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Cementing How To Guide
A guide to the cementing module within Innova Engineering.
This document describes the cementing module within Innova Engineering and details the steps required to correctly utilise its functionality.
This document describes the cementing module within Innova Engineering and details the steps required to correctly utilise its functionality.
- Units: Ensure that all units are correctly selected, based on requirements.
- Options Menu – Cementing: The default flow rate in the Cementing tab is barrels per minute (bbls/min). This option allows the user to “Use flow units as pump rate”, which means the flow rate used in the cementing tab will match whatever the user has selected as the flow units from the units menu. This is useful when using the cementing section to simulate pumping pills etc.
To utilise the cementing modules functionality, the following inputs are required.
- Drill String: Required inputs are component, description, OD, ID, TJ OD, TJ ID and length. Input the assembly as accurately as possible including the drill pipe to surface (note, for the last component e.g. DP to surface, the user does not have to input the exact length as the program will do this automatically based on the calculation depth. Inputting a nominal value of 10 is fine). Note that once a component type has been selected from the dropdown menu, it is possible to right click on the line and choose "select from Library", which will open the components library. The user can then select the appropriate component and select the option to insert it directly into the drill string grid.
- Bit / Float TFA: If a float or bit has been included in the assembly, then it is important to enter the relevant TFA as this is required to calculate the pressure drop across this component, which is used in the pump pressure calculation. This is entered in the bit, casing or liner component details section.
- Well Geometry: Input casing, liner, riser and open hole details including depths and ID's. For open hole, the ID is the same as the OD. Note that the user should only enter the well geometry which is relevant for the section in question and should not enter the entire casing string here.
- Fluid Properties: Input mud weight, PV and YP. These inputs relate to the fluid in the wellbore prior to starting the cement job.
Survey Selection: Cementing calculations will be run using plan or survey data entered in the Survey Tab on the main user interface.
- If there are well plan surveys and no actual surveys, the program will automatically use the well plan.
- If there are actual surveys and no well plan surveys, the program will automatically use the actual.
- If there are both well plan and actual surveys the program will use whatever is deeper.
Data is input as measured depth, inclination and azimuth in both the Actual Surveys and Well Plan sections, and the program will generate the rest of the numbers using whichever survey calculation method has been selected (Minimum Curvature Default). Cementing calculations are not run against surveys input in the RAW surveys table. The user can either enter the plan or surveys manually, import them or copy and paste the data directly into the cells.
This section displays the various volumes, capacities and displacements of the drill string and the annulus.
The top of this section details the different capacities of the drill string components. These components are taken directly from the drill string entered in the drill string tab, and the capacities are automatically calculated based on the dimensions (OD & ID) associated with these components. The annular capacities are detailed for the components, based on each of the lines entered in the Well Geometry section of the drill string tab. NOTE: A String Depth MUST be entered for this section to display correctly.
The middle part of this section shows the various capacities, volumes and displacements for the well. NOTE: A String Depth MUST be entered for this section to display correctly.
The lower part of this section is the most important as the inputs here affect the entire cementing calculations.
- String Depth: Depth of the string when performing the cement job. The calculation will not run without a value entered here.
- Displacement Type: Select Open Ended or Close Ended. This affects the Displacement and Total Displacement calculated values.
- Flow Rate: Flow rate of cement job. This is used to calculate the Top Down, Bottoms Up and Full Circulation values. This input is not required to run the cementing calculation, as the pump rate for this is entered in the pumping schedule section.
- Pump Output: Volume pumped per stroke. Pump efficiency should be factored into this input i.e. if the book output is 0.1bbl/stroke and the pump is 95% efficient, then output should be entered as 0.095bbl/stroke. This input is essential as it is required for calculating the number of strokes in the Pumping Schedule section.
- Stroke Rate: This cell auto calculates based on the values entered for flow rate and pump output.
- Hydraulics Model: Select from Bingham, Power Law, Herschel Bulkley or Robertson Stiff. This affects the calculated Annular Pressure, Pump Pressure and ECD values in the Cementing Results dialog.
This section allows the user to quickly calculate the volumes required for the cementing operation.
Row 1 should contain the first fluid to be pumped and the user can enter the required top, and the bottom will be automatically populated. The top and bottom depths of the fluid represent where they will be in the Annulus at the end of the cementing operations. The user can then enter as many additional lines as required. It should be noted that the bottom depth of the fluid in the last row will always be equal to the String Depth value input in the Volumes section.
The user can also enter the desired excess and the volume column will update automatically to reflect this excess percentage.
Once the Cement Volumes and Cement Job Calculation sections have been input, the user can select Create, which will populate the Pumping Schedule table, with the description and calculated volumes from the Cement Volumes section. Note that this also considers the data input in the Cement Job Calculation section. It is also possible to complete this section manually. In order for the schematic to be represented correctly in the results dialog, excess volume should not be included in this section.
If the Include Spacer box is checked and then Create is selected, row one of the table will be created for a spacer, but the volume cell will need to be populated manually by the user. If the user has included a spacer in the cement volumes section, then the include spacer box should not be checked.
The Use Rheometer Readings check box toggles the Pumping Schedule table between PV, YP and 600 – 3 rpm dial reading inputs.
The user should fill in the Description, Volume, Wt, Pump Rate, and rheology values for each row. These inputs affect the calculated Annular Pressure, Pump Pressure and ECD values in the Cementing Results dialog.
For conventional cement jobs the user should enter the Shoe – Float Distance. The shoe track capacity will be automatically calculated.
If cementing with a stinger, the user should check the Cementing with inner string box and enter the Description, OD, ID and Length of the stinger string. The capacity and total capacity of the inner string will be automatically calculated.
Once the cementing tab has been completed, selecting Calculate, opens the Cementing Results Dialog.
It is suggested that data is input in the following order to increase input efficiency. This is, however, just a guide and the user can enter the data in whatever sequence they wish.
- 1.Ensure units are correctly selected, including the cementing flow units in the Options menu.
- 2.Input data in the Drill String table. Input the component, description, OD, ID, length and TJ OD / ID if applicable (Drill String, Well Geometry & Fluids Tab).
- 3.Input any relevant TFA details in the Component details table (Drill String, Well Geometry & Fluids Tab).
- 4.Input the Well Geometry (Drill String, Well Geometry & Fluids Tab).
- 5.Input the drilling Fluid Properties (Drill String, Well Geometry & Fluids Tab).
- 6.Input the survey data into the Well Plan or Actual Surveys table (Surveys Tab).
- 7.Input the String Depth (Cementing Tab).
- 8.Select the Displacement Type (Cementing Tab).
- 9.Input the Flow Rate (optional) (Cementing Tab).
- 10.Input the Pump Output (Cementing Tab).
- 11.Select the Hydraulics Model (Cementing Tab).
- 12.Input the Description, Top and Excess % for each fluid in the Cement Volumes table (Cementing Tab).
- 13.Input the Shoe – Float Distance (Cementing Tab).
- 14.Add cementing inner string Description, OD, ID and Length if applicable (Cementing Tab).
- 15.If a spacer is being included and was not added in the cement volumes section check the Include Spacer checkbox (Cementing Tab).
- 16.Select the Create button in the Pumping Schedule section (Cementing Tab).
- 17.Input the Weight (Wt), Pump Rate, fluid rheology and spacer volume (if applicable) data (Cementing Tab).
- 18.Select the Calculate button to run the cementing calculation and open the Cementing Results dialog (Cementing Tab).
Once the user has entered all the required inputs, the user selects Calculate from the Cement Job Calculation section. This runs the cementing calculation and opens the cementing results dialog.
The Cementing Results dialog displays all the information and results relevant to the cementing module. By utilising the scroll bar at the bottom of the dialog the user can view the three charts at different stages of the cement job.
This is a visual representation of the well geometry, string and fluids at a given stage in the cement job, dictated by the position selected on the scroll bar. The values used to generate this schematic (MD, component OD & ID’s and well geometry OD & ID’s) are taken from the values entered in the Drill String, Well Geometry and Fluids Tab. The fluid labels can be toggled on or off by selecting Chart Options and checking or unchecking Show Schematic Fluid Labels.
- Changes in well geometry are marked by a label and dashed line.
- Areas out with the fluid flow path are white.
- Sea water is dark blue
- Drilling mud is brown.
- Spacer is light blue.
- Lead cement is dark grey.
- Tail cement is light grey.
- Displacement fluid is a variable colour.
The Pumping Schedule chart depicts:
- The annular pressure at the string depth entered in the volumes section
- The equivalent circulating density (ECD) at the string depth entered in the volumes section
- The pump pressure at surface at a given stage in the cement job
- The Flow Rate
All the above outputs are dictated by the position selected on the scroll bar.
The X-axis can be toggled to display either Elapsed Time or Strokes by selecting Chart Options and checking or unchecking X Axis – Strokes.
The position of the slider on the scroll bar dictates the stage of the cement job depicted on the Cementing Schematic, Pumping Scheldule and ECD Snapshot. The user can click the play button for the slider to commence movement at a specific speed. This speed can be adjusted using the + and – keys to speed up and slow down the slider progression respectively. The user can then select the pause button to stop the slider at any point. The slider can also be manually dragged to any point in the scroll bar by the user.
The ECD Snapshot chart depicts the equivalent circulating density and the annular velocity, across all depths from surface to the string depth, at a given stage in the cement job, dictated by the position selected on the scroll bar.
The right-hand side of the chart shows the flow regime across all depths from surface to the string depth, at a given stage in the cement job, dictated by the position selected on the scroll bar. Red is Laminar Flow and Green is Turbulent.
Additionally, markers display the respective depths of the top of the various fluids in the annulus and any changes in the well geometry.
Within the Cementing Results dialog, the user can output the following via the file menu:
- PDF Cementing Report
- Excel Cementing Report
- Export Data
The user selects File > Print PDF Report. This generates a report which can be saved to pdf format.
The report includes all the relevant data used in the cementing calculation and the charts displayed within the Cementing Results dialog, as they appeared when the report was created.
The user selects File > Print Excel Report. This generates a report which can be saved to excel format.
The report includes all the relevant data used in the cementing calculation and the charts displayed within the Cementing Results dialog, as they appeared when the report was created. These charts are allocated their own sheet within the excel document.
This option allows the user to export the data used to generate the Pumping Schedule and ECD Snapshot Charts.
The context menu is available in every plot by right clicking anywhere on the plot. This allows the user to change certain aspects of the plot based on their requirements.
Viewing Style – Allows the user to select the desired Chart style.
Border Style – Allows the user to select the desired Border style of the chart.
Font Size – Allows the user to select the desired font size, which will affect all fonts on the chart including title and axis labels. Large, Medium or Small.
Plotting Method – Allows the user to select the way the line is plotted: Point, Line, Bar, Points + Line, Spline Area.
Data Shadows – Allows the user to select between off, shadow and 3D.
Grid Options – Allows the user to change the grid options in the chart.
Mark Data Points – Adds the data points relating to the data labels
Undo Zoom – Resets the zoom on the chart. Pressing the Z button has the same effect.
Maximise – Maximises the chart to fill the screen. Escape button exits this view.
Customization Dialog – Opens a dialog with more user definable chart options.
Export Dialogue – Allows the user to Export the chart using multiple image formats: EMF, WMF, BMP, JPG and PNG. The user has 3 options:
- Clipboard: exports directly to clipboard, allowing images to be quickly added to word, excel & PowerPoint documents
- File: Creates an image file of the chart which can be used on its own or imported into any suitable document
- Printer: Sends the chart to the printer
The user can also choose the relevant Width, Pixels and DPI to use for the export. For Clipboard and File options, Pixels is the only available selection. When Printer is selected, the Millimetres, Inches and Points options become available to select.
Last modified 2yr ago