Penetration of tubulars into horizontal oil wells

Abstract

Penetration of tubulars into horizontal oil wells is investigated in this work. Locking of the tubulars by frictional forces alone is modelled by inserting small diameter rubber rods into horizontal acrylic tubes. Three different regions of the penetrating rod are described: the initial straight section, followed by sinusoidal deformations with gradually decreasing lengths and increasing amplitudes, which finally develop into helical deformations with subsequent lock-up. The effect of the insertion velocity is also investigated. A simplified model is developed, which is in reasonable agreement with experimental data.