Simulation and Experimental Study on Cuttings-Carrying for Reverse Circulation Horizontal Directional Drilling with Dual Drill Pipes

Abstract

In the past decades, horizontal directional drilling (HDD) has been successfully used to install various pipelines in different strata. However, construction accidents such as drill-burying and drill-sticking occur occasionally when pipelines installed by HDD method in an unstable stratum such as sand cobble stratum. Recently, HDD with dual drill pipes was used to install pipelines in unstable stratum, and the effect is significant. The law of cuttings migration for HDD with dual drill pipes is still unclear. Therefore, it is necessary to study the law of cuttings migration in reverse circulation with dual drill pipes. This study performs numerical simulations and experimental research on the cuttings-carrying process in reverse circulation directional drilling with dual drill pipes. Based on the assumption of dual concentric pipes, simulations of fluid-solid two-phase flows are conducted in different flow channels between the inner and outer drill pipes. An experimental cuttings-carrying model is then established. By combining the results of the numerical simulations and experimental investigation, the hydraulic parameters of the dual drill pipe system are optimized, and the rationalities of the drill tool design and the grading selection are validated. The results of this study provide a reference cuttings-carrying model during reverse circulation HDD with dual drill pipes.