Research on bearing capacity and stability of deep-water novel combined wellhead based on experimental methods

Abstract

The combined wellhead has the advantage of high bearing capacity and broad prospects for application in the construction of deep water surface wells; therefore, it is important to conduct relevant research to guide the construction of combined wellheads. The aim of this paper is to study the mechanical characteristics of the combined wellhead in the longitudinal direction and establish the method for real-time calculation of the bearing capacity of the combined wellhead taking into account the effects of installation. The variations of external wall pressure and internal soil pressure during installation and the waiting process of the combined wellhead were investigated by indoor experiments. The installation efficiency of the combined wellhead at different negative pressure conditions was also compared. The experimental results show that the pressure on the outer wall of the combined wellhead facility gradually increases as the depth of the combined wellhead facility increases, and the closer it is to the bottom, the greater the soil pressure. The pressure on the inner soil will increase rapidly during the installation process to almost the same level, while the pressure on the outer soil will increase slightly. During the waiting process of the combined wellhead, as the waiting time increases, the soil damaged during the installation process gradually recovers, and the external wall pressure gradually rises. Moreover, the pressure on the outer wall gradually increases, the pressure on the inner soil decreases slightly leveling off within about 24 h. An appropriate increase in suction pressure facilitates the installation of the combined wellhead, and approximately 2.0 L/min is the optimal option for installation. The computational model developed in this paper and the experimental measurements corroborate each other. These combined wellheads significantly improve the stability of deep water soft-soil well construction and provide a theoretical benchmark for developing oil, gas and hydration in deep water.