Measurement While Drilling Method for Estimating the Uniaxial Compressive Strength of Rocks Considering Frictional Dissipation Energy
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 24, Issue 11
Abstract
Relationships between drilling parameters and the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of rocks are typically established through measurement while drilling (MWD) by analyzing either drilling speed or specific energy. This study enhances the commonly utilized specific energy formula by considering the frictional dissipation energy of the drill bit, along with the initial thrust and torque exerted by the drilling machines. A novel specific energy index, ηp, optimized for rotary drilling applications, was introduced. The modified expressions significantly mitigate the impact of variations in drilling parameters on the specific energy. Employing the concept of a minimum specific energy coefficient, a model was developed that directly relates drilling parameters to the UCS of rocks. An iterative solution method for determining the minimum specific energy coefficient was provided. Extensive MWD tests on intact granite samples, conducted on a specially developed indoor drilling test platform, facilitated the calibration of the minimum specific energy coefficient. The model’s efficacy in UCS estimation was further validated through additional MWD tests on sandstone and limestone. For sandstone, the model’s estimated UCS showed a relative error (RE) ranging from 0.62% to 21.22%, a mean relative error of 11.7%, and a maximum absolute error of 9.75 MPa. Limestone tests revealed an RE range of 1.99%–12.86%, with absolute errors between 2.53 and 16.4 MPa. The UCSs of sandstone and limestone were estimated to lie between 39.65 and 55.71 MPa and 113.29 and 143.90 MPa, respectively, demonstrating close alignment with the results of uniaxial compressive strength tests and confirming the model’s accuracy and reliability for UCS prediction using MWD data.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The study was financially supported by the Traffic Science and Technology Project of Yunnan Province, China [Grant No. (2018)-18, Grant No. (2020)-74, and Grant No. (2020)-98]. We also express our heartfelt thanks to the editors and reviewers for providing very valuable suggestions to improve the quality of our manuscript.
Author contributions: Xu Cheng: Investigation, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Testing, Visualization, Software, Writing—original draft; Hua Tang: Investigation, Data curation, Supervision, Funding acquisition, Project administration; Zhenjun Wu: Investigation, Data curation, Writing—review and editing, Supervision, Funding acquisition, Conceptualization; Hui Qin: Data curation, Validation, Testing; Yonghui Zhang: Writing—review and editing, Validation.
Notation
The following symbols are used in this paper:
- E
- elastic modulus of the rock;
- F, F0
- thrust and initial thrust, respectively;
- M, M0
- torque and initial torque, respectively;
- N
- rotational speed;
- r, r1, r2
- radius of the drill bit, the outer radius of the core drill bit, and the inner radius of the core drill bit, respectively;
- t
- drilling time;
- V
- volume of the drilled rock;
- v
- drilling speed;
- WI, Ws, Wf
- energy input from the drilling machines, the energy expended for rock breaking, and the energy dissipated due to friction, respectively;
- xi, yi
- actual rock’s UCS and the model-estimated rock’s UCS, respectively;
- α
- density of diamond particles on the drill bit's surface;
- β, ζ
- specific energy coefficients;
- η, ηr, ηp, ηmin
- Teale’s specific energy, Yaşar’s specific energy, specific energy in this work, and minimum specific energy, respectively;
- μ
- coefficient of friction between diamond and rock; and
- σc
- UCS of the rock.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 24 • Issue 11 • November 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 2, 2023
Accepted: Jun 5, 2024
Published online: Sep 13, 2024
Published in print: Nov 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Feb 13, 2025
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Compressive strength
- Construction engineering
- Construction methods
- Drilling
- Energy dissipation
- Energy measurement
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering materials (by type)
- Engineering mechanics
- Errors (statistics)
- Limestone
- Material mechanics
- Material properties
- Materials engineering
- Mathematics
- Measurement (by type)
- Sandstone
- Statistics
- Stones
- Strength of materials
- Thermodynamics
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