ÇAĞRILI KONUŞMALAR / KEYNOTES Invited Speeches ... - TPJD

Optimization of Drilling Hydraulics with Computational Fluid Dynamics
Yasin Demiralp, Bakhodir İbragimov, Gürşat Altun
Istanbul Technical University, Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, İstanbul
Cost of power consumed in drilling operation is quite high and aimed to be minimized. Therefore,
it is essential to realize effective optimization of drilling hydraulics. Success of optimization
depends on calculating accurate frictional pressure losses (FPL). There is no analytical solution
of viscosity profiles, velocity profiles and FPL for eccentric geometry and rotating string.
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is one of the methods used for these situations. In this
study, a well with known geometry is modeled with CFD. Borehole geometry is generated by
using ANSYS ICEM CFD software. Simulation of the well and analysis of the results are carried
out by Fluent software that is run on a super computer at National Center for High Performance
Computing ITU. Eccentric annulus and rotation of drillstring situations with different flow rates
are examined. Results obtained from CFD solutions are successfully verified with those of field
measurements. Simulation results indicate that FPL decreases with increasing eccentricity and
increases with increasing flow rate. Moreover, it is found that FPL increases with the rotation of
drillstring.
Keywords: Computational fluid dynamics, Drilling hydraulics optimization, Frictional pressure
losses, Eccentric annulus, Rotating drilstring, Velocity and viscosity profiles
191