Decaying Swirl Flow and Particle Behavior through the Hole Cleaning Device for Horizontal Drilling of Fossil Fuel

Abstract

The hole cleaning device is a powerful application which can effectively slow down the deposition of cuttings during drilling. However, in this complicated swirl flow created by the device, the decay of the swirl flow and the particle behavior are not evident yet. In this paper, the decay of the swirl flow and the particle behavior in the swirl flow field are studied by the Eulerian–Eulerian two-fluid model (TFM) coupled with the kinetic theory of granular flows (KTGF), and sliding mesh (SM) technique for simulating the fluid flow. The results show that the swirl intensity decays exponentially along the flow direction under laminar flow conditions. The swirl flow has a longer acting distance at a higher rotational speed, which can effectively slow down the deposition of cutting particles. The initial swirl intensity of swirl flow induced by the blades increases significantly with the increase of blade height and the decrease of the blade angle. The tangential velocity of the cutting particles in the annulus is more significant near the central region, gradually decreases toward the wall in the radial direction, and rapidly decreases to 0 at the wall surface. The decay rate is negatively correlated with the initial swirl intensity. The results presented here may provide a useful reference for the design of the hole cleaning device.

A review of technological advances and open challenges for oil and gas drilling systems engineering

“…The increasing number of CFD-based contributions can also be attributed to the advancements in computational power coupled with robust algorithms for solving the underlying equations. 166,167 In the following sections of this article, we extensively explore the findings of several experimental and simulation-based contributions to the field while elucidating some fundamental aspects of both approaches. We also analyse the challenges faced from both perspectives and proffer new research directions that could improve the state of the art as far the scientific understanding of cuttings transport operations is concerned.…”

“…Reasonably accurate representations of experimental findings are still achievable. 41,62,63,167  Flow geometry and system properties employed are usually an adaption from experimental measurements. However, it has been shown through rigorous CFD simulations that a helicoidal cleaning tool attached to the drill pipe aids cuttings transport.…”