Numerical modelling of bottom-hole rock in underbalanced drilling using thermo-poroelastoplasticity model

Abstract

Stress analysis of bottom-hole rock has to be considered with much care to further understand rock fragmentation mechanism and high penetration rate. This original study establishes a fully coupled simulation model and explores the effects of overburden pressure, horizontal in-situ stresses, drilling mud pressure, pore pressure and temperature on the stress distribution in bottom-hole rock. The research finds that in air drilling, as the well depth increases, the more easily the bottom-hole rock is to be broken. Moreover, the mud pressure has a great effect on the bottom-hole rock. The bigger the mud pressure is, the more difficult to break the bottom-hole rock is. Furthermore, the maximum principal stress of the bottom-hole increases as the mud pressure, well depth and temperature difference increase. The bottom-hole rock can be divided into three main regions according to the stress state, namely a) three directions tensile area, b) two directions compression areas and c) three directions compression area, which are classified as a) easy, b) normal and c) hard, respectively, for the corresponding fragmentation degree of difficulty. The main contribution of this paper is that it presents for the first time a thorough study of the effect of related factors, including stress distribution and temperature, on the bottom-hole rock fracture rather than the well wall, using a thermo-poroelastoplasticity model.