Lubinski - Helical Buckling of Tubing Sealed in Packers

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The paper describes a method to calculate length changes and forces in tubing sealed in packers while accounting for the effects of helical buckling. This is important for predicting failures and ensuring safe well operations.

Helical buckling of tubing can cause unwanted movement that could damage seals or tools run through the tubing. It must be accounted for in calculations of required seal lengths, slackoff amounts, and prevention of permanent corkscrewing.

Changes in pressure and temperature inside and outside the tubing result in forces on the tubing and packer. The paper provides equations to calculate these forces based on factors like the material properties, geometry of the tubing, and pressure differences.

1 Ov-a 1..- J ^ -J Ti'..^ J .

f-
Helical Buckling of Tubing Sealed in Packers
ATT}!UR LUEINSKI PAN AAtE[,CAN PEIIOtEU/'4 CORP.
IIEMEEI AIMT 7UISA. O(tl.
w. s. Ar.rHousE SAXEI OIt IOOIS, lNC.
ME}'/.BER AIME tos ANGEIES, CAtlf.
J. t. IOGAN fiOU5ION, I€X.
MEMsEI AIIJE

ABSTRAC'I -. FIELD APPLICATION


Nlo\t,4us wells and flor';ing oil *ells are completed and The following are a few of the many kinds of problems
tretted through a st ng of tubing ond a packer. Changes in which ma), be solved with this papcr-
temperature and in pressure inside or onsicle the lubing l. Consider a packer in which tubing may move. Such
will: (1) il lree motion ol the tubing inside the packer is movement will occur after ptessules and temperature are
permittetl, increase or decrease the length oJ the tubing; or changed. The paper provides means for: (a) calculati.g
(2) il lree motion is Prevented, induce lorcet in the tubing rhe amount of such movement and, therefore, the required
and on the packer. Il prcssure inside the lubing is grcater (b) calculatiog the necessary amount
length of seals; and
than outside, the ubiry nay buckle helicolly even in the of initial slackofi, for which there is no daoger of unseal-
presence ol a packer-to-tubing tension. The tubing will ing the packer, if the length of seals is given.
abla:-s buckle, and mnch more severely, il ltee molion is Such calculations, as well as those which follou', fully
pern'ritted. The buckling nny be prevented by prlling the take into account the fact that part of rhe movement is
tubihg in sufrcie lension. due to elastic helicat buckling of the lower part of thc
The prediction ol rcse lorces and tubing morleme has striog. This buckling ma,v occur even in tubing under
heretolore been basecl upon calculations that did not in' tension-
chde helical buckling. This paper prcsentt means with Insufficient ioitial slackoff for a given leDgth of seals,
which these lengrh or lorce changes can be calculated or insumcient length of seals for a given slackoff, may
while taking into account the efJect ol helical buckling. To result in costly failures. A 6eld case o! such a'failure will
avoid damaging lonnations, lailure of rcmedial operotions, be givefl further io this paper.
or damage to the tubing sr packer, application is qode to 2. In the case in which tubing catrnot move in the
practical prcblems involving calc larions ol the required packer, changes of pressure and temperature result in
length of seuls, ofiounl ol slackolJ or tension. ond preven- tubing-to-packer forces and forces in the tubing above the
tion ol permanent corksctewing. packer, both of which may be calculated. This knowledge
is important because, if these forces are too large, the)'
INTRODUCTION could damage the packcr or the tubing.
3. For wells in which wirelioe tools are to be run
Leakage of a packer may result in costly failures of through the tubirg, the paper provides meaDs to keep the
such operations as squeeze cementing, hydraulic fractur- tubing from buckling, thereby permitting free passage of
iog, etc. To avoid such failures, the authors are often tools.
asked questions pertaining to the length of necessary seals,
the amount of necessary slackoff, etc. Published work' does
4. ln deep wells, mainly in the presence of large casing,
not take into account helical buckling of tubiDg. Investi- tubing may become "corkscrewed", i.e., take a permanent
gation of helical buckling was prompted by the fact that helical set. A field case is described further in the text.
allowance must be made for this phenomenon in order Using this paper, one may calculate in advance coDditions
to provide relevant answers. under which pelmanent corkscrewing would occur, and
then take preventive steps.
In the past, theoretical work on helical buckling was
confined to cooditions for which such buckliog does ltot
occur.lr' The mathematical treatment of behavior in a HELICAL BUCKL1NC
buckled condition, given in the Appendix, is uovel.
Consider a string of tubing, freely suspended irr the
Assumptions upon which this iovestigation is based are absence of any fluid inside casing, as showD in Fig. l(a).
listed and discussed in a special secrion. Now consider an upward force F applied at the lower end
of this tubiog. This force compresses the string; and if
Oriainal manusc.ipt received in Society of Per.oleLlm Ensin..rs of6ce the compression is large enough (which is al*'ays the case
luq. S. 1961. Reviscd hanuscrinr received April u, lc6t. Page. pre-
eehted s! 36th Annuil F.ll ]Ieerina of SPE, O.t.8-ll, 1961. iri DAtlai. in actual problems), the lower portion of the string will
IR.ferenc.s sive. {r end of Daper. buckle into a helix, as shown in Fig. l (b).
DiscEsion oi lhis and all followirc rechni.il DaDe.s i! invit d. Dis- The lower end of the tubing is subjected to a compres-
aussion in writins (th-"€ copie3) hay be 3ena io lhe otrce ol tht
Jout^dt ol Pcrrol.u'^ I..h oLoq!,. -\^v Jis.ussion ofrered De.. 3t. sion F. This compression decreases with the distance from
1969. should be iD the form of . aew Dape.. No disc,.tslion^frer
shor:ld rx-
ced 10 Der cent of the men8cripr beinB di3cu$ed. the bottom and becom€s nil (oeirher compressioo nor ten-
sion) lt the ncutrul point. r\lrovc thc nc'tttritl point. thc think, thereforu. thrt thc string shoukl remain straight.
\tring is in tcnsion and remiiins struight. ,.\ctually, how'cvcr. thc string will bucklc although under
Thc distancc rr frrrnr tlrc hottonr of thc tubing to thc tcnsion. This nright be considered strange, but similar
rrcutraI point is phenomena have br-'cn proven cortect for pumping wells"
lnrJ other instances.'-o It is proven in thc Appendix that
I
F the tubing buckles as if sub.iected to the compressive fic-
It.
il)
titious force F, given by Eq. 3.
,.\s provcnin the Appcndi.t, the pitch p (i.c., the distance Consicier now a pressure P, applied outside the tubing
betrvecn spirals, just above the lower end of thc tubing) at the packer level. In Fig.3, the pressure P. subjects the
is tubing to a compression and one might think, therefore.
that the string should buckle. Actually, however, the string
2=;t,lBEt (2) will remain straight.
It is proven in the Appendix that, in the presence of
Ec1. I
also givcs pitch at any point below the neutral both inside pressure P, and outside pressure P", the tubing
point, if F is understood as the compression
at that Point. behaves (as far as bLrckling or straightness is concerned)
'the pitch is the sntallest at the lower end, where it may
as it it were subjected to the following fictitious force F,.
be of thc order of l0 ft, and increases as the neutral point
is approached, u'hcre it becontcs infinitc. In nrost situations F,:A,(P,-P,,) (4)
occurring in oilwell tubing, thc neutral point is located The string will buckle if F, is positive, i.e., a fictitious com-
several thousand feet above the packer, and the nunrber pression. It will remain straight if F, is either negative (i.e.,
of spirals may be of the order of 100 or 200. a fictitious tension) or it F/ is zero.
Consider now the same tubing, but sealed in a packer Eq. 4 holds true for both the packer configurations of
which permits free motion of the tubing, as showu in Fig. 2. Figs. 2 and 3. and any other possible configuration.
Consider that a pressure P, is applied inside the tubing at
the packer level. This pressure P, subjects the bottom of
It is also proven in the Appendix that in the presence of
liquids the weight per unit length, w, must be considered
the tubing to a compressive force, and one would expect
this compressive force to buckle the tubing inside the
AS

W: lY. i lv', -llo. (5)


casing. As proven in the Appendix, however, the tubing will
buckle more severely than could be expected from this The fictitious force F, given by Eq. 4 and the weight
actual compressive force alone. It will buckle as if it were per unit length, w, given by Eq. 5 must be used in Eqs. I
subjected to the following compressive force Fr. and 2 to obtain the location of the neutral point and the
F, : A,P, (3) pitch.
With regard to Eq. l, it should be well understood that, in (
As part of this compressive force does not exist, the entire
the presence of liquids, the neutral point is not the point
force F, will be called fictitious.
at which there is neither tension nor compression."'''"''
If the packer configuration is as shown in Fig. 3, the Rather, it is the point below which the string is buckled
pressure P, subjects the tubing to a tension; one might and above which the string is suaight. Depending on con-
ditions, this point may be either under tension or comPres-
sion, but its location in the string is always given by Eq. l.

NEUTRAL PCINT
PACKERS PERMITTINC FREE IVIOTION
Packers are seldom used in a manner permitting free
motion, so this case is given here mainly for explanatory
purposes. Let us start again with a string of tubing in
casing in the absence of any fluids, and let an uPward force
F be applied at the lower end, as shown in Fig. I (b). This

OULOEE

Frc. 2-(Lsrt) P.rcxen Penlntrtsc Fnee }lottor' Lence Bonu'


' '-' s-ic..run) P.rcrin
it"-.' pi"titii,," Fnee llorror, Srt'rr-r. Bont:
i,". tiRrcHrt Pr(:K;R Penrrlrrtrc Ltrtttr,o }Iotto:t'
Frc. l-Bucrr-lirc op FneeuY Susperoeo Tunts.;.
UR].-rL () F PET RO LEtilt TEt:tl f,.'O LO(: t
JO
hc cooiidc.cd t!crq ll- irnd lI- gr\cn h! I--q\' 6 nnd 7.
lorcc (csults in shortcning ()f llrc tuhing. Jcnolcd -\1-,'
([rc to thc Hookc's luw cllcct. rcspcctivcl)-.
()n thc othcr hxnd. in the prcscoce o[ lltlid. one nrust
LF (6) consi!.lcr an additional length changc. dcnoled lL,, due to
E..l .
flow inside the tubing rnd chaogcs in radi.rl pressurc forces.
Fron Fig. l(r anLl b) it is sclf-cvirlent thrr. in a'ldition Consider thc tubing initiall)- tull o[ somc liquid in static
to thc above shortcning, thcrc is rnother one occurring conditions. and which lxler is rephced by another one
bclow thc oeutral point due to hclical buckling itsclf lt is cither io static conditioo or in notion. Flow not ooly results
proven io the Appendix thxr, it the neutml point is withio in a drop of pressule, modifying the radial pressure forces.
thc string, thcn this shortenirrg (denoted lL,) is
but also impirts a force to the tubing wall; both change
r,F (7) the length of the tubing. Also consider similar conditions
'"' - , lrE/*' in the innulus, but \Iithout any fluid motion. It is proven
Throughout this pxPer, positive and negative forces will in the Appendix that the len:lth changc AI' is shown by
the fotlowing exPression.
be consiiered as compressions and tensions, respectively'
anrl positive and negative changes of length will mean rp.-R'rp.-'i;-'s
elongations and shortenings, respectivel.v. These rules ex- L'
plain the sign minus in Eqs 6 xnd 7' E -t
It F is a tension (i.e.. a force considered here as nega- _ -\p, - R'-\P,
2v
a (ll)
tive),52, from Eq.6 becomes positive (i.e, an elonga- E R-_I
tioo), while Eq. 7 no longer has any meaning because
there would be no buckling. where 6 is the drop of Pressure per unit length due to
flow. D, assumed to be constant, is positive wheo the flow
Consider now the same tubing, but sealed in a packer
is downward, and conversel)' 6 = 0 in the case of no flow'
which permits free motion of the tubing, as shown in
either Fig. 2 or 3, Consider again that pressures P, aod P' The length changes la,, lL. and 1I., given by Eqs' 9,
are applLd inside and outside the iubing, respectively, at tO and 11, are the only ones resulting from pressure
the packer level. It is self-evident that these Pressules. sub- in a system comprising tubiDg sealed in
changes and flow
ject the lower end of the tubing to an actually existing a pa&er which permits free tubing motion. I! actual prob'
(nonfrctitious) force F". lems pertaining to such a system, one must also consider
the te;Fh change -\i, due to temperature changes.
F": (A, - A,) P, - (A" - A") P. (8)
t2)
Al' = trBo,. (
F. may be either positive (i.e., a compression) or negative
(i.e., a tension). Thus, the over-alt tubing length change AZ is
At=lL'+lL.+-!L.+AL, (t3)
To obtain the change of length AI,, due to the Hooke's
law effect, ooe must substitute the actually etisting lorce AI., is ofteo an appreciable fractioo of 52. The value of
F. from Eq. 8 for F in Eq. 6. the chanee of average tubing temperature -\' must gen-
On the other hand, in order to obtain the chaoge of erally be based on guess-work' which results in lack of
length AZ, due to helical buckling itself, one must substi- precision in determining the total length change AI' It
tut; in Eq. 7 tbe fictitious Jorce Fl from Eq. 4 for f, and iould be desirable if some research could be conducted
the weight per unit length w from Eq. 5. which would permit determinatio[ of A, io various well
Consider now that tubing and annulus Pressures at the operations.
packer level are cbaoged by AP, and .\P", respectively'
ihese ptessure changes are considered as positive if cor- NUMERICAL VALUES USED IN ALL EXA}IPLES
responding to ao increase, and negative if corresponding to
a d""rease. Substituting Eq.8 into Eq.6, and replacing For simplicity, an example has been choseo of a high-
pressures by chaoges of pressure, we obtaio pr"rrur" ,qu""r"-""meltiot oPeratioo. This example, for
illustrating calculation procedures, wilt be used in numeri-
:r,' = - j-[r.r,
EA,l', ' -
,{,) rP, - (A, - A,t sP.\.I cat problems pertaining to various types of packers, regard-
less of whethir these packers are suitable or unsuitable for
(e) such operations. Where packers are used for squeeze oPera-
Thloughout this paper (except in a special short section), tions under conditions lor which they ale not desigoed,
it will be assumed that P, : P. prior to application of diliculties may be encountered and these will be fully
pressure changes AP, and IP,, which is almost always the predicted b,v the calculations.
case in actual problems. Therefore, the initial ictitious The following numerical values will be used in all the
force is zero. Thus, the fictitious force F, appeariog later
examples of this paper:
may be coosidered as the charge of fictitious force which,
in view of Eq.4, is equal to l,(AP, - lP,). Substituting Tubing:21'a-in. OD, 6.5 tblft, for which: ,4" = 6.49 sq
this in Eq.7 for F and substituting 19 flom Eq.5, we l, = .1.68 sq in., ,{, = t.8l sq in., R = 1.173' )e. =
in.,
obtain 0.542 lb/in. and I : l.6l in.'
Radial Tubing-to-Casing Clearance: r = 1.51 in., which
( l0) corresponds to 7-io., 3l-lb/ft casiog.
Packer: bore 3.25 in. (A, = 8.30 sQ in. ), which means a
l.L, being the length change with respect to the length of
configuration of Fig. 2; and depth 10,000 ft (L = 120,000
the tubing when laoded with P. = P".
in.).
If AP. is greater
than AP,, then there is no helical Both the tubing and the annulus are fu of i0' API
buckling, and Eq. l0 should not be used: i.e., -\4, should crude al lhe same time the tubing is initially seaied in the
be considered as zero. packer. Therea(ter, rhe crude in the tubins is displaced by
In the presence of no fluid, the only length changes to l5-lb gal cement slurrl'. as in a squeez€-cementing opera-
J 0llE. lo63
tion. Fin lly, prcssures of p, - 5,000 and p, .= 1.000 psr cantcnting opcration. thc sc:rl:i nrovcd out oi the packcr..
are applicd at thc surfnce to the tubing and the rnnulus. thus cxposing to tubing prcssure old squeezed-ofi perforo_
respectively. tions above thc packer. This preventcd application of ir
Bottom-hole pressures arc calculiltcd disregarding the sutliciently high squeeze pressure io achieve the desirerl
effecl of llow (6 = 0), which corresponds to rhe nrost !vuter shut-ofI.
scvere condition during a ccmcnting operation-namely. Ia is important to rerlize thut this calculared change of
toward the end when there is li(tle or no llow. length of 165.2 in. generally would be smaller becauie of
From these conditions, we obtilin rhe following v.rlues. iriction between the buckled string and the casing. Io this
investigaticn, the effects of friction are not taken into coo-
lnitial pressures: sideration. Therefore, the results of calculations should be
Pt : P": O, considered as a limit. ln other words, the tubing could
P, : P, = 3,800 psi. move by as much as 165.2 in., mainly in the presence of
FinaI pressures: filctors decreasing friction such as vibrations in the tubing
rnd/o. pulsations in the liquid.
P, = 5,000 Psi, Calculating with Eq.3
p. : 1,000 psi, the acrual force F, and with
Eq. 4 the fictitious force F,, we obtain F. : 37,610lb aod
P, : 12,790 psi,
P. Ft : 66,320 lb; and using F, in Eq. l, the disrance a from
= 4,300 psi.
the packer to the neutral poiot is obtaiDed. z = 3,635 ft,
Pressure changes: rvhich shows rhat most of the string is buckled.
lp, = 5,000 Psi, As stated already, a packer permitting free morioo would
ap" = 1,000 psi, not be practical for the numerical values of the example
-\P, = 6,996 Or', problem. The results of calculations pertaining to a few
.sP. : I,000 psi. cases where such packers would be practical are giveD in
Table l.
Initial densities:
p, = 0.0317 psi/in., PACKERS PERMITTING LIIVIITED iIIOTION
p. = 0.0317 Psi/in.
Consider a packer shown diagramatically in Fig.4. A
Final densities; shouldcr limits the amount of downward motion of the
p, = 0.06,19 psiii in., tubing in the packer. When the shoulde! is in coDract with
p" = 0.0317 psi,/in. the packer, slackoff at the surface subjecrs the tubing ar
the packe. to a comp.ession. This operation, which is com-
Density changes:
monly referled to as "landing the tubiog in compression",
Api = 0.0332 psi,/in., generally takes place prior to any changes of pressure aod
AP" = 0' tempelature. The problem consists of calculating the
Weights per unit length, from Eq. 5: amount of tubing motioD in the packer after pressures aod
Initial w = 0.484 lblin., temperature are changed.
Final r, : 0.640 lblin. To solve the problem, imagine that prio! to pressure
aod temperature changes, but after slackoff, the restraint
Finally, it will be assumed that the change of average at the shoulder is removed; this results in an elongation
temp€rature A, : - ZO"F (cooling). of the tubing, denoted AZ' The packer can theo be coosid-
ered as though it permitted free tubing motion, and
EXAMPLE I-PACKER PERMITTINC changes of pressure and temperature result in a change of
FREE MOTION tubing length Al calculated with Eq. 13 by previously
explained meaos. The resultant .JI" of the two length
Consider a packer which permits free motion of the changes is
tubing in the packer. As a result of the above pressure, Az. : Al + Aa' (14)
density and temperature changes, the tubing length changes Therefore, the problem may be solved is known. if la,
from its original landed value. This change is oLtained by
adding the results of substitutions of oumerical values iDto
In the event the amouot of slackoff is given io pounds
rather than in inches, f,ar must be calculated using Eqs. 6
Eqs. 9, 10, I I and 12, respectively.
and 7, in which F is taken as the slackoff force and w is
AL,= - 67.9 'n. as given in Eq. 5. The sum of lergth changes thus obtained,
Al.= - 46.1 in. IABLE I-ADDIIIONA! EXA.{IPIEs OF'IUgING A,IOVE,MENT IN A PACKEI
Atr'= - 34.6 in' lyp..,ob Prod!(i.9
AZ,:- 16.6 in. 7.i^. OO l2 lbllr
2th.ii_ aD
Atr: - 165.2 in. r0,000 fi
Thus, the total leDgth change is almost 14 ft. Actually, 9., Ibl961 Sdh Wor..
however, as will be show[ further in this paper, a packer 45'Oil rr' oir to 5,000 rt
permitting free motion is not suitable for high-pressure t.2 rb/eol 5611w.t.r
squeeze cementing, and these calculations are ooly given
0
to explxin the calculation procedure.
Itshould be noted that, as in the example under coo- 1.6p. Ctone..\, - 10'F + 20'f
sideration, the tength change AI' due to helica[ buckliog is o o
frequently an appreciable part of the total chlnge AL. Dis- - 22.0 ;^-
- I6.6 i.- - 8.3 in-
regirding lL, may result in costly failures. The authors It: - 8.3 in,

know of a well in which, during a surfactant oil-squeeze lt

,OUR:{AL OT. PETROLEU}I AECET.OLOCY


which is ocgativc, is lhe shortcning of lubing,luc to slilck' Reruroing to thc oumcricrl exrmplc, it the initiirl slack-
off. When the re:itrriot:rt thc p ckcr is rcmoved, I corres- ofl is less thao 55,500 lb, the tubing ut the eod of the
ponding elongation (i.c., i] positivc changc of length) opcration is not restrrincd by thc prcker. Consequently,
occurs; lZ: is this elongation. the actual force F., the fictitious force F, and the distance
In the cvent lL" is found to be ncgative (i.e., a shorteo- n from the packer to the neutral point are the same as in
ing) then ll, is the answer to the problem, i.e., the amount Exaorple l.
of tubing motioo in the pucker after pressures and temp- tt should be noted thal. to limit tubing motion to a
erature ire changed. On the other hand, if jf," is found small amount, one would have to generate initiauy by
to bc positive (i.e., a lengthening)' then such a lengthen- slackofr a packer-to-tubing compression close to 55,500 lb.
ing aciually cannot take place because of the shouldcr' This compression, of course, buckles the striog. After Pres-
tnitead of lengthening, a packer-to-tubing force develops. sures aod temperature are changed, this compressioo dis-
which makes the packer behave like one permitting no appears and one might think that buckling would become
free motion. This will be considered later io the paPer. less severe. Actually, the contrary holds true because at
that time the striog is buckled by the frctitious force F,,
which is the same as in Example t (i.e., 66,320 lb).
EXAIVTPLE 2-PACKER PERIVIITTING
LIIVIITED IVIOTION
PACKERS PERiltIfiING NO IVTOTION

As an example, consider that 20,000 lb had been slacked- Consider a packer, shows diagramatically in Fig. 6,
oft before ptessures and temperature are changed. Using
which permits no tubing motion in either direction. With
Eqs. 6 and 7, we obtain AI, + AI. : - 49-7 in.; therc-
such a packer the tubing can be landed either in compres-
foie, -1,2, : + 49.7 in. Pressure and temPeratute chaoges sion or tensioo.
will .esult in an additional, previously-calculated length Restraint of the tubing in the packer, after pressures
change AZ = - 165.2 in. Substiluting into Eq. 14, we ob-
and temperature are changed, results in a Packer-to-tubiDg
tain the total length chaoge.\t" : - I15 5 in (shorteoing)'
This means that the minimum length of the seals should be force denoted F,. Up to this point in the paper, F" was
zero, and the actual force F. acting oo the tubing immed'
I15.5 in. to accommodate the shortening of the tubiog.
iately above tbe packer was due only to pressures and was
Repeating similar calculatioos for several slackoffs in given by Eq. 8. ID tie presence of a packer-to-tubing force
addition to the 20,000{b value, Fig.5 has been preparcd, F,, this actuat force F.r is due both to pressures and to the
in which the minimum length of seals is ploned vs the reactioD F, of the packer on the tubiog.
initial slackoff. Frictioo is not considered aod the values (15)
shown pertain to maximum Possible tength chalges of the F., =F.+ F"
tubing. Similarly, up to this point iD tbe PaPer the fictitious
G Fig. 5 shows that: (l) with no slack-off the requiled
length of seals is 165.2 in. which is, of course, the samc
force F1, upou which buckling depends, was given by Eq. 4.
Io the case now considered, the expression of the nctitious
as in Example 1; and (2) to prevent any motioo of thc force Fr* becomes
tubing (i.e., to have theoretically a zero leogth of seals), Fr"=F,*F, (16)
initially one would have to slackoff thc tubing by 55,500
lb. If the slackoff wele greatet than 55,500 lb, the packer The packer-to-tubing force F, is important because, if
would behave like one permitting no free motion, which too largi, it could damage the Packer aDd because F, is
will be investigated later io this paper. required to calculate F.* and Fr'. K-Bowledge of the actual
As already mentioned, insumcient initial slackoff for a force F,l io the tubing immediately above the packer per-
given length of seals, or an insufficient length of seals mits calculation of the tension F, in the tubing at the
for a given slackoft, may result io costly failures. For ex'
ample, the authors know of a well in which, for produc-
tion purposes, some tubing weight bad been slacked-off on
a packer. Several molths later it was decided to ftacture
the fo.mation without going to the expense of a pulling unit
in order to slack-off the additional amount required by
calculations. When maximum fracturing pressure was
reached, the seals had not moved out of the packer but
did so a few minutes later while injection was still under-
way, breaking dowo an old set of squeezed-off perfora-
tions above the packer. A probable explanation is that, at
first, because of friction the pitch of the fust few spirals
of the helix above the packer became very short. This io-
creased the friction even more, thus preventiDg full motion
of the seals. Later, a shorteoing of the tubing due to a
gradual decrease in temperature resulted iu a pull from
above on the helically buckled tubiog, thus makiog possible
tubing motioos approachiDg those calculated on the basis of
no friction. Presence of any vibratioDs in the tubiDg or a[y
pulsations in the fluid, of course, could contribute to the
eliminatioo of the effects of frictioo.
The_case just meotioned pertains to a fracturiDg opera-
tion. Should the seals move out of the packer io a produc-
iog well, costly formatioo damage could casily result by FIc. ;-(LEl1) Fr:i.rr TcsrJc llorror {Le"-crn o. sE^!s) vJ
If,.ITI.{L SL.rcKolF.
mud invision. FIc.6-(fucsr) PrcxEn PEa.uraTr.Ic No llorro.-.
J UIVE. t96a
surfirce. Knowlcdge of thc fictitious force Fr' is necessary leprcsented by Point A on the curve of Fig. T Further-
to dcterminc whcther thc tuhing is striight or buckled and' morc, considcr that it is desired to change the length of
in the lutter case. to whxL extent. Both F.r and F/' ale the string by some given amo{nt -\1, by subjecting the
needed to determine whcther the tubing might become lower end of the tubing to an additionil force F,. The
permanentlY corkscrewed. fundamental problem consists of calculating thc magnitude
and the sign of F, (positive for compressioo, negative for
To determine F,, it is necessary to ptoceed first as in
tension). For this purpose the co-o.dinate axes in Fig. 7
rhe section "Packers Pernritting Limited N[otion' (i.e., ro are displaced to the position shown in Fig. 8 so as to move
imagine thrr the restraini at the packer is removed) and
the origin from 0 to Po.dt A, i.e., to the point reptesent-
calci.rlate the tubiog length change aZ" with Eq. 14. F, is
ing the starting condition jtrst prior to application of the
then determined as the mechanically applied force required
back to its original position iD the force F,.
to move the tubing
packer (i.e., to move it by the amount * Aa., which now As an example, let the desired length change ll, be i
will be denoted lL,) - Hence the only problem to be solved Ieogthening: therefore. the corresponding force F, will be
is to calculate F, knowing lL,. a tension. Plotting AB equal to Al, in the direction of
To calculate F, assume again a string of tubing in casing lengthening (i.e., upward), Point B is obtained. The sought
value of F, is represented by BC. If Point C is located in
io the absence of any fluid, and subjected to a force F
aoDlied at the lower end, as illustrated in Fig. l(a and b)' the curved portion of the Sraph (i.e., to the right of Point
O, as in the case of Fig. B), then the string is still buckled
i will result in rwo length chcnges given by Eqs 6 and 7. after hpplication of thc force F,, although less than before.
Thus. the over-all cha.ge, denoted AL', will be
On the other hand. if Point C were located oo the straight
\L'=--A-.F-u{rr ( l7) portion of the 8raph, such as at C,. then the string would
be straight after applicationof the force F,.
Io this equation, F is positive, i.e., a compression. For If Jt, had been a shortening, the corresponding force
negative values of F (i.e., a tension), the over-all change F, would have been a comPression arld PoiDt C would
of length will be have been located below Point A, such as at C: in Fig. 8.
f
. In this case, applicatio! of the force F, would buckle the
or': -;F (18)
striDg further.
For aoy particular tubing size aod lerglh and casing size, FiDally, comider a similar problem, but in tte presence
the coemcients of F and F in Eqs. 17 and 13 are known, of fluids. The tubing is sealed in a packer which Pelmits
and a graph of aZ' !s F (such as Fig. 7) may be prepared. free motio[, The tubing aod the aonulus are subjected at
The stiaight portioo of the curve cottesponds to Eq. 18, the packer level to pressures which are generally difiereot,
and the curved portio! OW to Eq. 17. The curved Portion the iubiog being eiiher buckled (if P, > P"), or straight
wV wilt not be used for the time 5eing, and its meaning (if P, <-P"). Consider that it is desired to chaage the
will be given later in this paPer. length of the string, from its leogth under these plessures,
-some
by given amount AZ, by subjecting the lower etrd
Consider now the same system, b,,t in the presence of oi the tubing to a mechanically applied force F, The
fluids. The force F, howevet, will still be a mechanically fundamental problem consists, as in the case of oo fluids,
applied force, i.e., not'a pressure force. It is obvious that of calculating the magnitude of this force and its sigo'
Lqi. t7 and l8 remain valid, oo condition that in Eq. l7
the weight per uoit length w be as given io Eq.5. It is proveo in the Appendix that Figs. 7 and 8 may be
Consider now, for example, that F is compresive and used to solve the problem in the preseoce of fluids on coD-

I
I
I

I
I
I

I
I

I
I
I
I
I

I
I
I

I
I
I

I
I
I
I
I

I
I

Coavc'
flc. 8-.{DDlilosrL Eotce'Ltrcttt Ctlrt..co
!-rc. ?-EoncE LExclE Cnrrcs Cunvt'
tEctt:{oLocY
,ou8f_aL Or PETRO LEt:n
dition thut: ( I ) rv be undcrstood s given by Fio 5: and F,'is obtaioed us EC {i.c...rs:').0{lO lb}. However, tne
{:) th': nlcchlnictl forcc F in Fig.7 be now rcplacctl by sign of F,' is somclvhltt confusing in Fig. lO' This may
the fictitious force F. given by eq. 'r. easily be clarilied if EC is plottcd in Fig. 9, which shows
rhaa EC is positivc (i.e., a comPression). Finally, this value
also could have been obtuined from Eq. 16.
EXAIVIPLE 3_PACKER PERMIfi tNC
NO IITOTION F,* = 66,i10 - 37,000 = l9,il0lb.
Since Fr* is positive (i.e., a comptession), the string will
For the numerical values of the examplc case used stilt be buckled after pressutcs and lemperature are
throughout this Paper, Fig. 9 sinrilar to Fig. 7 and- Fig' l0 changed.
sinrilai to Fig. a hire been Plotted for the crse where the The actual force F, acting ut the lower end of the tubing,
tubing is full of l5-tb/gal cement sturry, and the annulus is when the packer permits free tubing motion, has beeo cal-
full of 30' API crude. calculated in Example I : F. = * 37.610Ib. Using Eq. 15,
The previously calculated virlue of the nctitious force F/, the corresponding value of the actual force in the case
when fiee moti;n of the tubing is permitted, is equal to now considered is obtained: F,,' : :- 610 lb, which is a
66,320 tb. With this value, Point A is plotted in Fig' 9' small compression.
as has been explained in Fig.7.
It is frequently important to know the force in the tubing
Consider, as in the case of Example 2, that 20,000 lb at the surface. This may easily be obtained from F"' and
had been slacked-ofr before pressure and temperature are the weight of the string in air.
changed. ImagirE now that ihe restBint at the packer is Repeating similar calculations, values of the forces Fr*,
removed, and pressures and temperature changed' As calcu- F"', F, and F, have been calculated for a sequence of
lated in Example 2, this results in a shortening of l15 5-in' initial slackofis and pickups, and plotted in Fig. ll.
Therefo.e, to-bring the tubiog back to its original position
. Point D in Fig. 1l shows that, for iDitial Pickups gieater
in the packer, onJ would have to lengtheo it by.l l5-5 in '
i.e., bi ar, = + 115.5 in. Plotting thh as AB in the than 13,000 lb, the fictitious force Fr is a tensioo in ttre
direction of leogthening in Fig. lO, thc ccrrespondiug value example under consideration; therefore, the striDg does oot
of packer-to-tubing foice F" is obtained as BC-namely' buckli after pressures and temperature are chaoged. Coa-
f, = - SZ,OOO lb, the sign minus meaning that Fo-is a versely, for smalter pickuPs and for aoy initial slackoff' the
teosion. Furthermore, the corresPonding fictitious force string iD the example under consideration will buckle.
Whether the striDg is buckled or straight is ratber uo'
important io the example under coDsideratio!, which per-
)E tains to squeeze cemeltiog. The cootrary, however, may
$ !,3 hold rue in cases in which it is necessary to pass wireliDe
tools through the tubing.
To end up with a packer-to-tubing force Fo : 0, one
would have to ilitially slack-off 55,000 lb, as shown by
Point H of Fig. lt. This would be uDrealistic itr the case
of tbe example und€r consideratioD. It is interestilg to note,
however, that when F, = 0 the tubiDg is subjected to
6 exactly the same conditions as in a packer permittiog free
Z
\l or limited motioD. PoiDt J itr Fig. I I shows that the 6cti-
tious force F,' would then be equal to 66,000 lb. On the
"9
\ other hand, if the packer permitting Do motion is used
rtt
a
a

Frc. 9--Fosce.LsscrH Cn.rrce Conves-Ersrpte C.rse.


;rs
E rq.
I
, i,i I
",

:E
ll
,,/ 1 z ;nw /:
x -l ci -
I

i7e , a t)-.o
1/ rEUlNo! * rcuroe

I
aLL'.,y1
{.rl +".y.t%+.v
q
"ffi+..ffi-

G I ltilt I .'
L_iE$
LV;e
\ tlt l
v
tl E

ffi
'- I

Ftc. l0-Aoortrorlr. Fonce-Lercrn CH.rrcs CuBle-Ex,srele FIc. ll-Frr.rl Cororrror-s rf,- rHE TcBr:{c vs
C.rss. hirnr, Slrcrorr oa Plcxup.
, Ui-8. t 963
66,t
with a realistic anrount of slackotl (i.rr rnstrnce. 10,000 hcforc pressurcs and tcmpcrrturu are chunged, lnequalit.,.,
lb), then the tictitious force is much snrallcr. namcll' F," l() nrust be disrcglrdc'd lnd only Relation l9 considercd.
= 30,000 lb (Point N). with zcro slackotl (Point K), thc As shown in the Appendix, Incquality l9 then reduces to
frctitious force Fr" = 12,000 lb (compression). r (
The general conclusion drawn from this example is that
I
,"=lr**l<,,
DrFl
(23)
using a packer which prevents tubing motion results in
much less-severe buckling than when the tubing is free to in which F is the slackofl force.
move.
Charts similar to that ot Fig. I I must be prepared for EXAIVTPLE 4-PERiVI.\NENT CORKSCREWING
each difierent set of conditions (pressures, packer depth
rnd bore, etc.) to draw similar quantitative conclusions. Consider the case of a packer permitting no motion.
Values of s, after slackoff, but before the change of pres-
sures and temperature, rvere calculated with Eq. 23 and
CASES IN WHICH ANNULUS PRESSURE
plotted in Fig. l2 vs the slackoff force. For conditions fo[-
EXCEEDS TUBINC PRESSURE
lowing pressure and temperature changes, values of F..
In the e.xanrple problems solved in this paper, the final and Fr* for various initial pickups or slackofts were read
pressure was greater in the tubing than in the annulus, i.e.. from Fig. ll. Using Eqs. I9 and 20, corresponding values
P, > P,,. In wells being swabbed or produced, often P" ) of s., and.r, were calculated and plotted also in Fig. 12.
P,. Corresponding problems, which are frequently less dif- Point J in Fig. l2 indicates that, with an initial pickup
ficult, may also be solved with equations and graphs of of 13,000 lb, s, after pressures and temperature are
this paper. In these problems the fictitious force F, given changed is almost equal to 50,000 psi. This means that,
by Eq. 4 is tensile, and Point A in Figs. 7 and 8 would even in the absence of any buckling, J-55 tubing would
be located in the straight portion of the curve. be subjected by pressures alone to conditions closely ap-
proaching its yield strength (55,000 psi). Point P, for
PERIVTANENT "CORKSCREWING'' which s, : 55,000 psi, shows that a small amount of buck-
ling (namely, that due to 11,000 lb of initial slackoft)
In bending of beams, the criterion for a beam to take a would suffice to cause permanent corkscrewing after pres-
permanent set is that the greatest bending stress (i.e., the sures and temperature are changed. This is a major reason
bending stress <rD at the outer fiber) reaches the yield why the J-55 grade would not be suitable in the bottom
strength s of the material. In the case of helical buckling portion of the string.
of tubing, however, the latter is subjected to other stresses On the other hand, Point L indicates that the N-8o
in addition to the bending stresses-namely, to: (1) the grade would be suitable up to very high values of initial
longitudinal stress, equal to the actual (not the fictitious) slackoff-namely, up to 4.1,000 lb.
longitudinal force per unit of the wall cross-sectional area;
and (2) the tangential and radial stresses, due to pressures It has already been stated in this paper that, for an
inside and outside the tubing. initial slackoff of 55,500 lb, the conditions in the tubing
after pressures and temperature are changed are the same
Pressures alone produce the greatest stress at the inner
as when free motion of the tubing is permitted. Point M
wall of a tube. On the other hand, bending alone generates :
shows that for such conditions s" 93,000 psi. Therefore,
the greatest stress at the outer wall. In the presence of use of a packer permitting free or limited motioD would
both pressures and bending (i.e., buckling), yielding may
result in permanent corkscrewing of the bottom Portion
start at either wall. (It is proven in the Appendix that it
cannot start between the two walls.) For this reason, both
of an N-80 string, but not of a P-105. This is the reason
why, in the example under consideration, packers per-
Inequalities 19 and 20 must be satisfied to insure that
mitting either free or limited motion are not very suitable
permanent corkscrewing does not take place after pressures
for high-pressure squeeze-cementing operations.
and temperature are changed.
It is interesting to note that, for slackoffs greater than
55,000 Ib (points to the right of Point NI), the bending
, ={ *,
( 1e)

s, (s,
.(20)
in which ;
Dr - (2r)
I

oo=17tt'' ...
o
o
z
and
f
Fn* (22) o
cn = '-T-
,c,.
Z
The proof ot Inequalities 19 and 20 is given in the Appendix' L.rJ". o"..Lr." ^',?
In Inequalities 19 and 20, the sign of on and ao/R to
be chosen is the one which gives the greatest values for s'
an,l s,. However, if the tubing is not buckled after pres-
sures and temperature are changed (i'e', if F,* ( 0)' then &nolo j;---=-ao_ -- io
rvr,it vp rHcusrrro Pourri'i
or:0. "tc*
E]..T C()RKScRu\rI :{c'
l'rc. I l-Pan.rr.\
tnu.t,ttate permanent corkscrewing after slackofr but
]..

:{OLOGY
JOUIT:{AL OF PETROLEUTT TECfi
uolo
th n .t.: this meilns
ctlccrs ar€ Jo scverc thilt -f,, is grcxtet plained for thc crsc n - L is th:rt rn additioorl portioo of
rhit yielding \&'ould start at thc outer will of thc pipe. the curve, namely wv, must bc p(epured in Fig. 7. Pro-
Finrllt, Fig. l2 also shows thxt in the exrmple under cceding in a similar mxnncr as fo. thc proofof Eq. l7 aod
ta consideralion permtncnt corkscrcwing is more likely to using Eqs.25 and l, we obtuin
occu! aflcr pressures and temperlture are changed than
cfter initial slackofi prior to thcsc changes. :L' - - *-,F- ,rrr [?,, - f,] ( 26)

Ooe reported failure which could hrve beeo prevented' Remember that in Fig. 7 Eq. lS to plot
was used the
had the equations ot this paper beeo available, involved a rtraight portion of the graph, i e.. for values of F which
I west Okl;homr lO,oOO-ft welt in which the tubing was are negative (tensions) and Eq. t7 for values of F which
permaoently corkscrewed as a result of the combined
.
are positive (compressions). Actually, Eq. I7 is valid
efiect of high initial shckoff aod high tubing pressure. only up to F : Lw (Poiot W) , i.e., when the neutral point
1

Close to the bottom, the pitch of the helix was about 6 to is below the upper end of the string. Beyond Poiot W, the
8 ft, which is much less than that calculated with Eq. 2. neutral point is above the upper end, and Eq.26 is used
However, it should be realized that this equatioo is valid to plot Portioo Wv of the curve.
ooly within the elastic limit ol the material, and not after
yielding.
COiUBINATION S-TRINGS
It is hoped that use of the equations presented in this
paper will prevent permanently corkscrewing tubing strings Occasionally, a string of tubing may comprise sectioDs
in the future. of various sizes. Even if only one size of tubiog is used,
the tubing-to-casing cleatance / may be different due to use
CASE OF INITIAL PRESSURES P, AND of a combinatioo string of casing. Also, either the tubiDg
P, NOT EQUAL or the annulus may contail more than one fluid (for in-
stance, mud below and air aboYe), thus dividing the string
Eq. 10 pertains to the case when initial pressure P, in into sections of different weight per unit length w, given
the tubing is the same as the initiat pressure P" in the by Eq. 5. From the standpoint of calculations, all these
annulus, which is geoerally the case. If initially P, + P,' cases may be considered as combination strings.
then the calculatioos may best be made in two stePs. No detailed procedures are given in this papcr for com-
In the first step, ooe starts with actual initial values of bination strings, Generally, considering corresponding sio-
P, and P., and ends with some arbitrarily chosen 6nal gle strings by using average values based on commoo sense
values of P, = P.. This is a problem similar to the one gives results which suffice for practical PurPoses. However,
already treated, the only difference being that P, = P" at one should keep in mind that the greatest contribution due
the end instead of the beginning of the operation. to effects of buckling occurs in the portion of the stnng
0 In the second step, one starts with the afore-mentioned immediately above the Packer.
pressures Pi : P" aod ends with actual final values P, * The following consideratioos might be helpful in per-
P.. This is a problem which is exactly the same as the one forming exact calculations pertaioiDg to combination strings,
already treated.

CASE OF NEUTRAL POINT ABOVE


THE STRINC
All the preceding sections pertain to the case in which
the neutral point is located within the string, i.e., r ( l.
Ir Examples I and 2, we had n = 8,635 ft and tr = 10,000
ft. Insingle completions, the neutral point rarely is above
the upper eod of the string. In multiple completions, how-
ever, this is frequendy the case for that portion of the
long string which is between the two bottom packeIs,
Packers A and B in Fig. 13. For calculations, the upper
end of the string is considered as being at Packer A, and
the distance between packers is denoted Z. Quite frequently,
the entire length Z below Packer A may be buckled, which
means that the neutral poiDt is located above the upper
eod.
In the case of a packer permitting free motioo, the ody
modification with respect to the procedures explained for
the case a < I pertains to the length chaoge Aa. due to
helical buckling, which was given by Eq. lO. It is proveo io
the Appendix that when n ) I, the expressioa of the
length change due to helical buckling, denoted A2,., be-
comes
lr'. = lr, i(2 - i) (24)
(l where I is the following fraction.
L
(2s)
In the cases of packers permining limired or no motion,
the only modificction wirh respect to the procedures ex- I u,. l:;-Du.{L CorrPLETror P.\c(rR..
, Ui- E. le6:l
Coosidcr lirst thc c]sc of I prcker permitting trcc dcqulte for cases involving combined stresses. Nevert;te-
motion. Cllculr(ions of lL, lnd if, it."igntfoi*or,_t. less, this crirerion (as rll the olhcrs) is only
.
".e lJ" to ,",iri
\lcilos for culcrrllting thc Iength chlnge
-\L, tion, ind onc ctnnot cllim thrt permanent corkscrewinp
r;;;p;;;;il:
torccJ irc gilcn in Rcf.5. The ooly nc$ problcm pert:rins
to the Icngth chrnge l.t. tluc to heiical Uuctlng. '
w l occur at condltlons cxactl!.corresponding to Ineoualit;
l9 or Incquality :O. One mighr ;;;"";;;;;;:;.:
lf the .neutrrl point is in the lowermost section, there ""ly'b"*h"rr"ue. ,. u1f,'.
manent corkscrewing will take pt"""
is no problcm. It rhc ncutral point is in tle second ire both apprcciably less rhan the yield strength
ieciion s. Similarlv_
trom_ bottom, thcn scprr:itc culculations must be cooducted
rnere.ts no doubt thut the rubing will take a p".rrn"n,
for the lwo lowest sections. i![eans for treating the ioweri set whencver either r. or J, bccon)e appreciably greater
nlost section hitve alrexdy bcen explained (sJe ..Case than J.
of
Ncurral Point Abovc the Srring.'t. For rhe second iection
tronr bottom, onc mUst consider that lhe fictilious fotce Another criterion adequate for cases involving combined
-
suesses is that
F,, is based on maximum-shear_st.!s, ttreo.u.
Using this crirerion would lead ro calculated
F,,=L,-vL, . e7) and s, which in some cases couid be up to l5 per ";lr";';;';,
ceot griater
:],".: f,.:rq r| are givsn
cnd L, is the Iengrh of
bv Eqs. 4 and 5, respecrivety, rhan those crtcutired wirh Inequatities rS i"O id. tii.i-
rhe lowe16e51 secrion. Similar equ;_ srve research on yielding reported in the literature,n
tions and procedures woulcl bc used, has not
if needed, for secti'ons posltrvely estxblished eilher one of the theories as
the more
higher in the string. accurate. If the ma\imum-shear-stress criterion *"."
_ For packers permittins no motion, problems involvins no to.reilitv, tubing could lake a pernlanent set before"toi".
this
helical buckling mry be sotverl by'means d.".i;;;;';; rs rndrcated wirh Inequtliries l9 and lO.
the other hend. probiems tnrot,tn! i"iic"i
Iif; ,i 9"
ouc{trng become very complex and will not be treated .6. The only fictitious force coosidered in this paper is
the.one due to pressures, giveo by Eq. +. acr ually,'anotiei
hctrttous force-due to the momentum of flowing fluid_
also. conrributes to buckling. This force has bein
ASSUIlIPTIONS !1ll"o;,
-l
* rrs enecrs are negligible excepr in somedisre-gas
wells. he expression of rhis force is given in rhe
The foregoing investigarion is based upou the following Appendix.
assumptioDs.
NOMENCLATURE'
.1. The existence of couplings is disregarded in the de6-
nrtron of rrdial tubing-to_casing clearanle r. This means l, = area coffesponding to tubing ID
rt.ls assumed that along most of rhe leDgth between cou- A, = arca correspondiog to tubiDg OD
plings th€ tubing contacts the casing. E p".irn"ni,
models showed that such an assumption is valid when
*iit Ar = a're? correspooding to packer bore ID

pitch is not large compared to the distance between


the l, : cross-sectional area of the tubing wall
cou- D=
prlngs. lhls rs generclly the case close to the packer, OD of the tubing
and
not to-the neutral point. Since the lower po.iion E = Young's modulus (for steel, E : 30 X lO psi)
bured.for most of the leng(h change (or force.y, it "ont.i
is felt F = force (positive if a compression)
that the-assumprion made is justified, although calculated F. = actually existiDg pressure force at the lower end
values of AI. are slighlly too large.
of the tubing subjected to oo restraint in the
2. It is assumed that tubing buckles whenever subjected packer, given by Eq. 8
to any force, however smatt. actually, bucklin! F/ = fictitious force ia
starts.if-fictitious
this force is grerter than some minimum critica'i
presence of no restraint io the
packer, given by Eq. 4
value.' which tor Zvz -in- OD tubing is of rhe order
oi Fn = packer-to+ubing force
500 lb. As this is very small compared to fictitious forces
encounrered F, = force in the tubiog at the surface
_in acrurl problems, the assumptioa is valid. F.* = actually existing force at the lower end of tub-
3. In a hole which is not vertical. helical buckling occurs
only if the fictitious force is grerter than some m'lnimum ing, due both to pressures and packer restraint,
value," which depends on hole inclination. As drill collars given by Eq. l5
.1re heavy and stiff, only a slight deviation from vertical Fr* : 6ctitious force in presence of packer restraint,
rs sumcrent to keep them from buckling. Applying the given by Eq. 16
same
_criteriar" ro tubing which is lighr ind ilh6".l o* F/t : nctitious force for the upper of two sections
6nds for 27s -in. OD tubing, for instaoie, that helical 6uck_ of combination string of tubing
a
Iing will occur when the fictitious force exceeds 1.250 Ib if /: moment of iDertia of tubing cross-sectioo with
the hole is inclined t", and 4,000 lb if rhe hole inclination is
l0'. As these forces are small compared with those actua[y respect to its diameter: I :* ro, - d) where
encountered, the assumption is justified. In a hole inclioed as
much as 60', the corresponding threshold fictitious force DisODanddisID
is 23,000 lb, which is often not small compared to fictitious i= defined by Eq. 25
forces in actual problems. In highly inclioed holes, there- L= leDgth of the tubing
fore, the calculated eolongatiofl Aa. would frequently be ,,: distance from the lower end of the tubiDg
somewhat too lalge. (packer) to the neutral point
4. As already pointed out in several places in this paper, . = ^ir^h
friction between the helically buckled tubing and the cas-
ing is not taken into consideration.
P, = pressure inside lhe tubing at rhe packer level

5. Ioequrlities l9 and 20, pertaining to permanenr cork- ..\ll equrLions pellain ro r ryslem of consisrenL units, e.s., Dressures
rcrewing, are derived from the criterion for yielding based in p3i. fo.cs in lb..l*n,tFs and Fressu.e sradientr i. lb,cu,n. (whrch
on maximum-distortion-energy theory, which is considered is the ime s Dsi in.), weishB Der unit lensth in lb,/in.. and len6hs

JOUR:{AL OE PETROLEUX tECITtr-OLOCT:


P, - prcssurc outside lhc lubing ilt the prcker levcl ACKNOWLEDGi!I EN'T
p. = surfrcc tuhing Pressurc The tirst section of the Appendix is bascd on unpublished
o p"= surtnce innulus pressurc
R = rxtio OD/ID of the tubiog
work by H. B. Woods, Hughes Tool Co. The authors arc
grateful for permission 1q u5g ltri5 work.
r = tubing-to-casing radial clearancG ln addition, the authors wish to recognize the help of
s = vield strength the following: Charles B. lvtullin. Pan American Petroleum
: Corp., and J. w. Peret, Sun Oil Co., fo. having poioted
J, combifled stress at inner wall of tubing, defined out the need for such an investigation; Talmadge Crowe,
by Eq. 20 Baker Oil Tools, Inc., for early work; lv[. J. Epperson,
s" : combined stress at Outer wall of tubing, defned Tidewater Oil Co., W. D. Horton, Texaco, lnc., W. R.
by Eq. 19 Warren and E. C. Woodall, PaII American, for having pro-
,, = average (i.e., including couplings) weight of vided useful field information: K. A. Blenkaro, Pan Ameri-
tubing Per unit length can, for having suggested a clear means of presenting
rv = in air, same as lv.i in liquid, w is given by Eq.5 dimcult material; J. IvI. Forgotsoo, Jr., R. L. Geyer aod
lr, = weight of liquid in the tubing per unit lenglh J. A. Nluckelroy, Prn American, for constructive criticism.
weight of outside liquid displaced per unit
i
w" =
REFERENCES
length
F: coelicient of thermal expansion of the tubing L \Irebber. J. C.: ''Fundam€nul Forces Involved in lhe Use of
material (for steel, B : 6.9 x lo'll'F) Oil Vell Packers', Irans., AIIIE (1919) 186, 27I.
Lubinski, A. and Blenkarn, K. .{.: "Buckling of Tubing in
I = drop of pressure in the tubing due to flow per Pumping Yells, lts Eflects and Ileans [or Controlling It",
unit length Irons.. At\lE (I95?) 2I0, ?3.
A-L = over-all tubing length change due to flow and 3. Seldenrath, T. and Wright, .{. [.: ']'lote on Buckling of
to changes of ptessure, temperature and density, Tubing in Pumping Wells', Irans.. .{l}lE (1958) 213' 396.
given by Eq. 13 {. Klinkenberg, A.: "The Neutral Zones in Drill Pipe and Casing
and Their Sisnificance in Relation to Buckling and Collapse".
AZ, = length change of the tubing due to Hooke's law, Drill. and. Prod- Prcc., API (195I) 61.
giver by Eq. 6 Lubinski, .j..: "Influcnce oI Tension and Compression on
AI-: length change of the tubiDg due to helical Straightncss and Buckling ot Tubular Coods in Oil Wclls".
buckling, given by Eq. 7 P.oc., 3Ist .{nnual }leeting API, Prod. Sec. IV ( l9SI ) 3l' 31.
Texter. H. G.: "Various }lethods of High Ptessurc Testing
AIo: length change of the tubing due to radial Pres- Oil Countr-v Tubular flaterial", Pet. Engr. (llarch, 1953)
sure forces and flow through the tubing, giveo 25, No. 3, B-{5.
by Eq. 1l ?. Lubinski. -{.: ''A Study of the Brrckling of Rotary Drillins
String", Drtll. and Prod., Prac,, API (1950) l?8.
4L. = length change of the tubing due to tempelature 8. Lubinski, A. and Voods. H. B.: "Factors Afiecting the Angle
change, given by Eq. 12
of Inclination and Dog.Legging in Rottry Bore Holes", Drill.
aI, = length change of the tubing due to slackoff or and Prod,. Prac., -{PI ( 1953 ) 2:1.
pickup before pressure, temperature, density 9. Woods, H. B. and Lubinski. A.: "Practical Charts for Solving .
changes aod flow Problems on Hole Deviation", Drilf. and Ptod. Proc., API
(1954) 56.
AI,, = over-all tubing leogth change due to ilitial
10. Hill, R.: The ]lathematical Theory ol Plasticity, The Claren'
slackofi or pickup followed by pressurc, tem- don Press. Oxlord (1950) 15.
perature and density changes, given by Eq. 14 It. Timoshenko, S.: Strength ol LlatcriaLs, Part l, Elementaq
aL': length change of the tubiDg due to applicatioo Theory and. Pro6lems, Second Ed., D. Van Nostrand Co,, Inc.
of force F ( 1940).
JL" = 1"nO1, change due to helical buckliog when the
12. Timoshenko, S.: Srrent,lr ol llaterials, Paz //, Second Ed..
D. Van Nostrand Co., lnc. (19.11).
neutral point is above the upper end of the 13. Voods, F. S.: .ldmncei, Calculus, Cinn & Co. {193{).
st!ing I{. Southwell, R. \'.: Theory ol Elasticity, Second Ed., Oxlord
l.L, = length change necessary to bliog the end of the U. Press (19-ll ).
tubing to tbe packer
AP. = change iB pressure inside the tubiDg at the APPENDIX
packer level
AP, = change ia pressure outside the tubing at the Symbols defiaed in the "Nomenclature" will be used iD
packer level the Appendlx. Additiooal symbols, or symbols already used
Ap' = chaoge in surface tubing pressure
but with a somewhat difierent meaning, wi[ be de0ned
when fust eocountered.
Ap" = change io surface annulus pressure
Ap, : change in density of liquid in the tubiDg
LONG, WEIGHTLESS STRING OF PIPE OR
lp, : change in density of liquid in tbe anoulus RODS SUBJECTED TO COiVIPRESSION,
A, : change io average tubiog temperature BUT NO PRESSURES
p, = density of liquid in the tubitrg Let the tbllowiog desigoations be made.
p" = density of liquid io the atrtrulus L = initial length, i.e., length of the stdng oot sub-
(G v = Poissoo's ratio of the material (for steel, , jected to compression F,
=
0.3) L. = length of the srring subjected to compression F,
a. = deined by Eq. 22 a^ = length of the helir (measured along its axis),
o, = beoding stress at the outer fiber, given by o. : avelJge axiil stress (positive if compressive),
Eq. 2l F = compression along the axis of the heli\,
F. = conrprcssion irlong thc axis of th. srring,
and The. cxpression of the cu.virture of a
4 = hclix rngle, showo in Fig. I.l. three-dimensional
curve is'..
From Hooke s law, we obtain
L.=Lrt.E-!: t

. Since the a\is of rhc string is inclined with respect to


the axis of the helix. we have
. (28)
"={e;(#).(a
Substirutiog Eqs. 41, -12 and 43 inro Eq. 44, we obtain
after reductioo,
(44,

fsind L=-
A. (29) p'+ 1i'r' (45)
and Substiruting 45 inro Eq. 36, the expression o[ the
_Eq.
F.= Fsine (30)
strain energy of bending becomes
Subsrituting Eq. 29 inro Eq.28, -. 8::'r'ElL
(p' + +:r-r')- (46 )
t.=tIt-Fsindl
- t' -/- portion
I : (3r)
. In Fig. 14 a. developed of the helix correspond-
rng to one pitch is shown. From thrs,
Stiin--g.Theref ore,itiiirrainiiEiEf 6?li jiinefii,rbtTi;:
L, \/V +l:; iiaEred..-
- -ihe
.. .. -.'... ..

L^P potential energy of the force f is fz, in which js


z
ot the distance.-from the point of application of tnu force-
tJ
any arbitrarily chosen origin Iocated on a srraight Iine
, L,P oass-

V
,'--:--:--:'
p' + 4i'r' ( 32)
ing rhrough rhis poinr o[ application
force. Let the origin be the point O in""a
p"'.rff.f iJli"
Fig. t5. ft;; il;
and potential energy U, of the force F is
sind=-4 (33)
Ur = FL^ @7\
t/ p' + q''r' Substiruting
.into Eq. 47 Eqs.3l and 33 iDto Eq. 32, and tbe resutt
The strain energy of compression U. is . ,
FoL F.-,r
- 2A,E (34) ' t/p' + a--=i A,E (p' + 4;.r,) . (48)
Substituting Eqs.30 and 33 into Eq. 34, The toral potential eDergy U of rhe system is equal to
-,
the, sum of the srraiD eoergies given by Eqs. 35 a;d
-. Fo'L 46,
"'= tzltp (3s) anq rne potentral eoergy of the force F given by Eq.48.
F P'L
The strair eoergy of bending Ur is* u=- 8"-'r'EIL
7.4-EG; +-Git 'r Gi+ 4.'l).-
.. LEIE
u,= _i_ , . (36) FpL
(4e)
irl which C is the curvature of the helix.
Consider the helix, the co-ordinate axes and the The coDdition of equilibrium is obtained by minimizing
angular
parameter y shown in Fig. 15. The equations
of the ieiii Eq. ?. sivins tlre.aarus or curyature ric- tre
are ;;.::l lld:,".52,
r=tcos7 . (37)
y = rsinT . (38)
and
D
. (39) t
Let s denote the lesgth of the helix from poiDt A ro env
Poiot B oo the helix in Figs. 14 and IS. It is self_eviae-n't
that
lVi
4;'f 2t ni
"/P'+
Substituting 7 from Eq.40 into Eqs.37,3B and 39,
t\l
'v =
I 2;s
,='cot[;ffi
.i2;s
/stn l--:
la/P'+ 4t'f
(41)

(42)
!\_ "
-. -l^
and

\/p'+
P6
4='r'
,,GI-
'Eq. l8E ol Ref. 11. ,itb chans.d not3tioL FIc. l+-(LErr) DEvELoplrE:{r or rsE HELrr.
.,Rel. l8.t with chanaed notation.. The b€rdine Eoocat i! FIc, l;(CExrEs) PioJEclroxs oa rrE HELr:(.
_11, Eq.
FDh.ed hy EIC. FIc. l6-(fucBr) FoRcEs ox Tusrtc rr ,{BsE:(cE oa FLL,IDS.
66 J OUA:{AL OF PITIOLEUU TECE:{OLOGi
rhe lotrl potcntiill encrg], of thc syslefl.' ie.. h)., mJhing script: rddd to pxrirmetcrs which rrc now vxriable. The
.lu nrc:rning of thc subscript: is " t distrncc : from the oeutral
(50) point", i.e., from the point it'*hich (in the abseoce of
dp
fluids) thc longitudinal forcc is nil.
Substituting Eq.49 ioto Eq.50, we obtain after reduc- Sr:E1
tioo, (5e)
I P @' + :-"'r'l f- - (p,+ t--,a ". F + 8:r,E/p : ! 2-'r'
A,E (60)
(51 )
Eliminatiog p, between Eqs. 59 and 60,
Eq. 5l is a quadratic equation in F having two roots,
both positive. Solving for the smallest root (i.e.' the one ,t.
..= -JF/r, (61)
I corresponding to the smallest total potential eoergy), we
obtain Consider a freely suspended string of tubing subjected

,=u,rrT*|,_4;-;m) at its lower end to a compression F, as shown in Fig- I (b).


The following expression is self-evident.
(52) r, = !-r
n
62)
Irt the following assumptions be made: (l) p'is large
Consider fiIst that the oeutral point is within the string.
(, I{-, which will lntegrating Eq. 6l between the neutral point and the lower
comDared
' ro 4;'r'; and
--:21-t +-- f ) be
A,lp end of the string. the elongation lL'due to helical buckliog
I
denoted a, is small compared to unity. Since \il - " = is obtained.
| - (a/Z), Eq. 52 becomes
or"=1",.0,.
'
l'=+
(63 )
(s3) Jo
I Substituting Eq. 62 into Eq. 61, and the result into Eq. 63,
from which Eq. 2, used but oot proveB in the body of the i[tegrating and substituting Eq. I into tbe result of the
paper, is obtaioed, integration, Eq. 7 in the body of the report is obtaioed.
Substitutiog into this equation numerical values en- Consider now the case of the neutral point above the
countered i! actual problems, one finds values of p which upper end of the string. Eq. 63 still holds true, except that
always satisfy the two assumptions. the lower integlation Iimit is n - I (see Fig. l3). Pro-
Well-know[ expressions for the bendiDg moment M and ceediog as with Eq. 63 and using Eq. 25, Eq. 24 in the
ihe beoding stress o! ale body of the report is obtained.
14 = F,rc (54)
and GENERALIZATION TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT
MD THE PRESENCE OF STATIONARY FLUIDS
"' = .-i ()) )
NO FLUIDS
Substituting Eqs.45 and 54 into Eq.55, we obtaiD in Coosider a string of tubing subjected at its lower end to
view of Assumptioo 1, a compressive force F, which buckles tbe string, as shown
2r'EDt in Fig. 16. A packer creates a bending momeDt M' at the
o,:__T (56) lowei end. There is no ffuid either inside or outside the
string.
Eliminating p between Eqs. 53 and 56, Consider any cross-section XX'. Fot the sake of sim'
=
Djr (57) plicity, this cross-section is chosen in the uosupported por-
", iion of the string, i.e., below the level at which the helically
buckled string coltacts the wall of the hole. For a cross-
GENERALIZATION TOA STRING OF PIPE section located higher, the equation to be derived would
OR RODS WHICH ARE NOT WEIGHTLESS have additional terms, but the gist of the arguments and
final conclusions would be thc same.
Let € denote the relative elongation of the stritg due to The forces acling on the portioo of the striDg below XX'
helical buckling. This relative elongation may be expressed are the end force F, and the weight I/, shown io Fig. 16.
in terms of parameters of Fig. 14. Thus, The end force F, does not depend on the cboice of the
P - \FTG; cross-section; therefore, Fo is a concentrated force. On the
other hand, 17 is the weight of the portioo of the string
p
located below the cross-section XX'. As ll depends oo the
!-----a=-
r l' . -'' location of the cross-section, ,/ is a distributed force.
The beoding moment Mo at the cross-section XX' is
which becomes, in view of Assumption I stated in the equal to
preceding section, M"=M,(F)+M"(fr)+M, . (64)
2;'r' where M.(F,) aod M.(W) are moments of the forces F,
E: ---'--!-
p'
(58)
and ,7 with respect to the center 0 of the cross-section
0) For a weightless string, the pitch p and the correspoDdi!g xx'.
relative elongation s are constaot. On the other hand, if the
OUTSIDE PRESSURE
string is oot weightless, both p and e vary along the string.
To indicate this, Eqs. 53 and 58 are rcwritten with a sub- Consider now that fluid is placed in the annulus. The
liuid subjects the Shoulder b c h g (see Fig. l7a) to a pres-
'R.f. t.l. Arii.l. 19. sure force denoted I. One might think that pressure forces

, u:YE. l9 63
.rcting xll thc w:lv uround on thc laterul Surfacc a b i h lFig. 16), but also (o x conceotratcd tensilc forcc ( -. I/).
compcnsxt cich othcr. xnd thxt their resultlnt is nil. Such Fig. l7(b). which actuallv Jocs not erisl.
is not thc cxsc, howcver, bccausc Arcs a b rnd ih arc not ( - V1 : A,P, (69)
cqual. Thereforc, the lrcils on the two sidcs of the pipe
arc not equal either, and thcrc is it result.rnt S of pressure
1. Bending occurs as iI the striog lvcre sul)jcctcd not
only to a distributed downward forcc ,/ (Fig. 16, but
I
forces acting on thc lirteral surftce. Neithcr Ihe magni-
also to a distributed upwald force tV", Fig. 11(b) .
tude nor the direction of the force S is known.
The following trick is used to calculate the combioed TNSIDE PRESSURE {\O FLOW)
bending effects of forces I and S. Imagine that the packer Consider now that fluid inside rhe rubiog subjects rhe
lnd the portion of the string above XX' are removed. string to pressure forces T' and 5' (see Fig. lsa) rcting
Furthermore, imagine that the remaining portion of the oo the Shoulder b'c'h'g' and on the lateral Surface
striog is closed at both ends, as shown in Fig. l7(b), so a'b'i'h', respectively. These forces are similar ro forces I
that fluid has access all the way around the Solid and S previously considered. In additioo. there is also an
abcdeg h i, as shown in Fig. l7(b). This time, in addition upward force U'acring on rhe Area j'd'k'e'.
to pressure forces T and S, pressure forces I/ and N also act Imagioe a completely closed container (Fig. l8b) whose
at the two ends of the solid. In view of Archimedes'law, shape is the same as the inside of the buckled portion of
the resultant of all these pressure forces is an upward force the striog below XX'.In addirion to I' and S', pressure
17, equal to the weight of the displaced fluid. forces y' and N' act on the walls of this container. To
S + T + V+N : lv, , - (65 ) satisfy equilibrium cooditions, the resultant of all these
forces must be equal to the weight W, of the liquid in the
from which the moment of til, with respect to the Point O
container.
is obtained
M"(F.\ = M,(it + M,(Tt + M,(V) G6)
s'+T'+v'*N':tt; , (70)
from which we obtain
M.N :
because O.
M.(i' + i') = M"(-7) - ,rt"( ,) (^ )
This may be rewritten CoDsider the moment with respect to Point O of pressure
u.6 +Tt : M"eV) + M,(fr,) (67 ) forces actually acting on the tubing, i.e., of forces S', T'
and U'. From Eq. 7l , this moment is
Without any fluid, the bending moment at 0 is given by
Eq. 64. Additional bending moment due to fluid is given )- r -
: M"l(- -l +
M"(S', T', + U',) V',) + u'l iet"(w.)
by Eq. 67. Thus, the bending moment at 0 in the presence tl
of fluid outside of the tubing is (72)
r - -
74. = lM,(F"t nt"(- -t
v)l t M"(w + w.) + M" Without any fluid, the beoding moment at 0 is given
I
tl by Eq. 6a. Additional beoding moment due to fluid is
(68 ) given by Eq. 72. Thus, the bending moment at 0 in the
presence of fluid in the tubiEg is
By compariog Eqs. 64 and 68, the followiog conclusions t
are drawq pertaining to the bending effects of pressure act- - +
,y" = lM,(F,t M.(- -v' + u')l
-l
ing on the outside of a tubiDg set on a packer. tl
1. Bending occurs as if the string were subjected Dot + M.(fr + fr) + u" (73)
oDly to the coDceDtrated rnecharicalty apptied force F, Comparing Eqs. 64 and 73, the following coDclusioDs are

I
I
I

frc, l7-l'nEssunu Foaces Dut ro ]'Luro Ou1slot: Frc. l3-PEEssuRE Foncus Dut To FL!:|D ItstDE
oE ToBIi{c.
OF TUSINC.
i- O LOC I
,OgRSAT. OF PETROLAUN TECE
(lriri{n pcrtriniog to thc btoding cllccls (lf prcssurc ncting \' r' 'a' " r .-l't - r T'r --ii'.
insiJc il tubing Y:t on J Pilckcr. l"r'_ -\"1 -
l. Bending occu.s as it thc tubing*ere subjected not l7 '; -
i7= ' l'l6t
f, only to the conccntratcd mcchJnically lpplicd force F,
(Fig. 16), but also to a conccntratcd comprcssive force -\/n,lI is thc r.lte of nruss llow, which muy be written
.\rrt B
l- V'+ U') (Fig. 13. a and b), whose p^rt (- V't (7',t)
:tctually does not exist.
(- v' + u') : A,P, (7 4) where B is the rate of weight flow and g is the acceleratioo
of gravity.
l. Bending occuts as if tubing were subjected oot only Taking moments with respect to the Point O, and using
ro a downward distributed force ,t/ (Fig. 16), but also to Eq. 77, Eq. 76 becomes
a dowoward distributed force ,y, (Fig. lSb).
,rr.(Y+ 7+ 7l = t"r"t- 71 *B;ttt,t-;,1
GENERAL CONCLUSION
Consider any equation pertxining to buckling or straight- + iv.,(ii") (78 )
nessof a string of tubing in the absence of fluids. The con' Comparing Eq. 73 with Eq. 71, the following conclu-
clusions which may be drawn from the three preceding sions are reached.
sections are that, to generalize such an equation for the 1. Flow does not introduce anv new disftibuted force.
presence of fluids, one must: (l) replace the mechanical
The only distributed forces to be considered are those
force conceotrat€d at the lower end of the string by the re-
alrerdy present without flow. Actually, it is obvious that
sultant of this force aDd the flctitious force F/ given by frictiooal forces due to downward flow increase tensions
Eq. 4; and (2) replace the distributed force (weight) per (or decrease compressions) in the string. But these addi-
unit length lr. by w given by Eq. 5.
tional tensions do not aftect buckling any more than the
I These two rules explain all the generalizations made in tensioo due to pressure acting on the shoulder considered
the body of the paper, from the condition with no fluids in Fig. 3.
to the condition with fluids. One detail, however, requires 2. Flow iDtroduces an additional fictitious force Fi.
additional explanation. It has beeo stated that Point A in
Bu
Figs.7 and 8 represents the condition of tubiog not re- F,, :1g- (79)
straioed irl a packer, and subjected to a nctitious force Fr.
This may be undelstood by consideriog that one would Eq. 78 shows that at the packer this force is acting upward,
have to mechaoically apply a force equal to - F, to the which means that Fi is compressive.
bottom of the tubing to move the neutral point to the
lower eod. Io the case of Figs. 7 and 8, the fictitious force
In the case of upward rather than downward flow, tbe
€' F, is a fictitious compression and the string is buckled. To signs of i, and v-, are chaoged io Eqs. 75, 76 and 78. On
straighten it, one would have to mechanically appty a the other haDd, the direction of flow is reversed aod, there-
tension - Fr, after which the conditions would be repre- fore, F', is still compressive.
sented by Point O in Figs. 7 and 8. It has been checked that (except in gas wells, which are
not considered in this paper) F', never exceeds 100 lb, and
GENERALIZATION TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT is generally much smaller. For this reason the 8ctitious
THE EFFECTS OF FLUID FLOW force F'1 due to flow was not taken iBto coosideration io
the body of this paper.
Coqsider that fluid is flowiug dowDward in the tubiDg
shown in Fig. 18. Consider any cross-section XX'.'fhe
An additional effect of fluid flow is the elongatios AI"
given by Eq. 88, \vhich will now be derived.
forces, to which the fluid betweeD the packer and the cross-
sectioo XX' is subjected, are as follows: (l) the reactions Coosider the fluid in the tubing between DePths A and
(- y) and 1- 7; normal to the walt of the pipe; (2) B, the difference of depth being dl, as shown in Fig. 19.
pressure forces 1-71 and 1- F 1 wirh which fluid below
Downward flow results in a dlop of pressure dp, from p
the packer and above the cross-sectiou XX', respectively, + dp at Point A to p at Point B. Let ,r denote the drag
reaci on the portioo of the fluid under consideratioo; (3) the force per unit length exerted by the tubing on the flowing
weight W,; and (4) the resultant of tangenrial (i.e., fric- fluid. It will be assumed that the velocity and, therefore,
tional) forces \r,ith which the pipe reacts on the flowing the momentum are constaDt throughout the tubing. Thus,
fluid. These forces are uot shown in Fig. 18. Let (- V)
it is relevant to use equilibrium conditions:
denote their lesultant. udL = A, dp
The equation of momenrum of the fluid betweeo the from which, replacing dp/dL by 6,
packer aod XX' is as follows. u = A,8 ( 80)
r-
l(- S') + (- V) + (- V)
The term r. now v/il[ be coosidered as the drag force per
unit length on the tubing.
t
Let F, denote, at the depth Z, the force in the tubiDg
+ (-,V) .. (-Vt 'r'l rr:1i,-v.yrln due to drag.It is self-evident that
l dF,=-udZ=-A,6.12 (81)
('15 )
F" - - A,6L (s2)
in which i" and I are velocities at the packer aod at XX'.
respectively, and Am is the mass of fluid flowing in timc The strain 6. rt the depth Z is

r.7. t_ (s3
From Eq.75, we obtain the resultant of pressurc forccs '' = -ET.r' )

rcting on the fluid. The eloogation .!Ii due to drag is

,ullE. t 06:
. t,
\L', : tt , .(l/. ( S+ )

Substituting e. from Eq. 83 lrnd 1.z from Eq.


Eq. 84, we obtlin
I fPL
8l into
t
F'dF''
^L": EA /4 nl o
lntegrating, substitutiog F, from Eq.32 and replacing
,t,/A, by l/(R' - t), we obtaitr
.\r, - ' ' l: (sj)
2ER'- I
The pressure drop 6 per unit length also results in a
change in radial pressure forces, This in turn results in a
change of length, denoted A1"", whose expression is ob-
tained from Eq. ll by making Ap, : - 6, and ip, =
Ap,:Ap"=0.
(86)
Total change of length Aa', due to flow is
LLa,= LL', + LL"' (87)
f'l o'nec,o"
oF FLOW
| |
Substituting Eqs.85 aod 86 into Eq.87, we obtain \7
^,. _l+2v
aa',
6 L',, (88)
l-tc. l9-Dnec FoRcE oN TuBtNc
DUE ro FLUTD FLow.
= R. ,
-E
and combining with the integrated Eq. 40 of Ref. 5, we
obtaio Eq. I l. When Expressions 19 and 20 are both satisEed, yielding
cannot occur at x = .t ot at x : b. The following proof
shows that, whefl ExpressioD 19 and Expressioa 10 are
PERMANENT CORKSCREWINC both satisned, yieldiDg cannot occur inside the pipe wall
The tangential stress o. and tbe radial stress o. io ir (i.e., at @ < x ( D) either. Consider the following func-
thick-wall cylinder are" tion of r.

", =t!$5f!-+
-!!# . (se) r =?r.' = (o, - o,),* (c. * o,), * (o, - o,)'
. (93)
(
and Substitutiog Eqs. 89, 90 and 9l into Eq. 93, and taking
o, _ _a'b'\!, - P,l : +
tiP,,,- b',P",. (eo)
the second derivative of 7 with respect to r, we obtaiD
b'- a' ,' D'- a- dr - P")l't
in which a and D are the inner and the outer radii of the
-= t2ol----6=;l;*0",',
-,.^la'b'(P, (e4)
cyli[der, respectively, and.t is the radiat distance to the
point under consideration. which is positive for any value of r. Thus, the functioo r
(and, therefore, also the function s.) may have a rnioimum
The longitudinal stress o. is
but never a maximum, and the largest value of .r, must be
(91) eitheratr = aoratx = D.
",: ".*1,. After slackoff of a force F, but before pressures and
in which o. is obtained from Eq.22, and o" is given by temperature are changed, we have P, = P, : P, and Eq.
Eq. 57, generalized for the presence of fluids in Eq. 21. 19 reduces to
The last term in Eq. 9l is the beodilg stress at radial dis-
tance x. This bending stress must be added to the avetage (s '(95)
stress o, on one side of the pipe and subtracted on the ".=l-"*o.tq.
I

other, which accouots for the sign t in Eq. 91. in which


The criterion for yielding based orl m&timum-distortioo- F + F,
(96)
energy theory requires that, to avoid yielding, the following ""=__7:_.
function s. of principal slresses must be smaller thao the IvlakiDg P, = P, : P in Eq. 8, substituting into Eq. 96 and
tensile yield stren$h, at every point of the body." the lesult into Eq. 95,
l,- lF
= - o.)' + (o. - c.)'+ (o, - o, )r
s,=1. =o, l(s
I
(97)
" G1,",
(s e2)
| ^, I

Substituting Eq. 57 into Eq. 97, Relation 23 in the body of


Substituting Eqs. 89, 90 and 91 into Eq. 92, making in the paper is obtained. Actually, in presence of fluids. Eq. 2l
succession -r equal to D and @, and replacing b,za by R, should be use insteod of Eq. 57; but in Eq. i7. F,* reduces
Expressions l9 and 20 are obtained. ro F,, which here is denoted F. *Lt

, {)I: R5.\ L OF P ETRO LEU Y TECTI:IOLOCI

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