Effects of the radial temperature gradient and axial conduction of drilling fluid on the wellbore temperature distribution

Abstract

Therefore, in this study, based on energy balance principle between wellbore and formation, a temperature model of drilling fluid layers was established under different grid units of wellbore condition. Meanwhile, the axial thermal conductivity temperature model of drilling fluid was established by introducing axial conduction items of drilling fluid, followed by using discrete and solving of implicit finite difference method to these mathematical models. The calculation results indicated that the error temperature of the radial and axial of drilling fluid wellbore temperature which was caused of radial temperature gradient were 0.15 and 0.2 ℃ respectively, whereas axis thermal conductivity of drilling fluid has little effect on wellbore temperature distribution. Therefore, the above results confirmed that it can ignore both of them to influence wellbore temperature distribution by established the wellbore-formation coupled transient heat transfer model. Moreover, it is the first proved the correctness of model assumptions from previous scholars based on the mathematical modeling methods, and then further provides the reliable theoretical basis for down-hole temperature distribution of oil and gas well and geothermal well.