Drill String Mechanics and Extension Capacity of Extended-Reach Well

Abstract

For the design and construction of the extended-reach well, the ultimate elongation capacity of the extended-reach well was studied. Given the drilling practice of extended-reach well, the extension limit prediction criterion of extended-reach well is established. In this paper, based on the drilling practice of extended-reach well, by the finite element method, the gap element method and the dynamic finite element method of the whole drill string, static analysis model of the extended-reach well and the mechanicsꞌ analysis model of drill string vibration are established. The frictional resistance condition and strength condition of the limit extension of the extendedreach well are solved respectively, and the extended limit prediction criterion of the extended-reach well is established. The software was prepared based on the model and theory, the model and software were validated with the example of drilling, and the average error of the calculated value is 6.94% when compared with the measured values in the field. It can meet the needs of drilling engineering and study of the extension capability of the extended-reach wells.