IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v334y2025ics0360544225034280.html

Wellbore instability in hot dry rock drilling under multi-field coupling---new insights from drilling string impact

Author

Listed:
  • Liu, Weiji
  • Chen, Zhongwei
  • Li, Aoyu
  • Zhu, Xiaohua

Abstract

Wellbore instability is a major challenge in hot dry rock (HDR) drilling, with drill string impacts often overlooked despite their critical role. Existing research has not fully explored the impact mechanisms between the drill string and wellbore, particularly under rock heterogeneity, initial thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) coupled damage, and random impact trajectories. This study develops an impact model incorporating heterogeneous rock properties, THM coupling, and drill string dynamics, using Mohr-Coulomb and Drucker-Prager criteria to capture wellbore failure under static and dynamic loading conditions. Analyzed the effects of drill string impacts on wellbore instability and crack propagation. Results show that focusing solely on impact effects can overestimate forces, while neglecting THM coupling may underestimate instability risks. Increased friction coefficient leads to deeper cracks and pronounced intergranular crack propagation. Rotational speed affects wellbore damage nonlinearly: low speeds exhibit prevalent intergranular and transgranular cracks, while higher speeds intensify intragranular and intergranular cracks through stress concentration. Rotational speed and friction affect the frequency and force of impacts but have minimal influence on crack paths in areas with initial THM damage. Wellbore collapse is driven by radial displacement and normal forces, with friction influencing crack propagation paths. These insights enhance understanding of drill string impacts and guide safe HDR extraction.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Weiji & Chen, Zhongwei & Li, Aoyu & Zhu, Xiaohua, 2025. "Wellbore instability in hot dry rock drilling under multi-field coupling---new insights from drilling string impact," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:334:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225034280
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.137786
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544225034280
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2025.137786?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Liu, Weiji & Li, Aoyu & Zhu, Xiaohua, 2024. "The mechanism of wellbore instability in high-temperature fractured granite formation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    2. Yang, Fujian & Wang, Guiling & Hu, Dawei & Liu, Yanguang & Zhou, Hui & Tan, Xianfeng, 2021. "Calibrations of thermo-hydro-mechanical coupling parameters for heating and water-cooling treated granite," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 544-558.
    3. Xiaolin Huan & Gao Xu & Yi Zhang & Feng Sun & Shifeng Xue, 2021. "Study on Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Coupling and the Stability of a Geothermal Wellbore Structure," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-15, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Timotheus K. T. Wolterbeek & Suzanne J. T. Hangx, 2021. "Remediation of Annular Gas Migration along Cemented Wellbores Using Reactive Mineral Fluids: Experimental Assessment of Sodium Bicarbonate and Sodium Silicate-Based Solutions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-19, November.
    2. Zhao, Peng & Liu, Jun & Elsworth, Derek, 2023. "Numerical study on a multifracture enhanced geothermal system considering matrix permeability enhancement induced by thermal unloading," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 33-44.
    3. Xue, Yi & Liu, Shuai & Chai, Junrui & Liu, Jia & Ranjith, P.G. & Cai, Chengzheng & Gao, Feng & Bai, Xue, 2023. "Effect of water-cooling shock on fracture initiation and morphology of high-temperature granite: Application of hydraulic fracturing to enhanced geothermal systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 337(C).
    4. Xu, Fuqiang & Shi, Yu & Song, Xianzhi & Wu, Wei & Song, Guofeng & Li, Shuang, 2024. "Experimental characterization of damage during geothermal production of hot dry rocks: Comprehensive effects of the damage-elastic deformation on conductivity evolution," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    5. Zhao, Le & Yuan, Chao & Shan, Ke & Gao, Mingzhong & Long, Xiting & Xu, Meng & Ao, Tianxiang & Yang, Yikun, 2025. "Expandable profile liner technology for mitigating lost circulation and wellbore instability in geothermal drilling," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    6. Li, Mingyao & Sun, Hefeng & Peng, Lei & Zuo, Jianping & Wang, Zhenbo, 2024. "Laboratory investigation on physical and mechanical behaviors of granite after heating and different cooling rates," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    7. Muhammad Zain-Ul-Abedin & Andreas Henk, 2023. "Thermal-Hydraulic-Mechanical (THM) Modelling of Short-Term Gas Storage in a Depleted Gas Reservoir—A Case Study from South Germany," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-29, April.
    8. Peng Xiao & Jun Zheng & Bin Dou & Hong Tian & Guodong Cui & Muhammad Kashif, 2021. "Mechanical Behaviors of Granite after Thermal Shock with Different Cooling Rates," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-17, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:334:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225034280. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.