Eccentric Wear Mechanism and Centralizer Layout Design in 3D Curved Wellbores

• Published in: Applied Sciences
• Main Authors: Ziming Feng, Botao Guo, Zhihui Cai, Heng Yuan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
• Subjects: sucker rod string; dynamic model; central difference method; well trajectory; 3D curved wellbore
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/3/1494

In deep oil and gas wells, sucker rod strings (SRS) frequently experience breakage and eccentric wear problems. To address this engineering challenge, this study establishes a new coupled three-dimensional (3D) mechanical-mathematical model for sucker rod strings in 3D curved wellbores. The model comprehensively considers well trajectory, rod string structure, and external excitation, analysing the influences of elastic force, inertial force, and friction force on the sucker rod micro-elements. The formulated differential equations are discretised using the central difference method to obtain the configuration of each point on SRS and the 3D distribution of stress and strain, thereby determining the eccentric wear points between the rod and tube. A numerical solution program was developed and successfully applied in the Daqing oilfield. Results from two case studies demonstrate significant improvements: for A1# well, the system efficiency increased from 16% to 20%, while for A2# well, the pump efficiency improved from 39.8% to 58.9% and system efficiency from 33.4% to 35%. The model overcomes previous limitations by considering rod torque, 3D curved tubing spatial coordinates, tubing non-anchoring effects, and forced buckling influence, providing a theoretical basis for dynamic calculations of sucker rod pumping systems in 3D curved wells.