Rotary Drilling Components

- Drill StringLecture 2
PET 356
Q 1 2015-2016
Abu Dhabi Polytechnic

Drill Pipe
The bulk of the drill string ( Figure ) is
made up primarily of lengths of steel drill
pipe, which provides length to the drill
string and transmits rotational energy to
the drill bit
Drill pipe consists of hollow steel tubes
to which are welded tool joints: a
threaded "pin" (usually at the bottom
end) and a threaded "box" (usually on
the upper end

Drill Pipe

Drill Pipe
The American Petroleum Institute (API) establishes standards
for pipe sizes, as well as for variations on the thread types and
thicknesses of the box and pin "tool joints."
Drillpipe is available in a variety of strengths and is generally
supplied in "joints" that are about 30 ft (9.1 m) long and anywhere
from 2 3/8 to 6 5/8 inches (6 to 17 cm) in diameter .
Drill pipe should never be subjected to high torque or
compressional forces, since it could easily "twist off". (The
exception to this rule is horizontal drilling, where the pipe is run in
compression in the lateral hole section. In situations like this,
heavy weight pipe specifically designed for compressive service
is used)

Bottomhole Assembly (BHA)

Between the drill pipe and the drill bit is
the section of the drill string kown as the
Bottomhole Assembly (BHA), which
consists mainly of drill collarsheavier
and thicker than drill pipe, with larger
outside diameters and smaller inside
diameters, and with connections that are
machined directly into the body of the
pipe rather than welded.

Bottomhole Assembly (BHA)

The purposes of a BHA are as follows
(Mitchell, 1995):
to protect the drill pipe from excessive
bending and torsional loads
to assist in directional and wellbore deviation
control
to maintain vertical, straight well trajectories
to reduce the severity of sudden changes in
hole angle ("doglegs")
to reduce the potential for wearing channels
into the side of the wellbore ("keyseats")
to ensure that casing can be run into the well
to improve drill bit performance
to reduce rig and drill string vibration
to aid in well testing, workovers and other
specialized procedures

Bottomhole Assembly (BHA)

Drill collars are primarily
designed and configured to
prevent axial and torsional
buckling of the drill pipe by
holding it in tension ( Figure)
Because of their greater
diameter and thickness, they
serve to maintain stiffness in
the drill string and control
wellbore deviation

Bottomhole Assembly (BHA)

In addition to drill collars, the BHA includes
numerous other components, the selection and
placement of which are based on:
drilling conditions,
formation characteristics and
the desired wellbore size, geometry and
trajectory
These include, but are not limited to the
following:
Heavy wall drill pipe is heavier, stronger and
stiffer than regular drill pipe, but at the same
time more flexible than drill collars. It may be run
above the drill collars to provide a gradual
change in stiffness between the drill collars and
the drill pipe, thus reducing the possibility of
fatigue failures.
Stabilizers are short sections of pipe, or subs,
designed to keep the drill collars centered at
selected points in the wellbore and maintain a
full-diameter ("full-gauge") hole

Bottomhole Assembly (BHA)

They can be used to ensure
that the weight of the drill
collars is concentrated on the
bit
reduce torque and bending
stresses in the drill string;
prevent wall-sticking or keyseating of the drill collars;
build, drop or maintain hole
angle in directional drilling;
maintain constant bit direction
in straight-hole drilling

The number, type and

placement of stabilizers in the
BHA depends on local drilling
conditions and well
objectives. Not every tool is
appropriate for every BHA

 Reamers with cutting elements on

Bottomhole Assembly (BHA)
their sides, can be run in hard or
abrasive formations to ensure a full A vibration dampener is a type
diameter, in-gauge hole is maintained of shock absorber designed to
Crossover subs are designed to join prevent vibrations generated by
drill string components that have
the bit from traveling up the drill
connections of different sizes and/or
string to the surface.
thread configurations. The most
universal example of a crossover sub Other specialized tools (e.g.,
is the bit sub, which is a very short sub downhole mud motors for
with a "box" connection on both ends. directional drilling, measurementThis allows the pin end of the bit to be while-drilling (MWD) and loggingconnected to the bit sub on bottom,
while-drilling (LWD) devices) may
and the pin end of a drill collar to be
be included as part of the BHA
connected at the top
depending on well requirements
Hydraulically or mechanically
operated drilling jars may also be used

Drill Bits
Drill bits used in the oil and gas industry
range in diameter from 3 7/8 to 36 inches
[98.4 to 914.4 mm], and come in a wide
range of designs for various formation
types and areas of application

The earliest type of rotary drill bit was

the drag bit or "fishtail" bit (Figure), which
utilized flat cutter blades to scrape away
at subsurface rock
Most rotary drill bits used today fall into
one of two major categories: rolling cutter
bits and fixed cutter bits (some of which
include variations on the old drag bit
design)

Drill Bits: Rolling Cutter Bits

Also known as a roller cone bits or rock
bits, rolling cutter bits come in a variety
of designs (Figure)
The cones on this type of bit (usually
three cones, but sometimes two) are
designed to individually rotate on
bearings about their own axis as the drill
string turns the body of the bit
The toothed cones "mesh" together to
provide a self-cleaning action, which is
enhanced by the directed high-velocity
flow of drilling mud through the bit
nozzles

Drill Bits: Rolling Cutter Bits

Rolling cutter bits vary according to size and geometry, the type and
configuration of their cutting elements, and the types of bearings used to
join the bit body and cones
Bit geometry is constrained by the size of the borehole and the type of
cutting action desired. Cones may be aligned at an angle, for example, or
offset from the centerline of the bit in order to attain the best possible
cutting action for a given formation type

Drill Bits: Rolling Cutter Bits

Rolling cutter bits may be defined in
terms of two basic types of cutting
elements:
Milled-tooth bits (Figure) employ steel
tooth cutters that are fabricated as
integral parts of the bit cones
In general, long, widely spaced teeth
are characteristic of soft formation bits,
while shorter, more closely spaced teeth
used in harder formations

Drill Bits: Rolling Cutter Bits

Insert bits (Figure) employ cutting

elements that are pressed into specially
machined holes in the bit cones
The tungstencarbide inserts come in
different shapes, and the same general rule
applies as for milled teeth: long-extension,
chisel-shaped inserts for soft formations,
and shortextension, rounded "button" inserts
for hard formations
Bearings may be non-sealed, where the
drilling fluid lubricates the rollers, or sealed,
where a rubber seal isolates a high
performance lubricant within the cones
In the case of journal bearings, a precision
machined hard metal alloy surface replaces
the cylindrical roller bearings. Journal
bearings are designed to be stronger and
more wear-resistant, for maximum service
life

Drill Bits: Fixed Cutter Bits

Fixed cutter bits (Figure) are similar to

drag bits in that they have no moving
parts such as cones or bearings. Rather,
they consist of stationary cutting
elements that are integral with the body
of the bit and are rotated directly by the
turning of the drill string.
The bit body is fabricated from steel or
from a tungsten-carbide alloy, and the
cutting elements consist of industrial
grade polycrystalline diamond cutters
(PDC), which are inserted into the bit, or
natural or synthetic diamonds which are
impregnated in the bit (Smith
International Incorporated, 2005)
The cutter patterns and spacing are
optimally designed for the expected
drilling conditions

Drill Bits: Fixed Cutter Bits

Along with their body materials and the

types and geometries of their cutting
elements, fixed cutter bits vary in their
shape or profile
In general, bits designed for soft
formations have longer, more parabolic,
sharper-nosed profiles than harderformation bits, which tend to have more
compressed, wider profiles

Drill Bits: Related Tools

Other bit-type tools have been

designed for special purposes, notably
hole openers and underreamers
These tools are run above a bit to
maintain or enlarge the hole size. Under
reamers have collapsible arms that are
held open by the pressure of mud
circulating through the drillstem. These
arms enable them to enlarge the bottom
of the hole
Whatever type is used, all bits perform
their job with the help of the drilling fluid,
which cools the bit and circulates rock
chips from underneath
Drilling fluid technology has become
increasingly sophisticated and deserves
treatment as a separate element of the
drilling system