A Wave-Based Approach to Adaptively Control Self-Excited Vibrations in Drill-Strings

Due to their small diameter-to-length-ratio, drill-strings are vulnerable to torsional vibrations. Moreover, the string is exposed to unknown or uncertain time-variant and nonlinear loads (e.g. friction with falling friction characteristics, contact with the borehole, differential sticking), which can result in severe torsional vibrations and stick-slip. The control law for the boundary controller at the top drive of the string needs to adapt to those unknown loads in order to stabilize the vibrations. The torsional vibrations of a drill-string are governed by the wave equation. Analytical solutions and control laws are often based on a separation of the dynamics into a time- and a space-dependent part (modal representation). Here, we decompose the vibrations into two traveling waves according to the D'Alembert solution, using only few measurements along the string. The wave which travels up the string is then compensated by the actuator at the top drive. With this compensation, the upward-traveling wave is no longer reflected back into the string and vibration energy is absorbed, thus stabilizing the torsional vibrations. (© 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)