Lubinski - Helical Buckling of Tubing Sealed in Packers
Lubinski - Helical Buckling of Tubing Sealed in Packers
Lubinski - Helical Buckling of Tubing Sealed in Packers
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
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
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-
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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
: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.
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
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
.. .. -.'... ..
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: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' )
,ullE. t 06:
. t,
\L', : tt , .(l/. ( S+ )
", =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