Quartz School for Well Site Supervisors

Module 8
Directional Drilling

Section 9
Basic Mathematics
for DD Calculations
The Basics

What is the relationship between

Circumference, Radius & ?
We know that :

Circumference = 2R= D = 360ARC

Therefore:
360 = 2R
360 / 2 = R
180 = R
180 / = R
1 unit of Radius = 1 Radian (Ra)
2 Initials 180 / = Ra = 57.2958
Build Up Rate

Where does the equation for Build Up Rate come from?

Build Up Rate is the Arc of a circle divided by the

Circumference:
360 / Circumference = BUR
360 / (2 x x Rc) = BUR
180 / ( x Rc) = BUR
Because we prefer to work in whole numbers, we
need to multiply this value by the unit length. For
feet we use a 100 length as a unit (i.e. degrees
3 Initials per 100)
Build Up Rate

Where does the equation for Build Up Rate come from?

This now makes our BUR equation:

BUR (in / 100)= 180 x 100 / ( x Rc)

With Metric wells the unit length is usually 30m.
For this type of well:

BUR (in / 30m)= 180 x 30 / ( x Rc)

A derivative of this equation can be used to

find Radius from a BUR:

4 Initials
Rc= 180 x 100 / ( x BUR)
Build Up Rate
Be aware of the units you are working in!!!!
Some clients use / 10m. PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL!!
See Quest below!

Quest no. : 20070123194025

DD had not noticed that the required doglegs in the plan were 2.5/10m
but thought it was 2.5/30m. Therefore the needed doglegs were not
achieved and the well was not landed horizontal with in the target boundaries.

Non-Productive Time Total 480.0 K

5 Initials
 Arc Lengths & Angles

Given that we know : Circumference = 2R = 360 Arc

Arc AB will be a fraction of the circumference,
the ratio of this fraction will be the Arc angle
divided by the Circumference Arc (360):
Arc AB = 2R x / 360
Arc AB = R x /180
With:
BUR (in / 100)= 180 x 100 / ( x Rc)
We can derive:
6 Initials Arc AB = x 100 / BUR
 Radius of Curvature Projection
We need Radius of Curvature Projection primarily when we are
landing horizontal wells. This gives a relationship between
Inclinations, BURs and either TVD or Displacement.
If we consider the Arc AD we know that:
CD = Rc (radius of curvature)
We can find TVD:
TVD = BD = Rc x Sin
And the Displacement
Disp = AB = Rc-Rc x Cos
7 Initials = Rc(1 Cos )
Radius of Curvature Projection

When we compare two points on the curve:

If we consider the Arc DF we know that:

TVD = XF = EF -BD =Rc x Sin I2 Rc x Sin I1

= Rc (Sin I2 -Sin I1)
= (180 x 100) x (Sin I2 -Sin I1) / ( x BUR )
And the Displacement

Disp = DX = CB -CE = (Rc x CosI1)-(Rc x Cos I2 )

= Rc (CosI1- CosI2)
= (180 x 100 ) x (CosI1- CosI2) /( x BUR)
8 Initials
Radius of Curvature Projection

When we compare two points on the curve:

If we consider the Arc DF we know that:

Arc DF = x 100 / BUR

is the difference between the two inclinations so:

Arc DF = ( I2 - I1 ) x 100 / BUR

9 Initials