Research on Eccentric Displacement of the Trajectory Control Tool of

High Build-up Rate Wellbore

Ding Feng
1, a
, Li Wu
1
, J iawei Wang
1
, Xuhui Liu
1
, Hong Zhang
1
and Hanxing Li
2

1
School of Mechanical Engineering, Yangtze University, J ingzhou, China
2
CNOOC Research Center, Beijing, China
a
fengd0861@yahoo.com
Keywords: High build-up rate; working principle; eccentric displacement; control.
Abstract. The trajectory control tool of high build-up rate wellbore is a kind of point-the-bit rotary
steerable tool, which some characteristics like stepless speed changing, high build-up rate and smooth
trajectory. This paper introduced working principle of the trajectory control tool of high build-up rate
wellbore, focused on the method that control wellbore trajectory through synthesis eccentric
displacement vector of guide mechanism, analyzed the synthesis eccentric displacement vector
formation and decomposition principle of the tool. At the end the concrete structure are described.
1. Introduction
As a result of most domestic and foreign oilfields have entered the late period of development stage, a
majority of new exploration blocks are in special environment, such as marine, offshore, desert area,
which made the exploration development difficulty and cost are greatly increased. On the other hand,
old oilfields in order to realize stable production has to face a great quantity of developing problem in
marginal reservoirs, small reservoirs, complicated fault block oil and gas reservoir, thin reservoir.
The evolution and development of well-types were promoted by exploration and development needs,
consequently the proportion of complex structure wells such as extended-reach wells, horizontal
wells in ultra-thin reservoir, multilateral wells were growing rapidly.
The trajectory control tool of high build-up rate wellbore is a kind of point-the-bit rotary steerable
tool, which happened to be adapted to the current trends in reservoir development, solved current
difficulties of drilling technology. The tool is suitable for exploration of complex structure wells such
as vertical wells, directional wells, ultra-deep wells, extended-reach wells, horizontal wells in
ultra-thin reservoir, long-distance horizontal wells, and multilateral wells. Compared to existing
drilling tools, there were many advantages, such as higher control precision, better casing quality,
smoother hole, further displacement extension, higher rotational speed and drilling efficiency.
2. The domestic and global development of point-the-bit rotary steerable tool
There were 2 kinds of point-the-bit rotary steerable tool on the global research; they were
Halliburton's Geo-pilot and Schlumberger's latest product: Power-Drive Xceed.
Geo-Pilot system is mainly characterized by the lower part of drilling shaft can be rotated at an
angle in the housing, which was equivalent to the formation of an adjustable corner. Geo-Pilot system
achieved effectively guiding and controlling direction of the drilling bit through controlling bending
of the drilling string. The advantage was that build-up rat would not be influenced by formation
lithology, even in soft strata and heterogeneous formations. The disadvantage was that the drilling
2012 International Conference on Future Electrical Power and Energy Systems
Lecture Notes in Information Technology, Vol.9
978-1-61275-005-7/10/$25.00 2012 IERI ICFEPES2012

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shaft would be prone to fatigue failure under high-intensity alternating stress. In addition,
high-precision machining is the key to ensure rotary effect of this system.
Schlumberger's Power Drive Xceed had solved the problems that push-the-point rotary steerable
tools encountered in soft formation and open hole sidetracking. Only near bit stabilizer of this system
got in touch with the borehole, and it no longer needed to push pads or slowly rotating the tool to
control the position. Electronic measuring device within the drilling tool can detected its location, and
automatically adjusted the tool to high side of borehole. However, the working life needed to be
improved
[1-3]
.
Domestic research in this field is still in its infancy, and research on rotary steerable tools are
mostly push-the-bit. Yangtze University has manufactured the principle prototype of this
point-the-bit rotary steerable tool, and completed the various tests indoors. The largest build-up rate
can reach 8.6/30m.
3. Working principle of the trajectory control tool of high build-up rate wellbore
Control principle and implementation method: the trajectory control tool of high build-up rate
wellbore didnt rotate its housing, and made the shaft bend by a biasing device between non-rotating
housing and the shaft. When the drilling direction needed to be changed during drilling process, the
biasing device received control instruction, which made the shaft bending, and then the tool started to
deflect.
The key component of the biasing device is a set of eccentric mechanism with the combination of
two eccentric circulars which can be controlled. When the underground automatic control is finished,
the device will not rotate relative to the jacked fixed to the rotation centre so that it can always keep
the rotation axis biasing the fixed direction and provides a fixed orientation angle. The single drive
and combined movement in the inner and outer loop of the eccentric mechanism can realize the
adjustable spindle control of the deflection angle, and it can also realize stepless deflection at any
direction. High curve well trajectory control tool is mainly composed of these key parts, namely the
measure and control nipple jointelectromagnetic clutchhigh decelerate transmission and eccentric
mechanism. It uses mechanical power to transmit. And the power comes from the drill pipe, drill pipe
from the coupling to the rotation motion passed by the electromagnetic clutch high gear reduction
ratio, after high reduction ratio gear reducer drive inside and outside, respectively, after the eccentric
ring rotation, so that the spindle in different degrees of bending, provides for the drilling axis of a
borehole are inconsistent with the inclination, to achieve stepless control drill inclination, to well
trajectory control.

Fig.1 Structure chart of the trajectory control tool of high build-up rate wellbore
Cantilever
Drilling Shaft
Biasing
Focal Bearing
Driiling
Housing
Wellbor
Angular Displacement
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On the other side, the precise guide of the high curve well trajectory control tool is monitored by
control system. It uses position sensor of the inner and outer loop and triaxial accelerometer to the
measured signal to the controller for computing, and then the result of the operation through the
communication terminal with the MWD measured hole deviation and azimuth Information
transmitted to the ground monitor with the monitor. If you want to re-change well trajectory, issued
from the ground to change conveyor shafts, bending angle and tool face instruction, sent by the
controller via the communication terminal to perform to the biasing device, such surface and
subsurface built the two-way communication channel, to achieve the well trajectory control purposes.
In view of underground communications, detection and control instruments and equipment required
power supply to work properly, so a high capacity and high temperature resistant battery short section
as the underground power supply, battery temperature to overcome the past, the limited scope of the
shortcomings of short life, and can in the high temperature, severe vibration, Impact, and bear a large
acceleration under normal working conditions, for downhole tool provides persistent current,
underground instrument and equipment to meet the electricity needs
[4]
.
4. eccentric displacement vector of the trajectory control tool of high build-up rate wellbore
4.1 Composition of eccentric displacement vector
To set up coordinate, the wellbore of eccentric annular section can be regarded as the origin
coordinates, then the high edge radical of wellbore(from wellhead to bottom)can be X axis direction.
At the same time, the clockwise 90 of positive direction of X axis(right-hand rule) is Y axis direction.
The wellbore centre 0 is set to beginning and the outer eccentric ring thick edge is ending, making the
displacement vector as e
1
. Then the inner hole centre of outer eccentric ring is set to beginning and the
inner eccentric ring thick edge is ending, making the displacement vector as e
2
, while the internal and
external eccentric rings displacement vector is e. When e
1
coincides with X axis and has the same
direction with it while e
2
coincides but has the opposite direction, the principle axes and the tool coax.
Under this kind of circumstance, the tool is in free wheeling state and set the current internal and
external state as the initial state. It is to set the angle between e
1
, e
2
, e and the side of X axis direction
as
1
,
2
, (the clockwise is positive), and if the internal and external ring clockwise, the angle of
the external ring is
1
, and the angle of internal ring is 180+
2
, then the co-vector of internal and
external eccentric ring is :
2 1
e e e + =
(1)
If vector is deposed into X axis and Y axis, then there is :
2 2 1 1
cos cos cos e e e e
x
+ = =
(2)
2 2 1 1
sin sin sin e e e e
y
+ = =
(3)
Next, the vector can be shown as:
e
e
e

sin
cos
sin sin
cos cos
2
1
2 1
2 1
(4)
It will calculate that:
) cos( 2
1 2 2 1
2
2
2
1
+ + = e e e e e
,
2 2 1 1
2 2 1 1
cos cos
sin sin
arctan

e e
e e
+
+
=

In the drilling process, the sensor can continuously test the angle of internal and external rotation
of the eccentric rings by the compare between internal and external eccentric rings co-vector and set
value. The adjustment is needed when there comes some deviation.
4.2 Decomposition of eccentric moving displacement
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When using the trajectory control tool of high build-up rate wellbore to drill, the eccentric
displacement is an important affection to build-up rate. During the drilling process, to determine the
eccentric displacement vector by according to the build-up rate, then deposing it into internal and
external eccentric ring vector. At last, the angle of internal and external ring will be set as the
displacement vector is not changed, the tool can drill forward through the determined build-up rate.
As the eccentric ring displacement co-vector is set to e, and its modulus value and angle will
change as it changes. However, the e needs to be determined by the build-up rate and tool face. The
wellbore of axis end section is set to coordinates origin, then the high edge radical of wellbore(from
wellhead to bottom)can be X axis direction. At the same time, the clockwise 90 of positive direction
of X axis (right-hand rule) is Y axis direction. There is a coordinates. The modulus value of e can be
calculated by the angle of drill axis and tool axis and the intersection angle of drill axis and tool
axis can be calculated by the set build-up rate. Then the relation between |e| and is:
( )
) (
1
2
2
2
1
2
L L
L L L
e
+

=

(5)
Here, L
1
shows the distance between upper axis and eccentric ring, mm; L
2
is from end axis to
eccentric rings, mm; L is the distance between two bearings, so L =L
1
+ L
2
, mm; is the angle of drill
bit axis and tool axis, ; |e| is the modulus value of e, mm.
Therefore, to define build-up rate and the angle of tool face is helpful to make determined to the
modulus value of e and its direction. From formulas (2) and (3), it will be obvious that, when the
value of e, e
1
, e
2
and are known, using two uncertain numbers make two formulas clear and
calculate the
1
and
2
with two pairs of answers, as following:

=
+
=
=
+
=
1 , 0 )
2
arccos(
1 , 0 )
2
arccos(
2 2
2
2
1
2 2
2
2
1 1
1
2
2
2 2
1
1
k k
e e
e e e
k k
e e
e e e


m

When the co-vector of eccentric ring displacement was set, there existed two kinds of answers of
angle between internal and external eccentric ring
[5-8]
.
y=kx
Track of shaft centre
Track of outer ring centre
Maximum eccentric displacement

Fig.4 Motion track of eccentric rings
5. Reality of structure
The trajectory control tool of high build-up rate wellbore is made up of measurement and control sub,
electromagnetic clutch, deceleration device, eccentric mechanism, dynamic sealing device and
bearing stuffs, whose proto is just like the figure 5. Measurement and control sub mainly includes
battery sub that serves for underground measurement and control, controller, position transducer that
294


can measure the angle of eccentric rings, three-axis acceleration transducer, information transfer sub,
hardware circuit and measurement platform controlling software. It is that ten short section of glass
pipe, the control circuit board and three-axis digital acceleration transducer placed inside a steel pipe
in which to measure the position of the eccentric ring angle differential sensor arrangement for
detecting the rotation angle of the eccentric ring make the battery sub effecting.

Fig.3 Principle prototype of the trajectory control tool of high build-up rate wellbore
6. Conclusions
(1) The trajectory control tool of high build-up rate wellbore makes trajectory control reality by a
equivalent bent joint structure which comes from the oriented organizations synthetic eccentric
displacement vector.
(2)Displacement synthesis is combined of two eccentric displacement synthesis derived from the
ring, which controls the rotation of two eccentric rings, can control well trajectory.
(3) The trajectory control tool of high build-up rate wellbore adjusts the deviation angles through
monitoring the angles of two eccentric rings. While the tool is in the inclined state, two eccentric
rings start to rotate to the specified angle. And when the tool is in the deviation state, the two rings
stay their angle and achieve continuing control of wellbore trajectory.
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