Determination of Mud Circulation Model for Wellbore Pressure Losses Prediction in Drilling Operation

Determination of Mud Circulation Model for Wellbore Pressure Losses Prediction in Drilling Operation

In petroleum industry, the wellbore flow of drilling muds and the well production and pipeline transportation of oils are of high importance. The rheological behavior of these fluids under a wide range of conditions (pressure, temperature, etc.) critically affects their performance. During drilling operation, the knowledge and control of mud loss are significant. Mud circulation system models are widely used to predict wellbore pressure in the annulus and drill-string. This study investigates a developed mud circulation model to predict the pressure losses in the wellbore. Bernoulli model coupled with conversation theory of granular flow is used for simulating process. In addition, by using conservation of mechanical energy for the flow through bit nozzles the pressure loss can be calculated. In Bernoulli model, all phases are considered to be continuous and fully interpenetrating. Results showed that the pressure losses are not very sensitive to small change in fluid constitutive (K) law constant and fluid constrictive law factor (n). All configurationally possibilities such as blowout preventers and the choke manifold being open and/or closed are modeled using the new technique