Hongjian Ni

An Experimental Study on the Synergetic Effects of Kinetic and Thermodynamic Gas Hydrate Inhibitors

Gas hydrate can be inhibited by using hydrate inhibitors, such as thermodynamic inhibitors (e.g., methanol and salts) and kinetic inhibitors (KHIs; polymer based). The study of kinetic hydrate inhibitors is paid growing attention in recent years because of its low dosage and environment friendly features, but its application is restricted at high sub-cooling conditions. In this study, the combination of kinetic hydrate inhibitor (polyvinylcaprolactam based) and thermodynamic inhibitors (methanol and NaCl) was investigated in terms of the synergetic effect of the two types of hydrate inhibitors and the effects of pressure and sub-cooling time on the kinetic inhibition effect. The results show that the combined system has a good synergetic effect, which can make the KHIs to stand at higher sub-cooling conditions. The performance of polyvinylcaprolactam and methanol is better than that of polyvinylcaprolactam and NaCl, and the combined system can be also greatly affected by high pressure and long sub-cooling time.

Research on the Mechanism of In-Plane Vibration on Friction Reduction

A modified model for predicting the friction force between drill-string and borehole wall under in-plane vibrations was developed. It was found that the frictional coefficient in sliding direction decreased significantly after applying in-plane vibration on the bottom specimen. The friction reduction is due to the direction change of friction force, elastic deformation of surface asperities and the change of frictional coefficient. Normal load, surface topography, vibration direction, velocity ratio and interfacial shear factor are the main influence factors of friction force in sliding direction. Lower driving force can be realized for a pair of determinate rubbing surfaces under constant normal load by setting the driving direction along the minimum arithmetic average attack angle direction, and applying intense longitudinal vibration on the rubbing pair. The modified model can significantly improve the accuracy in predicting frictional coefficient under vibrating conditions, especially under the condition of lower velocity ratio. The results provide a theoretical gist for friction reduction technology by vibrating drill-string, and provide a reference for determination of frictional coefficient during petroleum drilling process, which has great significance for realizing digitized and intelligent drilling.

A new drilling method—Earthworm-like vibration drilling

The load transfer difficulty caused by borehole wall friction severely limits the penetration rate and extended-reach limit of complex structural wells. A new friction reduction technology termed “earthworm-like drilling” is proposed in this paper to improve the load transfer of complex structural wells. A mathematical model based on a “soft-string” model is developed and solved. The results show that earthworm-like drilling is more effective than single-point vibration drilling. The amplitude and frequency of the pulse pressure and the installation position of the shakers have a substantial impact on friction reduction and load transfer. An optimization model based on the projection gradient method is developed and used to optimize the position of three shakers in a horizontal well. The results verify the feasibility and advantages of earthworm-like drilling, and establish a solid theoretical foundation for its application in oil field drilling.