Wall Contact Forces on Helically Buckled Tubulars in Inclined Wells

Abstract

Wall forces on helically buckled pipe can cause large frictional forces that may prevent movement of the pipe in steeply inclined holes. A method of analyzing the dependency of the wall contact force on axial force and hole inclination is presented. The concept of an apparent wall force is introduced to explain phenomena associated with helix pitch variations during axial force unloading in inclined wells. Results of this analysis can have applications in friction modeling of buckled pipe in inclined holes.