A multibody dynamics model of contact between the drillstring and the wellbore and the rock penetration process

Abstract

This article models the contact between the drillstring with large slenderness ratio and the extending rigid wellbore based on the multibody dynamics method. The drillstring is modeled as absolute nodal coordinate formulation beams with contact detection points. An algorithm is developed to locate the contact points and calculate the contact forces when the drillstring is sliding and rotating in the wellbore. This provides support force and friction for the moving drillstring and effectively confines it inside the wellbore. A rock penetration model is established based on the rock-breaking velocity equation. The governing equation for the full-hole drilling system including the drillstring and the contact model is established and solved. A rock penetration correction method is proposed to stabilize the computation and to model and simulate the slide drilling process. A field drilling process is modeled and simulated. The simulation result fits the experimental result well.