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A drill bit is what actually cuts into the rock when drilling an
oil or gas well. Located at the tip of the drill string, below the drill
collar and the drill pipe, the drill bit is a rotating apparatus that
usually consists of two or three cones made up of the hardest of
materials (usually steel, tungsten carbide, and/or synthetic or
natural diamonds) and sharp teeth that cut into the rock and
sediment below.
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Types Of Drill Bits
There are a number of different types of drill bits. Steel Tooth Rotary
Bits are the most common types of drill bits, while Insert Bits are
steel tooth bit with tungsten carbide inserts. Polycrystalline
Diamond Compact Bits use synthetic diamonds attached to the
carbide inserts. Forty to 50 times stronger than steel bits, Diamond
Bits have industrial diamonds implanted in them to drill extremely
hard surfaces. Additionally, hybrids of these types of drill bits exist
to tackle specific drilling challenges..
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Design:
Regardless of type, drill bits must satisfy two primary design goals:
maximize the rate of penetration (ROP) of the formation and provide
a long service life. The reason for this is a direct consequence of
the rotary drilling method. Modern oilfield drilling operations require
substantial capital and operating expense.
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Circulating System:
The circulating system is used to circulate drilling fluid down
through the drill string and up the annulus, carrying the drilled
cuttings from the face of the bit to surface. The main components of
the circulating system are shown in Figure 6. Drilling Fluids.
However, the two main functions of the drilling fluid are:
1. To clean the hole of cuttings made by the bit
2. To exert a hydrostatic pressure sufficient to prevent formation
fluids entering the borehole.
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Drilling fluid (mud) is usually a mixture of water, clay,
weighting material (Barite) and chemicals. The mud is
mixed and conditioned in the mud pits and then circulated
downhole by large pumps (slush pumps).
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The properties of the mud are checked continuously to
ensure that the desired properties of the mud are
maintained. If the properties of the mud change then
chemicals will be added to the mud to bring the
properties back to those that are required to fulfil the
functions of the fluid.
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Drilling Fluids:
In geotechnical engineering, drilling fluid is used to aid the
drilling of boreholes into the earth. Often used while drilling
oil and natural gas wells and on exploration drilling rigs,
drilling fluids are also used for much simpler boreholes, such
as water wells.
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Type of Fluids:
The two most common types of drilling fluid used are water
based mud and oil based mud. Water-based muds (WBM) are
those drilling fluids in which the continuous phase of the
system is water (salt water or fresh water) and Oil-based
muds (OBM) are those in which the continuous phase is oil.
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Function:
Remove cuttings from well.
Drilling fluid carries the rock excavated by the drill bit up
to the surface. Its ability to do so depends on cutting size,
shape, and density, and speed of fluid traveling up the
well (annular velocity).
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Other properties include:
• Most drilling muds are thixotropic (viscosity increase
during static conditions). This characteristic keeps the cuttings
suspended when the mud is not flowing during, for example,
maintenance.
• Fluids that have shear thinning and elevated viscosities
are efficient for hole cleaning.
• Higher annular velocity improves cutting transport.
Transport ratio (transport velocity / lowest annular velocity)
should be at least 50%.
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Suspend and release cuttings:
• Must suspend drill cuttings, weight materials and
additives under a wide range of conditions.
• Drill cuttings that settle can causes bridges and fill,
which can cause stuck-pipe and lost circulation.
• Weight material that settles is referred to as sag,
this causes a wide variation in the density of well fluid,
this more frequently occurs in high angle and hot wells.
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Rate of Penetration (ROP) (increases
horsepower required to circulate):
• Mud properties that are suspended must be
balanced with properties in cutting removal by solids
control equipment
• For effective solids controls, drill solids must be
removed from mud on the 1st circulation from the well. If
re-circulated, cuttings break into smaller pieces and are
more difficult to remove.
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Minimizing formation damage:
• Skin damage or any reduction in natural formation
porosity and permeability (washout) constitutes
formation damage
• skin damage is the accumulation of residuals on
the perforations and that causes a pressure drop through
them .