Observer-based State Feedback Control to Suppress Stick-slip Vibrations in Oil Well Drill-string

Abstract

In drilling field, stick-slip vibrations of the drill-string are the main reason for the failure of the drilling system. To suppress the undesired stick-slip vibrations, an observer-based state feedback control method is proposed. The drilling system is described by a lumped parameter model including a Karnopp friction torque model. A state observer is designed to estimate the bit velocity in bottom hole and a state feedback controller is proposed to control the top drive velocity. By simulation, the performance of the control algorithm is demonstrated. Based on the control algorithm, a stick-slip vibration control system is developed. Test results show that the control system can effectively eliminate stick-slip vibrations of the drill-string and can be applied to the drilling field.