| Abstract |
Advanced geothermal drilling systems will require a bottom hole assembly (BHA) which utilizes sophisticated electronic and mechanical equipment to accomplish faster, more trouble free, "smarter" drilling. The bit drills string/formation interaction during drilling imposes complex, intermittent dynamic loading on the downhole equipment. A finite element computer code, GEODYN, is being developed to allow analysis of the structural response to the downhole equipment during drilling and to simulate the drilling phenomena (i.e. penetration, direction, etc.). Phase I GEODYN, competed early in 1984, provides the capability to model the dynamic response of a polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bit interacting with a non homogeneous formation. Succeeding development phases will allow inclusion of stabilizers and, eventually, the entire drill string in addition to facilitating drill ahead simulation. |