.
SPE/IADC
;PE/lADC 13464
3fects of Field Wear on PDC Bit Performance
IY C.A. Cheatham, Shell 0f7shon?htc., and D.A. Loeb, Peoten M.
;PE Members
~right 198.5,SPEIIADC1985 DrillingConference
we paperweepraaantedattheSPE/fADC1985DriltingConfwanca~ti inNWVOtWUISiLouManatMarch~, 1~. ~ ~terJaJiaaubj~ @00~-
ion by tha author.Perrniaaiinto COPYia raatriotedto an abatractof notmorethan300 words.WrfteSPE, P.O. Sox 6S38S6,Riihardaoir,Texaa
ws3-s8w.
ABSTRACT
Laboratory drilling tests were conducted
using a new 8 1/2 inch(216 mm) polycrystal-
line diamond compact (PDC) bit to determine
optimum operating condiZfmm for subsequent
field use. The bit was then run on rotary in
a shale formation at 14 506 ft(4421 m). Rate
of penetrationmeasured in the laboratory
agreed closely with that observed in the
field. Laboratory tests with the field-worn
bit showed that to achieve the same rate of
penetration as the new bit, the worn bit re-
quired three to eight times as much weight-
on-bit and two to four times as much torque.
Results indicate that, regardless of wear,
maximum rotary speed should be used in medium
hard shale to obtain highest rate of penetra-
tion.
INTRODUCTION
In Becember, 1981, Shell Offshore Inc.
(S01) was planning to iis~a pdycrystalline
diamond compact (PDC) bit in a field in which
S01 had not previously run any. To determine
optimum operating c~~ditions for subsequent
field use, full-scaledrilling tests were
conducted.
The bit was to be run on rotary in e
long, homogeneous section of medium-hard
shale with some sandstone stringers.
rate of penetration (ROP) was about 10A%%!e
(0.85 mm/s) in offset wells using tungsten
carbide insert bits. To break even, the PDC
bit had to maintain 20 ft/hr(l.7 mm/s) for
50 hours. Other expected field cond tions
included using a 12 lb/gal(1440kg/m~ )
relaxed-fluid-lossoil-base mud and a flow
rate of about 320 gal/min(20 dm3/s).
References and illustrationsat end of paper.
LABORATORY TESTS WITH NEW BIT
Every effort was made to simulate field
conditionsas closely as possible at Drilling
Research Laboratory (DRL). M=COS shale was
selected as the most suitable formation baeed
on ROP and bit types used in offset wells.
A 60 b=rel(9.5 m~) batch of 12 lb/gal
(1440 kg/m3) oil-base mud was prepared on
site. High temperature-highpres~re fluid
loss was maintained at 10 cm~/30 min. Drill
solids were simul ted by addition of
20 lb/bbl(60kg/m9 ) of kaolinite clay. Mud
temperaturewas held constant at 110 degrees
F(43 degrees C) by a heat exchanger.
..
The test bit was 8 1/2 in(216 mm) dia-
meter and had a 0.36 sq in(240 mm2) ~ot~
flow area. Fluid discharged through six rec-
tangular ports in the bit face. The bit had
a matkix compositionbody with 45 PDC Cutter$
mounted at a negative 15 degree back rake ahd
zero degree side rake.
Weight-on-bitwas varied from 2 to
10 klb(9 to 44 kN); rotary s eed @_om 75 to
~~~ rev/min(l.3 to 2.8 rev/s7 ; and flow rate
from 275 to 365 gaiimin{l?to 25 dm3/s).
These conditionswere expected to span the
entire range which would be encounteredin
the field, at least while the bit was rela-
tively unworn.
Test results showed that ROP response to
weight-on-bitwas nearly linear and that
light weight achieved the *get (Figure 1).
Bit torque was also nearly linear with ROP
and weight-on-bit. ROP increased with in-
creased-rotaryspeed while bit-tor ue remain-
ed constant or slightly decreased ?Figure 2).
Over the range tested, flow rate had no ef-
feet on ROP or bit torque.
 *

EFFECTS OF FIEID WEAR PDC BIT PERFORMANCE SPE 13464

1
Based on these results, we recommended During the part of the cycle in which
hat ROP in shale would be maximized by using echanicalhorsepower is high, some of the
ight weight-on-bitand highest possible ro- urface kinetic energy is stored in the drill
ary speed. After breaking in the bit, 5 to tring. Eventually,enoughpotential energy
O klb(9 to 44 kN) would initiallybe re- s stored such that the supply of bit horse-
uired to achieve the target ROP. ower equals or exceeds the demand at the
it-formation interface. When this occurs,
IELDRUN he bit rotary speed increasesuntil the
lotentialenergy is ex.hausted~ and the bit
.a,mnlv.
The bit was run in an offshore Texas Horsepowerdemand again exceeds tFLe--ry-J-
tellin a shale formation at 14 506 ft !hecycle then repeats.
4421 m) measured depth at a 20 degree hole
inclinationfrom vertical. After break-in, In this case, the cycling could be re-
~eight-on-bitand rotary speed were system- ~ucedor eliminated completelyby reducing
aticallyvaried to determine OptiIIN.IIiI
condi- ~eight-on-bit. In a directionalwell such as
tions. As predicted based on laboratory ;his,reduction of weight-on-bitgenerally
esults,highest ROP was obtained using high- :ausestwo opposite effects on surface tirqae:
!strotary s eed (130 rev/min)~ and less than 1. Bit torque is reduced which reduces
10 klb(44 kN7 was required to achieve the surface torque, and
?0 ft/hr(l.7 mm/s) target. Results of these
Gestsare compared with laboratoryROP in 2. Torque-lossdue to contact between
igure 1 and Table 1. Agreementbetween the drill string and borehole wall
.aboratoryand field ROP was very good, increasesdue to higher drill string
~articularlyat low weight. tension which tends to increase sur-
face torque.
Cuttings were sampled from the shale :n this case, the net result was a reduction
~haker,tskin into account lag, over the .n surface torque since the bit torque was
i~~-fcct(~~~m f A.. --- over
+n+erva~ which weight-
;reaterthan the drill string toI?qUe-lOSS.
m-bit and rotsry speed were varied. Crys-
jallinecomponentsand clay fraction for the In spite of the good performance in
tieldand Mancos shales were later determined ~hale,the bit run was not an economic suc-
;O match closely, as shown in Table 2. :essdue to high rate of wear in sandstones.
rhe bit was pulled completelydull
During the field run, motor current of IFigure3) after drilling 575 eet(75 ) n
the DC electric motor was monitored to approx- j6.5 hours for an average of 10.2 ft/hr
imate the surface torque which was provided (0.864 IliIdS). Core and sidewall samples
to the drill string. Surface generallyre- showed that some sandstoneswere very herd
nainedrelatively constant while drilling. and contained abrasive pyrite. Th~~3combi-
[n other words, the maximum dynamic amplitude nationresulted in high wear rate.
rarely exceeded 10 percent of the mean torque
~cca8ionally,torque would cycle through Generally,but not always, sandstone
large dynamic amplitudes. This p~n=~ ROP was faster than shale as shown by
has also been observed by others. Figure 4, in which ROP and the gamma raY~g
one-half of the cycle, tor ue was high and rot are plotted side-by-sideversus depth.
tary speed low(e.g. 80 rev7rein). During the example of a very slow drilling sandstone
other half, torque would decrease(sometimes occurs at 15 000 ft(4572 m). It was not
to less than torque while rotating off bottom possible to distinguish sandstone from shale
and rotary speed would increase(m=imum of based on either ROP or surface torque.
135 rev/rein). The magnitude of this torque
variation changed, but the period remained LABORATORYTESTS WITH WORN BIT
~onstantbetween 7 and 8 seconds. Apparently
+h~.
*.An.rre~nondedto
---=-. a torsionalnatural fre- Later, the severelyworn bit was re-
~uency of the drill string. tested at DRL to determine changes in per-
formancedue to wear in the field. Tests
The explanationfor this torque-rotary were conducted as they had been for the new
speed cycling seems to be due primarily to bit except that weight-on-bitwas tested at
~ - 7:...<+eA nehsmica~
vhe ~~~~.u m....-.-. ~Orgepfwer available ~~~h higher values for the W?rn bit, ranging
at the surface. PDC bits demand relatively from 2 to 35 klb(9 to 156 kNj. Weli bore
large rotary horsepower, or torque at constan ressure was kept constant at 2000 psi
rotary speed. If the available supply of bit
horsepoweris less than the demand at the f 14 MPa), as it had been for the new bit.
bit-formationinterface, then the bit rotary ROP was significantlyaffected by wear.
speed will start to lag behind that of the To achieve the same ROP as the new bit, the
drill string. This causes the drill string worn bit required three to eight times as
to act as a torsional spring, with energy much weight-on-bitand two to four times as
stored in the drill stiing Ilspringlf during ox much torque, as shown in Table 3.
part of the torque-rotaryspeed cycle and
given back during the other part.
 . . . .. . . . .. . .
3 ~E 13464 GA. . tiH.tLAYfiAivl
The weight-on-bitincrease was expected
;incethe load-bearingarea increases as the
:utterswear. Thus, higher weight-on-bitis
:equiredto achieve the same depth of cut,
md, therefore,the Same Rop. Higher weight-
In-bitwith increaseawear was ~lsc observed
lurin the field run as weight increased from
? klb?9 kN) at the stsrt to 25 klb(lll kN) at
~he end.
!Chetorque increase must be due to in-
:reasedrock-cuttingforce snd/or higher rub-
]ing friction on cutter backup material known
is the we= flat. However, PDC cutters are
self-sharpening. Furthermore,single cutter
testshave shown that cutting forces are very
Iearly the same for sharp and dull cutters
For equal depth of cut.4 Therefore,it seems
nore likely that the torque increase is pri-
narilydue to higher frictional forces be-
tween formation and wear flats. Regardless
of the mechanism, this large torque increase
San cause field ROP to drop as the bit wears,
~ven with significantincreases in weight-on- torque, and bit pressure drop on weight-on-
bit.
Torque was determined almost solely by
UA .~_h< +. as it had been for the new
w-eigIL~-v~~-UL
bit (Figure 2~. Furthermore,ROP was approx-
imately a linear functiorlof both~weigb.t-om.-
bit (Figure ~) and rotary speed for the worn
bit as well as for the new bit.
Flow rate had no effect again on ROP or
torque. As had been the case for the new bit ,
bit pressure drop increased in a linear
nanneras flow rate increased. Compared to
the new bit, the worn bit had about one-third
!.esspressure drop, which was attributed to
Fluid erosion of fluid ports in the bit face. these variables were significantlyaffected
Thus, the qualitativerelationships
3.mongROP, torque, pressure drop, weight-on- times as much weight-on-bitand two to four
bit, rotary speed, and flow rate did not
change as the bit wore. !Chenature of this
Dependenceof ROP and torque on weight-on-
bit and rotary speed has important implica-
tions
--._,-regarding field operations and perfor- in shale with rotary drilling:
mulLe .
Roller-conebits fail rock by com-
pressivelyloading it. Rock Compr-=ive
strength increases with increased confining
pressure. Therefore,relatively high axial
load (weight-on-bit)is required to drill
under the high confiningpressures which
exist downhole. This axial load is trans-
itted to bit-teeth via some type of bearing
(e.g. roller, journal). AS axial &@ein-
.Vnsaee bearinz life decreases.
.A.-w..g
quently, ROP us~ng roller-conebits can be
limited by the maximum weight-on-bitthat
the bearings can withstand.
PDC bits fail rock primarily by shesr,
rather than compressive~loads. Rock is
---.<n tb.ere- not possible to distinguish sandstone from
weaker in shear tlnanin comp~-===-.n;
fore, less energy and lower weight-on-bitsre shale based on FKX?or surrface
required for PDC bits compared to roller-cone
.A..m-n A-rn-clo z
1
JUJ.IJAJ.A. JJUZID
bits. Furthermore$ PDC bits do not have
bearings which limit msximum weight-on-bit.
Thus, ROP using PDC bits is not limited by
the maximum weight-on-bitwhich can be ap-
plied.
Although PDC bits require lower weight-
on-bit than roller-conebits, they generally
demand higher torque. Thus, ROP may be lim-
ited by the maximum mechanicalhorsepower
that is supplied to the bit, which is directl~
related to the maximum horsepower which the
rig motors can supply to the rotary table.
At constant rotary speed, ROP will beS~~teC
by the msximum available bit torque.
increasingrotary speed increasesROP, but no:
bit torque, the highest possible rotsxy speed
should be used to obtain highest ROP, regard-
less of the state of bit wear.
CONCLUSIONS
The qualitativedependence of ROP, bit
bit, rotary speed, and flow rate were very
similsx for the new and worn bit. Specif-
ically, these relationshipswere as follows:
1
r.
~~~r~~~ed Wej.ght+on-bit resulted in
increasedROP and torque, but did
not affect pressJre drop.
2. Increasedrotary speed resulted in
increasedROP, but did not affect
torque or pressure drop.
3. Increased flow rate resulted in
higher pressure drop, but did not
affect ROP or torque.
However, quantitativerelationshipsamong
by wear. To achieve the same ROP as the new
bit, the worn bit required three to eight
times as much torque.
Regardless of bit wear, the following
guidelines are given to obtain maximum ROP
4,. Select a rig with the highest horse-
power capacity and use all of it.
2. Use, or at least try, the highest
practical rotary speed.
3. Use as much weight-on-bitas re-
quired to utilize all available rig
horsepower or achieve satisfactory
ROP.
Pyrite and other abrasive formations are
not suitable for PDC bits due to high weSr
rate. .Shaleformationsusing oil-base mud
represent excellent applications.
ROP in sandstoneswas generally, but not
always, greater than that in shale. It was
torqlue=
---
3451
 . SPE 13464
EFFECTS OF FIELD WEAR ON PDC BIT PER~RmCh
1
Field ROP for the new and worncbit
teed closely with those
........ measured
. fi+field inlabora-
and the
boratory. Minera~uSYW. .-.7
was pract~callyidenti-
ry (M-eos) shales
1.
~();WLEDGMENTS
lhr~ +hank staff and rnan:g:ye%::.~.
the
.L-----
LellDevelopment Company
~...... and Shell.ul~=I~-J~=
~fi~~mwled~e
- them
lc. and graieluJ-w -Gn..
..---
retributionsto this research.
JF13RENCES
. Koskie, E.T., Jr.: lCommon-Sense Measure:
Improve PDC Bit Performance,ll World 011
(Sept. 1982)0
l!~ere and
. Keller, W.S.~ nd Crow,M.L.:
How Not to Run PDC Bits~ll paper IaC/S?E
IIy37 presented at 1983 IADC/SPE Drlllln,
Conference,New Orleans, Feb. 20-23.
i. Cress, L.A.: llHow~d When to Run ~ p~c
Bit in the Upper Texas Gulf Coast
OperatorsViewpoint,tpaper IADC/SPE
11388 presented at 1983 IADC/SPE Drlllim
Conference,New Orleans, Feb. 20-23.
4. Hibbs,L.E., !!Simulated
Jr., Kom=duri~ R.~ and
GeothermalRock
FlOm, D.G.:
Drilling Using Stratap= Diamond Com-
pape~m:resentedat
pacts,~--g AS~ ~erg~-,
=hib.. HOustont ~
Tecnowf~*o -- -------
TABLE 1

ROP WITH NEW PDC BIT

LaboratoryRop
WEIGHT-ON-BIT (ft/hr)
(klb) =

20
5 14-15
19-25 30
8
14-27 35
10

1-=- - .n.m-rmrnnlc T,ARC)RATORY

-.-- CONDITIONS
IH!JA-J UUNJJJ.LAUL

110 rev/rein
12.0 lb/g~

LOW GRAVITy 5%
SOLIDS 5%
wELL BORE 2000 psi
9000
PRESSURE 350 gal/rein

362
 TABLE 2

COFIPARISONOF SHALE MINERALOGY

MANCOS SIWJE FIELD WALE

CRYS!CA~INE COMYON~TS

52 55
QUARTZ
3 3
FRLDSPAR
5 5
CALCITE
10 2
DoLOMITE .
> TABLE 3
BARITE *
2J
CLAY
100 % ~FEcT OF WEARON WEIGHT-ON-BIT AND TORQUE

T worn
CLAY FRACTION WORN WOBWon
NEw ~
20 TUR
20
ILLITE 70 ~&&J&&!u&&5-
CIUORITE
60
JQ JQ
2.1 8.0 4.2
KAOLINITE 10 2.5 0.5 20
lW % 100% 3.1 5.2 3.1
20 5.0 ~.o 26 1.9
2.2 35 4.i 3.5
35 10.0
~om drilling ~d.

NEW 8 3/4 VS.

FIELD-WORN E 1/2 CHRISTENSEN SIT

S 1/2 IFIELDI CHRISTENSEN R40 Bll 22

s wc (LABI V=

50

+48--$- Orn
N9w

*-+--,r J- -1s

New
I 6-
o-
6
9
klb
klb
15 - 16 klb
22 . 22 klb
1
I I I I
360
1s0 240 300
00 120
Rotgry 6pcd. rP~

Mmcoa Shd.
. ~an=og she:=

12 PP9 oil-s*** Mud 12 PPO 011-ssc* Mud

HO rpm Rotarv Sp..d 2,ooo POI Sorohole Pr@~$ur*
2,ooo PSI Sorcholo PromJr* sso em FIDW R*t~
. ~SO @pm Flow R-t*

Pig.2-Bit tom~ ~ -~ -.
 AVERAM
OAMMA RAY
RATE OF PENETRAT~

r 600
~ I

I 14.0009

14,700
t
14.000

t
14.900
t

16.000
t

I
II
ls.loo SHALE
Eaun
-----

~ 13464