System and method for monitoring and controlling underground drilling

• US 8,640,791 B2
• Filed: 10/05/2012
• Issued: 02/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: APS Technology Inc
• Original Assignee: APS Technology Inc
• Inventors: Turner, William Evans, Wassell, Mark Ellsworth
• Primary Examiner(s): WRIGHT, GIOVANNA COLLINS
• Application Number:
  US13/646,540
• Publication Number:
  US 20130092438A1
• Time in Patent Office: 487 Days
• Field of Search: 175/39, 175/40, 175/24, 731/524.7
• US Class Current: 175/40
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 44/00 Automatic control systems specially adapted for drilling operations, i.e. self-operating systems which function to carry out or modify a drilling operation without intervention of a human operator, e.g. computer-controlled drilling systems; Systems specially adapted for monitoring a plurality of drilling variables or conditions
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/00 Survey of boreholes or wells monitoring pressure or flow of drilling fluid E21B21/08
• CPC Class Codes: G01H 1/003 of rotating machines G01H1/10 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 9/00 Prospecting or detecting by methods not provided for in groups G01V1/00 - G01V8/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/048 using a predictor
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24075 Predict control element state changes, event changes
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2616 Earth moving, work machine
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0243 model based detection method, e.g. first-principles knowledge model
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/18 for evaluating statistical data , e.g. average values, frequency distributions, probability functions, regression analysis forecasting specially adapted for a specific administrative, business or logistic context G06Q10/04

Abstract

A system and method for monitoring underground drilling in which vibration is monitored by creating a model of the drill string using finite element techniques or finite difference techniques and (i) predicting vibration by inputting real time values of operating parameters into the model, and then adjusting the model to agree with measured vibration data, (ii) predicting the weight on bit and drill string and mud motor speeds at which resonance will occur, as well as when stick-slip will occur, so that the operator can avoid operating regimes that will result in high vibration, (iii) determining vibration and torque levels along the length of the drill string based on the measured vibration and torque at one or more locations, (iv) determining the remaining life of critical components of the drill string based on the history of the vibration to which the components have been subjected, and (v) determining the optimum drilling parameters that will avoid excessive vibration of the drill string.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring the operation of a drill string having a drill bit drilling into an earthen formation, comprising the steps of:

rotating said drill bit at a rotational speed so that said drill bit forms a bore hole in said earthen formation during a drilling operation;

measuring lateral vibration of the drill string vibrating in a lateral vibration mode during the drilling operation so as to obtain measured lateral vibration data;

generating a signal representative of said lateral vibration data of said drill string in said lateral vibration mode as said drill bit rotates so as to drill into said earthen formation during the drilling operation;

determining the backward whirl frequency of said drill string in said lateral vibration mode based on the signal that is representative of the measured lateral vibration data and a predicted lateral vibration data, the predicted lateral vibration data being representative of a prediction of the lateral vibration mode for the drilling operation; and

determining the diameter of said bore hole being drilled by said drill bit based on measured rotational speed of the drill bit and said backward whirl frequency.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of analyzing said signal comprises performing a Fourier analysis of said signal.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining the diameter of said bore hole comprises calculating d.times.(1+w/BWF), wherein d is the diameter of said drill bit, w is the rotary speed of said drill bit, and BWF is said backward whirl frequency.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of predicting lateral vibration of the drill string that is expected during a drilling operation so as to obtain the predicted lateral vibration data.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the drill string includes a vibration memory module, and the wherein in step of generating the signal representative of said lateral vibration data is performed via the vibration memory module.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the measured lateral vibration data includes a frequency and amplitude of the measured lateral vibration.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predicted lateral vibration data includes a frequency and amplitude of the predicted lateral vibration.