Study on reversal and lateral vibration in the stepped well

The reversal and lateral vibration of the drill string are very complex motion and can affect the normal operation of the drill string. The movement of the drill string in the stepped well is different from the movement of the drill string in the regular well. The vibration of the drill string in the stepped well varies with the size of the wellbore and can be visually reflected by the phase speed. To find out the relationship between reversal and lateral vibration, the natural frequency of lateral vibration of the drill string was solved by using the method of energy conservation. The analysis shows that the phase speed of flexural wave in the stepped well is faster in small size wellbore than in large size wellbore. The reversal and lateral resonance is easy to happen in small size wellbore, and the reversal will excite lateral vibration. When the sum of reversal and rotational angular frequencies approaches the natural angular frequency of lateral vibration, the lateral resonance will occur.