Description:
Achieving an in-depth understanding of the behaviour of low cemented formations such as running sands around a cylindrical borehole is of significant importance in identifying stability problems, designing adequate borehole supports and choosing an efficient drilling method. This paper presents numerical investigations on failure modes of unsupported vertical cylindrical boreholes drilled through weak formations, i.e. low cemented sands where the movement of individual grains is not restricted by sufficient cementation. Distinct element method (DEM) was used for this study. The method enables to simulate sand grains and control normal and shear bonding between them. To simulate actual condition surrounding a borehole at a depth of 80m, a 2m × 2m × 2m cube made up of spherical particles with diameters ranging from 5mm to 70mm was constructed and analysed in the DEM code, PFC3D. The results showed that stress concentration developed in the ground due to the presence of a borehole leads to the formation of a damage zone around that borehole. When there is not sufficient bonding between the sand grains, the interaction between them results in their movement towards the borehole and the eventual collapse of the borehole wall. The effect of fluid flow on stability of boreholes has been studied as well. The cementation between sand grains is mainly caused by the presence of clay particles in the formation. The bonding strength between sand grains is an intrinsic or micro property of the bonding material and is very difficult to measure in laboratory conditions. The results obtained from current research will help to evaluate the effect of particle bonding on the mechanical behaviour of low cemented formations and develop methods to assess borehole stability during and after drilling through such formations.
Description:
Borehole stability analysis is an important challenge for researchers in the field of geotechnical, mining and petroleum engineering. Several borehole instability problems during or after the completion of drilling, have been reported by a number of exploration companies in Australia. Many of these problems are reported in drilling projects in poorly cemented sand formations at depths of up to 200 m beneath the ground. The sand production problem, as it is known, has also been observed in weakly bonded sandstones where the debonding of sand grains can be triggered by fluid pressure and induced stresses leading to the failure of the sandstone at the borehole wall. The strength of a granular material formation is generated mainly by a natural cementing agent that bonds sand grains together.
Description:
Borehole stability analysis is an important challenge for researchers in the field of geotechnical, mining and petroleum engineering. Several borehole instability problems during or after the completion of drilling, have been reported by a number of exploration companies in Australia. Many of these problems are reported in drilling projects in poorly cemented sand formations at depths of up to 200 m beneath the ground. The sand production problem, as it is known, has also been observed in weakly bonded sandstones where the debonding of sand grains can be triggered by fluid pressure and induced stresses leading to the failure of the sandstone at the borehole wall [1], [2]. The strength of a granular material formation is generated mainly by a natural cementing agent that bonds sand grains together [3].
Description:
Behaviour of poorly cemented formations in case of drilling a vertical exploration borehole will be studied to achieve an in-depth understanding of borehole stability problem. Analysis of the granular formation behaviour has a significant importance in identifying stability issues, designing adequate borehole supports and choosing an efficient drilling method. This paper presents numerical investigations on the behaviour of poorly cemented formations in the vicinity of an unsupported vertical cylindrical borehole. Due to poor cementation and therefore granular behaviour of these formations, Discrete Element Method (DEM) was identified as being well suited for developing realistic models. To conduct the numerical studies a cube of 8m3 made up of spherical particles with diameters ranging from 5mm to 70mm was constructed and analysed in three-dimensional Particle Flow Code (PFC 3D). It is a discontinuum code used in analysis of the granular materials where the interaction of discrete grains is considered. A cylindrical opening with the diameter of 0.3m runs along the central vertical axis of the cube simulating the presence of a borehole. The stresses applied to the cube simulate the underground conditions around an exploration borehole at the depth of 80m. The effects of in situ stresses around the borehole, strength of particle bonding and fluid flow pressure on the stability of the formation around the borehole have been investigated. It has been shown that the development of in situ stresses in the ground due to drilling a borehole results in the formation of a plastic zone around that borehole. When there is lack of sufficient bonding between the sand grains, the interaction between them results in their movement towards the borehole opening and thus eventuates the collapse of the borehole wall. Furthermore, the presence of high pressure water flow expedites the process of the borehole collapse. •We simulate the borehole in poorly cemented formation by discrete element method.•Borehole stability has been investigated under in‐situ underground stresses.•We study the effect of different bondings between particles on borehole stability.•The effect of confined aquifer on borehole instability has been studied.