Effect of orbital motion of drill pipe on the transport of non-Newtonian fluid-cuttings mixture in horizontal drilling annulus

Abstract The effect of orbital motion of drill pipe on the transport of non-Newtonian fluid and cuttings is simulated by means of the two-fluid model in combination with the kinetic theory of granular flow in the horizontal wellbore annulus. The drill pipe self-rotates around its own axis while pursuing a circular orbit around the axis of the wellbore annulus, in which the orbital radius is the eccentric distance of the drill pipe from the axis of the wellbore. The embedded sliding mesh method is adopted to achieve the effect of the orbital movement of the drill pipe wall on the liquid-solid mixture. The cuttings transport ratio ( CTR ) which is defined as the ratio of the concentration of injected cuttings to the concentration of cuttings retained in the annulus is chosen as the measurement to evaluate hole cleaning. Cuttings transport behaviors in the annuli with the four motion states of drill pipe are investigated respectively. Simulations indicate that if the drill pipe is not concentric, there must be the fluid force that causes the lateral movement of drill pipe when it rotates. The orbital motion of drill pipe improves cuttings transport ratio in the annulus due to the periodical stirring and entrainment effect on cutting particles. The tangential flow within the annulus is dominated by the orbital motion of drill pipe rather than the self-rotation. The secondary flow appears especially when the self-rotation and orbital motion of drill pipe are in the opposite direction. With the increase of the orbital radius, the cuttings transport ratio is improved and the pressure drop is reduced because of the agitation of the drill string against the flow field. Increasing the rotating speed of the drill pipe contributes to a better wellbore cleaning, while an excessive rotating speed causes a higher pressure drop. Although the orbital motion of the drill pipe improves the hole cleaning, it also greatly increases the resistance and resultant moment exerted by the liquid-solid mixture, especially at high rotation speeds and eccentricity ratios.