JUSTIFICATION OF THE POSSIBILITY OF USING THE INTERVAL PURGE METHOD OF INTERVAL BLOWING WHEN DRILLING HORIZONTAL WELLS WITH AIR HAMMERS

Abstract

The paper presents theoretical and experimental studies on determining the parameters of the pneumatic system when drilling horizontal wells with an air hammer with blowing. It considers the process of pneumatic transporting of particles in a vertical and horizontal well and determines the main negative factors affecting the movement of particles. According to known methods, the required air flow rate in the pneumatic transport system for the movement of coal particles was calculated. A simulation model of a pneumatic transmission system for drilling with an air hammer was built, on which the dependences of the air flow rate on the well parameters and air consumption were established. Evaluation of the efficiency of sludge transportation for this model has been carried out. We established that with a decrease in air consumption the amount of deposited particles increases, which increases the risk of clogging the well. To prevent this negative factor, a method is proposed to improve the quality of well cleaning using interval blowing. The study shows that with the certain parameters of the pneumatic injectors and the performance of the compressor unit it is possible to achieve an airflow sufficient for the operation of the pneumatic hammer. This method is applicable to existing drilling rig designs with minimal drill rod modifications. According to the criteria introduced, the effectiveness of the proposed method was determined. Thus, the results obtained confirmed the possibility of using the method of interval blowing of a horizontal well when drilling with an air hammer.