Numerical Simulation Analysis of the Submarine Drilling-Rig Bit Flow-Noise Characteristics

Abstract

In cone penetration test (CPT) based on submarine drilling rigs, encountering harder soil layers requires drill-bit rotation. During this process, the flow noise generated by seawater flushing the drill bit propagates along the drill pipe with the detection signal, leading to signal distortion. To improve the accuracy of the received signal and mitigate the impact of flow noise on CPT results, numerical simulation software (Fluent 18.0) was employed to investigate the flow-noise characteristics within the drill-bit borehole during seawater flushing. The effects of key parameters on flow noise are analyzed, and structural optimization to reduce flow noise is conducted. The findings reveal that the noise in the drill-bit flow channel increases as the inlet flow velocity increases. When the flow velocity increases from 10 to 20 m/s, the maximum noise value increases by nearly 30 dB. Similarly, as the rotational speed of the drill pipe increases from 500 to 1500 rpm, the maximum noise value increases three-fold. Furthermore, increasing the inclination angle of the guide hole appropriately reduces the fluid noise in the drill-bit flow channel. For instance, increasing the inclination angle from 0 to 30° reduces the maximum noise by 18.75%. It is important to note that under different flow velocities and rotational speeds, the flow noise is primarily concentrated in the low-frequency band. These results offer valuable insights for the low-noise flow-field optimization design and have significant implications for enhancing the accuracy of wireless acoustic CPT signal reception.