Measuring the efficiency of vertical drill-strings: A vibration perspective

A drill-string is a slender structure with nonlinear dynamics; it is an equipment used in the oil industry to drill the rock in the search of oil and gas. The aim of this paper is to investigate the efficiency of the drilling process in terms of input/output power. The continuum system is linearized about a prestressed configuration, the finite element method is applied to discretize the linear system, then a reduced-order model is constructed using the normal modes of the linear system; only torsional and axial vibrations are considered in the analysis. Uncertainties related to the speed imposed at the top are also included in the analysis. The rotational top speed is modeled using two different stochastic processes and the Monte Carlo Method is employed to approximate the statistics of the response of the resulting stochastic differential equations.     

Nonlinear dynamics of a Jeffcott rotor with torsional deformations and rotor-stator contact

The dynamics of a modified Jeffcott rotor is studied, including rotor torsional deformation and rotor-stator contact. Conditions are studied under which the rotor undergoes either forward synchronous whirling or self-excited backward whirling motions with continuous stator contact. For forward whirling, the effect on the response is investigated for two commonly used rotor-stator friction models, namely, the simple Coulomb friction and a generalized Coulomb law with cubic dependence on the relative slip velocity. For cases with and without the rotor torsional degree of freedom, analytical estimates and numerical bifurcation analyses are used to map out regions in the space of drive speed and a friction parameter, where rotor-stator contact exists. The nature of the bifurcations in which stability is lost are highlighted. For forward synchronous whirling fold, Hopf, lift-off, and period-doubling bifurcations are encountered. Additionally, for backward whirling, regions of transitions from pure sticking to stick-slip oscillations are numerically delineated.     

Coupled axial/torsional vibrations of drill-strings by means of non-linear model

In the present work a geometrically non-linear model is presented to study the coupling of axial and torsional vibrations on a drill-string, which is described as a vertical slender beam under axial rotation. It is known that the geometrical non-linearities play an important role in the stiffening of a beam. Here, the geometrical stiffening is analyzed using a non-linear finite element approximation, in which large rotations and non-linear strain-displacements are taken into account. The effect of structural damping is also included in the model. To help to understand these effects comparisons of the present model with linear ones were simulated. The preliminary analysis shows that linear and non-linear models differ considerably after the first periods of stick-slip. The behavior is more evident with the increase of the friction in the lower part of the drill.     

Non-linear dynamics of a drill-string with uncertain model of the bit–rock interaction

The drill-string dynamics is difficult to predict due to the non-linearities and uncertainties involved in the problem. In this paper a stochastic computational model is proposed to model uncertainties in the bit–rock interaction model. To do so, a new strategy that uses the non-parametric probabilistic approach is developed to take into account model uncertainties in the bit–rock non-linear interaction model. The mean model considers the main forces applied to the column such as the bit–rock interaction, the fluid–structure interaction and the impact forces. The non-linear Timoshenko beam theory is used and the non-linear dynamical equations are discretized by means of the finite element method.     

Torsional Vibration Control and Cosserat Dynamics of a Drill-Rig Assembly

Aspects of drill-string vibrations in the context of a recently developed integrated model of a drill-rig assembly based on the Cosserat theory of rods are discussed. Computer simulations are used to compare existing rotary feedback strategies currently in use to optimise drilling performance where torsional slip-stick vibrations are a hazard. Guided by the wave nature of axial and torsional vibrations in axially symmetric drill-string configurations, we present a new control mechanism, torsional rectification, and compare its performance with existing controllers within the context of the model. The practical guidelines for the improvement of drilling rates in a wide variety of circumstances are discussed.