers,
Applications, design features.
 57

Charts to obtain
stabilizer
spacing

Here they act as

fulcrums.
Stabilizers are
slightly under-
gauge, their
function is to
center the
drillstring.
Reamers on the
other hand
ensure that the
hole is drilled in-
gauge
 58

Charts to
obtain
stabilizer
spacing con.

Read basics of
drilling book chapter
6 for more tables
 59

The ideal location of various stabilizers

depend on the desired behavior of the drill
string (dropping, building, holding angle, see
sketch 6.13).
The different configurations give the BHAs
their individual name. In general, a stabilizer
is placed such that the lowest sag point in the
drill collar section is very close to the
borehole wall without touching it.
Figure 6.22: Chart for the solution of borehole
inclination problems
60
 Building Assemblies
61

This type of assembly is usually run in a

directional well after the initial kick-off has been
achieved using a deflection tool. A single
stabilizer placed above the bit will cause building.
The addition of further stabilizer(s) will modify
the rate of build to match the required well
trajectory.
 If the near bit stabilizer becomes under-gauge,
the side force reduces. The amount of weight on
bit applied to these assemblies will also affect
their building tendencies. Normally the higher the
bit weight the higher the building tendency.
 Holding Assemblies
62

Once the inclination has been built to the

required angle, the tangential section of the well
is drilled using a holding assembly. Holding
assemblies do not maintain inclination angle;
rather, they minimize angle build or drop.
Minimal tilt angle at the bit, as well as stiffness of
the bottom hole assembly near the bit helps
maintain inclination angle. Change in weight on
bit does not affect the directional behavior of this
type of assembly and so optimum weight on bit
can be applied to achieve maximum penetration
rates.
 Dropping Assemblies
63

The application of a dropping assembly is

that when the inclination has been increased
beyond the intending trajectory and must be
reduced to bring the well back on course.
Normally these BHA configurations are more
effective in high angled holes. If the hole
angle does not decrease, the weight on bit
can be reduced with use of these assemblies,
although this will also reduce the penetration
rate.
 WOB Increase
64

Since stabilizers reduce the drillstring tendency to

buckle, larger WOBs can be applied. It is common to
express the possible increase in WOB as a percentage
of the maximum allowed WOB without stabilizers.
For commonly encountered borehole seizes figure
(slide No. 47) can be applied to derive the proper
position of a stabilizer and the resulting bit weight
increase when the maximum allowable WOB without
stabilizer is known. This figure is also applied to
compare the data to plan for with practically
established data using other combinations of drill
collar seize, bit weight, borehole seize, borehole
inclination and formation dip.
 WOB Increase
65

In practice, since the ideal position of the

stabilizer is based on a particular scenario and
the BHAs are not always changed when the
trajectory of the well changes, a compromise
when designing the BHA has to be formed.
Therefore the stabilizer is placed between the
ideal position, as derived above and about 10%
closer to the bit. When very light weight on bit
is run (non packed holes), the stabilizer position
should not be closer than 5% to the bit than the
ideal position, as it is calculated above.
 Dogleg Severity Analysis
66

Dogleg severity is defined as total curvature

of the wellbore per 100 [ft] and is expressed
with the unit [◦/100 ft].
Most of drillpipe failure is caused by fatigue
wear, which occurs due to of cycle bending
stresses and axial stresses when the drillpipe
under load rotates along a sharp bend
(dogleg).
 Dogleg Severity Analysis
67

Since the drilling fatigue is based on the

combination of bending and axial stresses as well
as tension in the drillpipe, fatigue danger is
highest in the upmost part of the drillstring.
 Therefore shallow, sharp bends of the trajectory
of deep wells are to be avoided. In these
situations rotation off bottom (no WOB) increases
the danger of fatigue wear since the weight of
the drill collars increase the tension load.
To calculate the maximum permissible dogleg
severity, last equations on the next slide is used:
Dogleg Severity Analysis
68
 Dogleg Severity Analysis
69

Using the buoyant tensile stress σt [psi], the maximum permissible

bending stress σb [psi] can be found for different grades of drillpipe.
 σt =T/A (6.32)
Grade E75 drillpipe:
 σb = 19, 500 − 10/67.σt − 0.6/6702 . (σt − 33, 500)2

Grade S135 drillpipe:

 σb = 20, 000(1 − σt/145, 000)
where: A [in2] ... cross-sectional area of drillpipe wall

As discussed above, the maximum permissible dogleg severity changes

with depth. Therefore a chart showing maximum permissible dogleg
severity on the x-axis and the depth on the y-axis should be included
in the well plan. A sample of such a plot is shown in figure 6.23.
Figure 6.23: Maximum Dogleg Profile
70
 Dogleg Severity Analysis
71

Since lateral loading of tool joints can also

create damage to the drillpipe, Lubinski
recommended a maximum lateral load limit of
2,000 [lb] which is expected to not cause
damage.
Taking lateral loads F [lbf] into account, the
maximum permissible dogleg severity CL
[◦/100 ft] can be calculated as:
CL =108, 000.F /π.L.T
 Tutorials
72

Please remind me for tutorial regarding this

topics