Numerical modeling and simulation of drilling cutting transport in horizontal wells

Cutting transport is an important goal in drilling operation especially in horizontal and deviated wells since it can cause problems such as stuck pipe, circulation loss and high torque and drag. To this end, this article focused on the affecting parameters on the cutting transport by computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling and real operational data. The effect of drilling fluid and cutting density on the pressure drop, deposit ratio and string stress on the cutting transport has been investigated. A systematic validation study is presented by comparing the simulation results against published experimental database. The results showed that by increasing two times of drilling fluid density/operational density, cutting precipitation ratio decreased 32.9% and stress applied on the drilling string and pressure drop increased 4.59 and 5.97%, respectively. By increasing two times of drilling cutting density/operational density, cutting precipitation ratio increased 200%. Also, there is an optimum point for drilling cutting density at 8.5 in which stress applied on the drilling string will be minimum.