TRANSIENT MODEL OF DRILL CUTTINGS SEDIMENTATION IN WELLS WITH COMPLEX GEOMETRY
V.S. Tikhonov1, V.Yu. Lyapidevskii2, O.S. Bukashkina1
1OOO Akvatik - Buril'nye Truby, Moscow, Russia
2Lavrentyev Institute of Hydrodynamics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
Keywords: drill cuttings sedimentation, two-layer transient model, explicit numerical scheme, sedimentation analysis
Abstract
A transient model is proposed for the sedimentation of solid drill cuttings particles in the annulus of a well with arbitrary geometry after circulation of the drilling fluid has stopped. The possibility of plug formation in the annulus is taken into account. The fluid rheology is described by a power-law non-Newtonian model. A numerical scheme is developed that allows the equations of motion to be solved rapidly and efficiently. Examples of modeling particle sedimentation and bed formation are presented for straight, deviated, and J-shaped wellbores. The code developed on the basis of the proposed model makes it possible to determine the distributions of bed thickness and velocity, as well as the suspension density-parameters that can be used to assess the feasibility of wellbore cleanout upon resumption of fluid circulation.
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