Effect of Process Damping on Longitudinal Vibrations in Drillstrings

This paper shows the effect of process damping—caused by the interference between the cutter and the previously cut surface—on the stability of drillstrings. The method of including process damping in the calculation of the stability diagram is outlined. Previously published stability diagrams of drillstrings equipped with drag bits showed decreased stability at low cutting speeds, and that the addition of a shock absorber decreased the size of stability pockets. In this paper, we show that the introduction of process damping confirms field observations of increased stability at low speeds. We also show that a properly designed shock absorber produces large stability pockets where drilling is most effective.