PETE 411

Well Drilling

Lesson 17
Casing Design
1

Casing Design
Why Run Casing?
Types of Casing Strings
Classification of Casing
Wellheads
Burst, Collapse and Tension
Example
Effect of Axial Tension on Collapse Strength
Example
2

Read Applied Drilling Engineering, Ch.7

HW #9

Due 10-18-02

Casing Design
What is casing?

Casing

Why run casing?

Cement

1. To prevent the hole from caving in

2. Onshore - to prevent contamination of
fresh water sands
3. To prevent water migration to
producing formation
4

Casing Design -

Why run casing, contd

4. To confine production to the wellbore

5. To control pressures during drilling
6. To provide an acceptable environment for
subsurface equipment in producing wells
7. To enhance the probability of drilling to total
depth (TD)
e.g., you need 14 ppg to control a lower zone,
but an upper zone will fracture at 12 lb/gal.
What do you do?
5

Types of Strings of Casing

1. Drive pipe or structural pile

Diameter

Example

16-60

30

16-48

20

8 5/8-20

13 3/8

{Gulf Coast and offshore only}

150-300 below mudline.

2. Conductor string. 100 - 1,600

(BML)

3. Surface pipe. 2,000 - 4,000

(BML)

Types of Strings of Casing

Diameter

4. Intermediate String
5. Production String (Csg.)

7 5/8-13 3/8
4 1/2-9 5/8

Example
9 5/8
7

6. Liner(s)
7. Tubing String(s)

Example Hole and String Sizes (in)

Hole Size
36
26

Pipe Size

Structural casing
Conductor string

17 1/2

Surface pipe

12 1/4

IntermediateString

8 3/4

Production Liner

30
20

13 3/8
9 5/8
7
8

Example Hole and String Sizes (in)

Hole Size
36
26

Pipe Size

Structural casing
Conductor string

17 1/2

Surface pipe

12 1/4

IntermediateString

8 3/4

Production Liner

30
20

13 3/8
9 5/8
7
9

Example Hole and String Sizes (in)

Structural casing

Mudline

Conductor string
250
1,000

Surface pipe
IntermediateString
Production Liner

4,000

10

Classification of CSG.
1. Outside diameter of pipe

(e.g. 9 5/8)

2. Wall thickness

(e.g. 1/2)

3. Grade of material

(e.g. N-80)

4. Type to threads and couplings

(e.g. API LCSG)

5. Length of each joint (RANGE)

(e.g. Range 3)

6. Nominal weight

(Avg. wt/ft incl. Wt. Coupling)

(e.g. 47 lb/ft)
11

12

Length of Casing Joints

RANGE

16-25 ft

RANGE

25-34 ft

RANGE

> 34 ft.

13

Casing Threads and Couplings

API round threads - short

{ CSG }

API round thread - long

{ LCSG }

Buttress

{ BCSG }

Extreme line
Other

{ XCSG }

See Halliburton Book...

14

API Design Factors (typical)

Required

Design

10,000 psi

Collapse 1.125

11,250 psi

100,000 lbf

Tension

1.8

180,000 lbf

10,000 psi

Burst

1.1

11,000 psi
15

Abnormal

Normal Pore Pressure

0.433 - 0.465 psi/ft

Abnormal Pore Pressure

gp > normal
16

Design from bottom

17

Press. Gauge
Wing Valve

X-mas Tree
Choke Box

Master
Valves

Wellhead
Hang Csg. Strings
Provide Seals
Control Production
from Well

18

Wellhead

19

Wellhead

20

Casing Design
Tension

Tension
Depth

Burst
Collapse

Collapse
Burst:
Burst
Collapse:
Tension:

STRESS
Assume full reservoir pressure all along the wellbore.
Hydrostatic pressure increases with depth
Tensile stress due to weight of string is highest at top

21

Casing Design
Collapse (from external pressure)

Yield Strength Collapse

Plastic Collapse
Transition Collapse
Elastic Collapse

Collapse pressure is affected by axial stress

22

Casing Design - Collapse

23

Casing Design - Tension

24

Casing Design - Burst

(from internal pressure)
Internal Yield Pressure for pipe
Internal Yield Pressure for couplings
Internal pressure leak resistance

Internal
Pressure

25

Casing Design - Burst

Example 1
Design a 7 Csg. String to 10,000 ft.
Pore pressure gradient = 0.5 psi/ft
Design factor, Ni=1.1
Design for burst only.
26

Burst Example
1. Calculate probable reservoir pressure.

pres

psi
0.5
* 10,000 ft 5,000 psi
ft

2. Calculate required pipe internal yield

pressure rating

pi pres * Ni 5,000 * 1.1 5,500 psi

27

Example
3. Select the appropriate csg. grade and wt.
from the Halliburton Cementing tables :
Burst Pressure required = 5,500 psi
7, J-55, 26 lb/ft has BURST Rating of 4,980 psi
7, N-80, 23 lb/ft has BURST Rating of 6,340 psi
7, N-80, 26 lb/ft has BURST Rating of 7,249 psi
Use N-80 Csg., 23 lb/ft
28

29

23 lb/ft
26 lb/ft

N-80

30

Collapse Pressure
The following factors are important:
The collapse pressure resistance of a pipe
depends on the axial stress
There are different types of collapse
failure

31

Collapse Pressure
There are four different types of collapse
pressure, each with its own equation for
calculating the collapse resistance:
Yield strength collapse

Plastic collapse
Transition collapse
Elastic collapse
32

Casing Design
Collapse pressure - with axial stress
1.

YPA YP 1 0.75

SA

YP

1/ 2

SA

0.5
YP

YPA = yield strength of axial stress

equivalent grade, psi
YP = minimum yield strength of pipe, psi
SA = Axial stress, psi (tension is positive)
33

Casing Design - Collapse

2. Calculate D/t to determine proper equation
to use for calculating the collapse pressure

Yield Strength
Collapse :

PYP

1

t

2 Yp
D 2

Plastic Collapse:

A
Pp Yp
B C
D

34

Casing Design - Collapse, contd

Transition
Collapse:

F
PT Yp
G
D

Elastic
Collapse:

46.95 X10 6

PE

t 1

35

Casing Design - Collapse

If Axial Tension is Zero:
Yield Strength

Plastic

Transition

Elastic

J-55

14.81

25.01

37.31

N-80

13.38

22.47

31.02

P-110

12.44

20.41

26.22

(D / t )
36

Example 2
Determine the collapse strength of 5 1/2
O.D., 14.00 #/ft J-55 casing under zero
axial load.
1. Calculate
the D/t ratio:

D
5.500

22.54
1
t
5.500 5.012
2

From Halliburton book

37

Example 2
2. Check the mode of collapse

D
22.54
t

Table on p.35 (above) shows that,

for J-55 pipe,
with 14.81 < D/t < 25.01
the mode of failure is plastic collapse.

38

Example 2
The plastic collapse is calculated from:

Pp Yp
B C
D/t

2.991

55,000
0.0541 1,206
22.54

Pp 3,117 psi

Halliburton Tables
rounds off to 3,120 psi
39

Example 3
Determine the collapse strength for a 5 1/2 O.D.,
14.00 #/ft, J-55 casing under axial load of 100,000
lbs
The axial tension will reduce the collapse pressure
as follows:

YPA

SA

1 0.75
Y
p

SA

0 .5
Y
p

YP

FA
100,000
SA

24,820 psi
Area 5.52 5.012 2
4
40

Example 3 contd

YPA

SA

1 0.75
Y
p

S A
YP
0.5
Y
p

The axial tension will reduce the collapse

pressure rating to:

YPA

24,820
1 0.75

55,000

0 .5

24,820
55,000
55,000

38,216 psi

Here the axial load decreased the J-55

rating to an equivalent J-38.2 rating
41

Example 3 - contd

Pp YPA
B C
D/t

2.945
2
38,216
4.557 x10 700.43 2,551
22.54

Pp 2,550 psi

compared to 3,117 psi with no axial stress!

42

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