1. Introduction 1-1 Rev. 1.

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Chapter 1 Introduction



1. Introduction 1-2 Rev. 1.2
Table of Contents

1 Introduction to the Advanced Casing Design Course..............................................1-3
1.1 Introduction......................................................................................................1-3
1.2 The Goal of Design..........................................................................................1-3
1.2.1 Casing Design Considerations.................................................................1-4
1.2.2 Design End Result....................................................................................1-4
1.2.3 Oil Field Tubulars....................................................................................1-4
1.2.4 Principal Load Types...............................................................................1-5
1.2.5 Design Process.........................................................................................1-5
1.2.6 Design Data Requirements......................................................................1-6
1.3 General Remarks on Casing Design................................................................1-7
1.4 Units.................................................................................................................1-8
1.5 Reference Papers and Documents for Tubular Design....................................1-9
1.5.1 Connection Papers...................................................................................1-9
1.5.2 Standards Documents.............................................................................1-10


1. Introduction 1-3 Rev. 1.2
1 Introduction to the Advanced Casing Design Course
This advanced casing design course is intended for participants that have a background in
engineering studies and have a working knowledge of casing and drilling operations.

The course will cover the following subjects.
Tubular failure criteria and theories of strength.
Casing load identification and the estimation of design loads.
Design approaches.
Connections, environmental considerations and materials.
Special problems in casing design.

The following subjects will not be discussed in detail since it is assumed the students
have a basic understanding of these subjects.
Casing and hole size selection.
Casing seat selection.
Tubing design is beyond the scope of this course.
1.1 Introduction
The process of mechanical design of tubulars is one of matching capacity (strength,
resistance) to demand (load), subject to several constraints. Regardless of the design
methodologies, limit states or failure criteria used, the goal of all design processes is the
same - to ensure with sufficient confidence that strength exceeds demand during the
entire service life of the tubular.

One typical constraint imposed in the selection of tubulars is selection from a set of
standard OD or API sizes. In the design of casing strings, therefore, once the required
casing shoe depths are determined (usually based on fracture and pore pressure
distributions), the loads on each string are estimated, and a standard tubular that matches
the load is selected. In addition, due to years of familiarity, in practice, the size sequence
of the casing strings is first established (starting usually with a desired hole size at TD),
and then the weight and grade of the each string are selected such that the load (or
demand) is satisfied. Thus, it almost a habit to begin with say, a 20/508mm string,
follow it with a 13 3/8/340mm string, and follow it with a 9 5/8/244.5mm string. Not
surprisingly, these have become the standard sizes, in turn encouraging more use of
these sizes, and thus feeding this cycle.
1.2 The Goal of Design
Suppose that the shoe depths for a given well are known. It remains to select the size,
weight and grade of the strings (liners or casings) to be run to the shoe depths. In essence,
this is a constrained optimization problem. The goal of the design process is to select the

1. Introduction 1-4 Rev. 1.2
size, weight and grade of the strings such that their capacity exceeds demand during
service life. The constraints to the size selection are typically:
Constraints on the design factors desired, given the demand or load.
Constraints on the diameter of the first string (dictated by the well head, for
example).
Possible constraints on the diameter of the last string (dictated by the desired
hole or completion size).
Given a string, constraints on the OD of the next string (dictated by the wall
thickness, drift and clearance required to pass the next string).

The casing (and tubing) in a well are load bearing structures. Any load placed on them
has the effect of creating a stress. The structure responds and tries to withstand the
applied load. The strength of the structure provides the resistance to the load.

The goal is to design the structure such that it can safely withstand all of the loads that are
likely to be placed on the structure during its intended service life. The load placed on
the tubular should not exceed the strength of the tubular resisting that particular load
type. This can be stated in formula format as follows.

Load < Resistance (Eq - 1)

The outcome of a design process should be a safe, reliable and cost effective design.
Safety and reliability are addressed differently by different design approaches.
1.2.1 Casing Design Considerations
A proper design must consider more than just the casing pipe body OD, weight, and
grade. Other important considerations are the connection and the environment exposed to
the casing. Environmental issues include corrosive fluids, both from the formation and
injected fluids perhaps, and brittle failure due to sulfide stress cracking (SSC).
1.2.2 Design End Result
The final design should include the following.
Size, weight and grade
Connection type
Material requirements
Inspection requirements
Operational procedures and precautions
1.2.3 Oil Field Tubulars
A casing or liner is usually run for the following reasons:

1. Introduction 1-5 Rev. 1.2
Major structural support for the wellhead and other wellbore tubulars.
Maintain wellbore stability.
Isolate formations.
Control well pressures during drilling, production and intervention.

Different casing types are used in a typical wellbore. These are listed below.

Conductor Isolation, shallow gas protection, structural support.
Surface Isolation of ground water, pressure control, build section coverage.
Intermediate Borehole stability, isolation of low pressure or producing zones.
Production Isolate producing zone, tubing leak protection, injection, gas lift.
Liners Local isolation and protection.
Tiebacks Convert liners to full strings to the wellhead.
Slotted Liner Control sand production, prevent hole collapse.
1.2.4 Principal Load Types
Casing load types and causes of loads can be summarized as follows. The loads will be
defined in more detail later.

Load Type Cause
Axial tension
/ compression
Running, changes in temperature, slack off or pickup after cementing.
Pressure Burst or collapse due to kick, pressure test, shut in, cementing, injection,
circulation, evacuation, etc.
Bending Axial load due to buckling or doglegs.
Torsion and
shear
Normally not considered in casing design unless the liner will be rotated
while cementing, or if the casing is used for drilling.

Loads can be treated independently or as some combination of the above. Note that some
loads are intentional and some are accidental. Intentional loads are loads we know will
happen like pressure test, running tension, etc. A kick load or tubing leak may not happen
and therefore is an accidental load. Intentional and accidental loads are possible loads;
therefore we must design for them. The relevance of intentional and accidental loads
becomes more important when we discuss reliability based design later in the course.
1.2.5 Design Process
Once a design approach is selected, the process of design usually progresses in the
following steps:
Identify all possible load scenarios and estimate the load parameters and
loads.
Calculate the principal loads at every point in the string, axial force, internal
and external pressure, torsion, etc.
Calculate the strength of the pipe to resist the loads.

1. Introduction 1-6 Rev. 1.2
Check the design and select the appropriate strength.

Some of the parameters that affect loads include the following.
Casing weight.
Pressure; pore and fracture, static, circulating.
Fluid density; affecting pressure and weight.
Temperature and change in temperature.
Top of cement.
Drag.
Doglegs and bucking.

The parameters affecting strength or resistance of the tubular include:
Yield strength
Wall thickness
Diameter
Material properties; E, , thermal expansion coefficient, metallurgy

Uncertainty is involved in the design process since we are trying to predict future events
to determine the design loads. Some of the categories of uncertainty are.
Uncertainty in load parameters and loads
Uncertainty in strength
Uncertainty in failure mode

The objective is to provide a safe, reliable and cost effective design even in the face of
these uncertainties. As mentioned earlier, the rationale used to account for uncertainties
depends upon the design approach used.
1.2.6 Design Data Requirements
This is a partial list of the data used in tubular design. This will be discussed in more
detail in the Design chapter.

1. Directional survey
2. Pore and fracture pressure vs. depth
3. Temperature profiles
Geothermal
Drilling circulation
Producing
Stimulation
4. Casing OD, casing minimum ID

1. Introduction 1-7 Rev. 1.2
5. Casing setting depth and starting depth for liners
6. Casing type, drilling, production, drilling and production, etc
7. H
2
S concentration and other possible corrosive fluid concentration
8. Mud density
9. Cement density and TOC
1.3 General Remarks on Casing Design
The process of casing design is not unlike the design process in other engineering
disciplines. A given casing design is not the only possible well configuration. As a
result, the drilling engineer, should not be satisfied with a working casing design, rather
she must search for optimal designs which maximize the performance of the tubular,
minimize the cost of the casing strings and simultaneously preserve wellbore integrity.
To this end we note the following:

1. There are several design philosophies such as WSD, RBD, LRFD, etc. However,
all of them minimize the probability that the load exceeds the strength of the
tubular. More often than not, the drilling engineer cannot influence the
magnitudes and frequency of occurrence of the loads. She can however, exercise
significant control on the performance properties (or the strength) of the casing
strings.
2. A tubular is primarily defined by its performance properties (Pipe Body Yield
strength, internal pressure capacity, etc.) These performance properties are
functions of the geometrical and material properties of the tubular. The material
properties and size of the tubular are controlled variables and lie within specified
limits of manufacturing tolerance. Highly optimized casing designs are achieved
by improved understanding of the manufacturing tolerances and how they
influence the statistical distribution of performance properties. The use of
inspection data from mills and manufacturing specifications (as opposed to the
use of nominal API type values for geometrical and material properties) can result
in highly functional and cost effective designs.
3. The use of advanced inspection data and analysis requires the understanding of
performance properties that have been hitherto used by the API. The API
guidelines were established in the late 1960s. However, in the last few decades,
due to significant advances in OCTG manufacture, the well design community
has become aware of a need to re-examine the bases of API performance property
equations and revise them accordingly. This effort to modernize OCTG
performance properties was begun in 1998. Of these, one of the major efforts was
the initiation of the joint industry project (J IP) DEA-130. The DEA-130 was
primarily convened to address the issue of collapse resistance (external pressure
ratings) of OCTG. In addition, there have been parallel efforts by the API and the
ISO to re-examine the internal pressure (burst/rupture) ratings and performance
properties of tubular connections.
4. In addition to enhancement of performance properties due to improved
manufacturing techniques and development of better quality steel, the methods of
well construction have changed significantly due to exploration and development
of deeper horizons. Deeper water depths and completion depths in harsher

1. Introduction 1-8 Rev. 1.2
environments impose significantly higher loads on tubulars. As a result tubulars
are required to operate very close to their structural operating limits. Some of the
API guidelines for performance properties were based on simple uni-axial stress
considerations, and as a result they incorporate significant conservatism in the
rating equations. The need to design tubulars for optimal performance (i.e.
minimum cost and maximum safety/reliability) has led to close examination of
OCTG performance ratings. In many instances, (in deepwater wells, for example)
tubulars cannot be designed by using conventional factors of safety in conjunction
with the API performance properties. Using the historical rating equations results
in significant over design of tubulars, i.e. increase in weight /grade of the tubulars
(and hence the cost of well construction). In some cases, such a conventional
approach can even imply impossibility of design. Therefore, an understanding of
probabilistic performance ratings that account for actual rather than assumed
nominal ratings is required. The probabilistic ratings are based on a careful
examination of the stresses that result in a tubular due to a given combination of
loads. The results are then compared with the strength of the tubular by using
actual or assessed information about its material properties and geometry. This
information is usually obtained from mill inspection data or a database that
describes the statistical characteristics of the geometrical and material properties
of the tubular.
5. Currently the well design community, i.e. drilling and completion engineers
should be aware that existing performance properties for collapse and burst are
undergoing significant change. Since optimization of well design and operating
procedures depend on more accurate OCTG performance properties, engineers
should become familiar with background technology in this area and be able to
apply more advanced ratings.
1.4 Units
Unfortunately, different unit systems are used in different parts of the world. In an effort
to improve communication during the course some common sizes and conversions are
shown in the tables below. This should help in the normal course discussions when we
talk about casing sizes, pressure and loads. An attempt will be made to use familiar units
in class exercises as much as possible.

Table 1 Common Casing Sizes
Conversion: Inches * 25.4 =mm

Casing OD (inches) Casing OD (mm)
20 508
13.375 340
9.625 244.5
7 178

Table 2 Pressure
Conversion: psi * 6.8948 =kPa

1. Introduction 1-9 Rev. 1.2

(psi) (kPa)
1000 6,895
5000 34,500
10000 69,000

Table 3 Force
Conversion: lbf * 0.44482 =daN

100,000 lbf 44,482 daN
45.4 mt
1.5 Reference Papers and Documents for Tubular Design
Listed here are some of the key reference papers and documents for tubular design.
1.5.1 Connection Papers

Paper No. Paper Title Authors Date
ASME Effect of Taper on Screw-Thread Load
Distribution
Stoeckly, Macke 1952
64-Pet-1 Strength of Threaded J oints for Steel Pipes Clinedinst 1963
J PT 3/67 New Technology for Improved Tubular
Connection Performance
Weiner, Sewell 1967
SS 2-1 / API The Effect of Internal Pressure and Bending on
The Tensile Strength of API Round Tread
Casing
Clinedinst 1967
J PT 11/76 Casing Strain Tests of 13 3/8-in., N-80 Buttress
Connections
Weiner, Wooley,
Christman, Coyne
1976
J PT 4/77 Strain Limit Design of 13 3/8-in., N-80 Buttress
Casing
Wooley,
Christman, Crose
1977
OTC 4736 Finite Element Analysis of Bending in a
Threaded Connector for 51/2-in. Marine Riser
Allen, Eichberger 1984
SPE 14040 Sealing Tubular Connections Bollfrass 1985
Appendix A
ETCE
Finite Element Analysis of Premium
Connections for Tubing and Casing
Sato, Hori,
Ichihara,
1985
OTC 5284 New Concepts for Load Transfer in Threaded
Connections
Ueno, Dearden,
Duxbury, Maguchi
1986
ASME 1987 Finite Element Simulation of J ump-Out
Behavior of Threaded Pipe J oints Used in Oil
Producing Wells
Morita,
Kawashima,
Ishihara
1987
OMAE /
ASME
Stress and Contact Pressure Analysis of
Premium Connections By Finite Element
Method
Kawashima,
Morita, Ishihara
N/A
Appendix C Finite Element Analysis and Fatigue Evaluation
of the Threaded marine Riser
Sato, Sano,
Ishikawa, Nakano
1988
J PT 8/88 Qualification and Use of a Mill-Premium
Connection in a Geopressured Gulf of Mexico
Payne 1988

1. Introduction 1-10 Rev. 1.2
Paper No. Paper Title Authors Date
Application
SPE/IADC
18697
New Makeup Method for API Connections Day, Moyer,
Hirshberg
1989
SPE DE
3/90
Equations for Leak Resistance of API 8-Round
Connectors in Tension
Schwind 1990
OTC 7558 Effect of Makeup and Internal Pressure on the
Structural Strength of API Buttress and 8 Round
Treaded Connections
Lewis, Chappel,
Katsounas
1994
OTC 7939 Threaded Connection Limit State Equations for
Use in LRFD Tubular Design
Schwind, Chappel,
Katsounas
1995
OMAE 98-
2501M
Strength and Fatigue Provisions for Mechanical
Connector Design: New ISO Standard for
Offshore Structures
Buitrago, Sele 1998
J PT 12/95 Unraveling the Mysteries of Proprietary
Connections
Klementich 1995
SPE/IADC
52846
A New International Standard for
Casing/Tubing Connection Testing
Payne, Schwind 1999
1.5.2 Standards Documents
The following is a partial list of standards documents used in tubular and connection
design.

Document
Reference
Document Title
API
Spec 5AX
High Strength Casing, Tubing, and Drill Pipe
API
Spec 5B
(STD 5B)
Specification for Threading, Gauging and Thread Inspection of Casing, Tubing
and Line Pipe Threads
API
RP 5B1
Recommended Practice for Gauging and Inspection of Casing, Tubing and Line
Pipe Threads
API
RP 5C1
Recommended Practice for Care and Use of Casing and Tubing
API
Bul 5C2
Bulletin on Performance Properties of Casing, Tubing and Drill Pipe
API
Bul 5C3
Bulletin on Formulas and Calculations for Casing, Tubing, Drill Pipe and Line
Pipe Properties (Replaced by ISO 10400 TR)
API
Spec 5CT /
ISO 11960
Specification for Casing and Tubing
ISO/ ISO
10400 TR
Petroleum and natural gas industries Casing, tubing and drill pipe Equations
and calculations for performance properties
ISO/FDIS
ISO 13679
Draft Standard of Petroleum and natural gas industries Procedures for testing
casing and tubing connections. (Replaced API 5CR)
ISO 15156 Petroleum and natural gas industries Materials for use in H2S containing
environments in oil and gas production. Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 (Replaced NACE
MR 0175)