An Experimental Study of the Wear Characteristics of Tubulars Made from Corrosion-Resistant Alloys

Abstract

Summary Casing wear is the process of progressive loss of wall thickness owing to relative motion between the drillstring and casing. The amount of casing wear depends on conditions, such as the downhole forces, the accumulated time of contact between drillstring and casing, and the materials used. This process is complex and involves abrasive, adhesive, and corrosive wear mechanisms that are difficult to predict. To deal with the complexity of the conditions, a simple but effective wear model is used in the industry to estimate tubular wear in drilling and intervention operations. The model is based on abrasive and adhesive wear, and the effects of corrosion are not considered. In addition, an empirical part of the model known as the correction factor is based exclusively on experimental carbon-steel test data. Tubulars made of corrosion-resistant alloys (CRAs) are known to exhibit abnormal wear characteristics. A series of experiments has been designed and performed to investigate the wear characteristics of CRAs. These experiments resulted in excessive wear factors for the CRA casing samples, demonstrating their susceptibility to wear. This study finds that omitting the correction factor from the calculation procedure can greatly improve wear estimates for some CRAs. Removing the correction factor results in a linear wear-work relationship that reflects the actual wear trends from test results. However, further studies are needed to confirm correction factors and more accurate wear calculation procedures for CRA tubulars in general.