Nonlinear Pressure Evolution in Wellbore During the Tubing Conveyed Perforation Process

Abstract

With increasing wellbore depth, the environmental conditions become progressively more severe, characterized by elevated temperatures and pressures. Consequently, the pressure variations within the well induced by Tubing Conveyed Perforation (TCP) operations exhibit a more pronounced intensity. These nonlinear pressure fluctuations generate significant impact loads at the bottom of the perforating gun, which can cause failure of the perforating tubing. A transient nonlinear pressure field model of perforation explosion was established based on hydraulic-mechanical coupling to effectively control the risk of accidents. The model considers the effects of several hundred perforation charges and their precise placement in relation to blind holes, thus taking into account the impact of shot density. As a result, the model more accurately reflects actual field conditions. The study investigated the evolution of nonlinear pressure fields at different positions of the entire tubing under perforation explosion and analyzed the influence of different factors on nonlinear pressure fluctuations at the bottom of the perforating gun. The results showed that the peak pressure of the perforation section was much higher than that of the tubing section and the rathole section, maintaining at approximately 200 MPa. The pressure wave attenuated to the initial wellbore pressure of about 80 MPa only seven meters away from the perforation section center. The peak pressure at the bottom of the perforating gun was positively correlated with the initial wellbore pressure, perforating fluid density, shot density, and quantity of explosive. When the explosive mass was the same, RDX explosive in RDX, HMX, HNS, and TNT caused the largest peak pressure at the bottom of the perforating gun, with TNT causing the smallest. These results provided guidance for the prediction of TCP wellbore nonlinear pressure fluctuation.