Development of laboratory and field scale passive vibration assisted rotary drilling tools

Gillis, Brock (2019) Development of laboratory and field scale passive vibration assisted rotary drilling tools. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The Drilling Technology Laboratory (DTL) at Memorial University of Newfoundland has been focused on increasing drilling efficiency through the utilization of downhole vibrations, also known as Vibration Assisted Rotary Drilling (VARD). The pursuit of VARD technologies is split between active and passive vibrations and the current thesis looks at the design, development, and testing of a Passive Vibration Assisted Rotary Drilling tool (pVARD). The pVARD tool acts as a spring and damper inside the bottom hole assembly of the drill string. It is a system that is tuned to utilize the natural vibrations of the drilling process to increase drilling efficiency and rate of penetration. Two different tools were designed. First, a laboratory scale tool designed to allow analysis into pVARD to be performed on the DTL’s inhouse small drilling simulator. This would allow for rapid testing of many spring damper configurations. The second, a field scale tool, that would be used with six-inch drill bits in the DTL’s first field trial of VARD technology. Powered by a water well drilling rig, this tool would be used to drill shale and granite and explore the pVARD technology on an industrial scale. Both tools required the design of axial and torque taking members as well as the arrangement of the spring damper system. Specific design attention was paid to making the tools easily reconfigurable so that different spring damper arrangements could be tested, both in the lab, and the field. This investigation explores the testing results of these two tools as compared to one another, as well as learning from the operation of them in the field and how these learning will be used to improve the next generation of pVARD tools.

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