Characteristics of cuttings migration with new cuttings removal device in horizontal well

Cuttings accumulation in horizontal wells has become an important engineering problem. In this research, the influence of normal drill pipe and cuttings removal device on debris migration behavior are studied by using the CFD-DEM (Computational Fluid Dynamics and Discrete Element Method) coupling approach. The efficiency of cuttings removal is evaluated by the cuttings concentration and cuttings removal time. In addition, the experiment is employed to study the cuttings migration law under different rotational speed of drill pipe, fluid inlet velocities and drill string assembly. According to the numerical and experimental results, cuttings concentration and removal time are obviously decreased by improving inlet fluid velocity and drill pipe rotating speed. The cuttings removal time with cuttings removal device is decreased in range of 32.9%-71.8% compared with the normal drill pipe. The reliability of the designed device is validated by results, which provides guidance for cuttings removal in horizontal wells.

Automated summary

This research studied the influence of normal drill pipe and cuttings removal device on debris migration behavior using the CFD-DEM coupling approach. The results showed that improving inlet fluid velocity and drill pipe rotating speed significantly reduced the cuttings concentration and removal time. The reliability of the designed device was validated by the results, providing guidance for cuttings removal in horizontal wells.