Well Casing

It is the process of dropping metal pipes into the wellbore to provide the
necessary support to the well wall.

1-Function of Casing
Casing provides several important functions in drilling and completing a
well. Such as :
1- prevent collapse of the borehole during drilling
2- Prevent contamination of near-surface fresh water zones
3- To provide a passage for hydrocarbon fluids.
4- To provide a hole of Known diameter and depth to facilitate the
running of testing and completion equipment
5- isolates the wellbore fluids from the subsurface formations and
formation fluids.
6- Enables the safe control of formation pressure.

2- Casing Types

Casing pipes divided into several types depend on its uses and
formation zones . These types include

a- Conductor casing
- Sizes from 18 5/8 in to 30 in

- is needed to circulate the drilling fluid to the shale shakers

without eroding the shallow sediments below the rig and rig
foundations when drilling is initiated
 - protects the subsequent casing strings from corrosion and may
be used to support some of the well load structurally

-A diverter system can be installed on the conductor to divert flow

from rig personnel and equipment in case of an unexpected influx
of formation fluids to surface-casing depth during drilling.

b- Surface casing
- Sizes from 13 3/8 in

-prevents cave-in of unconsolidated weaker near-surface sediments

and protects the shallow freshwater sands from contamination.
- supports and protects from corrosion any subsequent casing
strings run in the well.

c- Intermediate casing
- Sizes 9 5/8 in
Is usually required in deeper wells that; penetrate abnormally pressured
formations, lost circulation zones, unstable shale sections, or salt
sections.
 d- Production casing
- Sizes from 5 in
- - is usually the final casing string set in a well
- provides protection for the environment in the event of a failure of
the tubing string during production operations
- enables the production tubing to be replaced or repaired later in the
life of a well.
3- Casing program

The process of casing the oil wells does not carried out in a single
step, but it is carried out in multiple steps. These steps include
1-Conductor casing

2- Surface casing
3- Intermediate casing
 4-Production casing

-
4- Casing Standardization
API and ISO have developed standards for casing that have been
accepted internationally by the petroleum-producing industry.

a- Grade
API and ISO have adopted a grade designation for casing to define
the strength characteristics of the pipe. The grade code consists of a
letter followed by a number.
b- Chemical Requirements
The steel used in casing and couplings must conform to certain
chemical requirements
 3- Dimensions
The API and ISO standards recognize three length ranges for casing.
Range 1 (R-1) includes joint lengths from 16 to 25 ft. Range 2 (R-2)
covers the 25- to 34-ft range, and Range 3 (R-3) the 34- to 48 ft range.

5-Casing Strength Properties

Many of the performance properties of casings are based on the strength
of the steel. It is important to understand how the strength of a steel is
measured.

1- Tensile Test ( yield strength)

The strength of a material is its ability to support a load. In this test, a
machined test specimen with a gauge length of known cross-sectional
area is pulled in tension until failure.
The following equations are used to calculate Tensile stress (yield
strength) value
Fa = applied load ( axial force )

A = Cross-sectional area
At relatively low values of strain, the relation between stress and strain
is linear for many materials, including most steels. This relationship is
described by Hooke’s law:

E = elastic modulus , also known as Young’s modulus

The elastic modulus of steel is approximately 30,000 ksi.
At the beginning of a tensile test, the deformation (strain) of the
specimen increases linearly with the applied load (stress). At these loads,
the specimen exhibits elastic behavior; if the load is removed, the
specimen returns to its original length along the same stress-strain path.
At a certain strain, the specimen deviates from the linear stress-strain
relationship. At slightly higher strain, the specimen begins to experience
permanent plastic deformation with increasing load. This transition point
is called the elastic limit or yield strength.

2- Hardness
hardness is the ability of a material to resist indentation. The size of the
indentation is used to calculate the hardness value. Hardness is a useful
property because it correlates with tensile strength. High-hardness steels
also have high strength. Because hardness indentations are small,
hardness measurements are frequently used to characterize local
variations in material properties.

The following table includes typical hardness ranges for some API and
ISO grades.
 3- Toughness
It is ability to absorb energy and resist brittle fracture.

Brittle fracture is catastrophic and can be manifested at stresses below

the yield strength of the material

Generally, toughness decreases with increasing yield strength.

This energy is a measure of the toughness of the material and is called

the Charpy impact energy or Charpy toughness. Toughness is measured
in ft-lbf, and high impact energy indicates high toughness.
 4- Drift diameter
drift diameter—the minimum mandrel diameter that must pass
unobstructed through the pipe. The drift mandrel is not long enough to
ensure a straight pipe, but it will ensure the passage of a bit size that is
less than the drift diameter. Drift mandrels have an OD that is
determined by subtracting a given tolerance from the calculated ID. The
tolerance used to determine the drift-mandrel diameter varies depending
on casing size (Table 7.3).
Drift diameter = ID – constant value (in)

Inside diameter (ID) = out side diameter(OD) – 2 [thickness (t)]

 5- Casing Tension Strength
According API TR 5C3 (2008) defines pipe-body tenion strength
as the axial load in the tube.

The pipe-body tension strength can be expressed as

dn = OD (out side diameter) ( in)

d= ID (Inside diameter) ( in)

Ften = Pipe body tension strength (Ibf)

yield = minimum yield strength (Psi)

6- Casing Internal Pressure Resistance

It is the minimum internal yield pressure for tubular. Sometimes called

burst-resistance Or an “API burst” calculation. used the Barlow
equation to determine the minimum internal yield pressure(burst-
resistance ) for tubular.

where the wall-thickness correction factor is f = 0.875 for standard API

tubular .
 7- Casing Collapse Resistance
The collapse of a steel pipe tube from external pressure is a very
complex phenomenon and much more difficult to calculate .
The reason for this is that collapse is an instability type of failure in
many cases and is sensitive to many factors such as the ratio of tube
diameter to wall thickness, yield strength, type of steel heat treatment,
and localized wall reduction.
Four modes collapse-pressure formulas proposed by the API are listed
here in order of increasing dn/t ratio, as shown in

- Yield-strength collapse
· Plastic collapse
· Transition collapse
· Elastic collapse
Yield-Strength Collapse-Pressure Formula

Plastic-Collapse Pressure Formula

Transition-Collapse Pressure Formula

Elastic-Collapse Pressure Formula

From figure , the transition between the three modes of collapse only
depend on different ratios of (dn/t ) ,from this figure ,
if thin tube (large dn/t) the collapse failure mode is expected to be
elastic.
As the ratio dn/t decreases or as the pipe become thicker the collapse
failure mode change to other types as shown in the figure.
 8- Effect of Bending
When a casing is forced to bend, the axial tension on the convex side
of the bend can increase greatly. On the other hand, , the axial stress
caused by the weight of the pipe is reduced. Axial stress is also
significantly affected by increased friction between the casing and the
borehole wall.
The maximum increase in axial stress,b , on the convex side of the pipe
is given by Crandall and Dahl (1959).

K= the dogleg severity (is the change in angle in degrees over the
borehole length) .

The pipe is assumed to be steel, this equation simplifies to

It is often convenient to express the increased axial stress caused by

bending in terms of an equivalent axial force, Fab, where

The area of steel, As, can be expressed conveniently as the weight per
foot of pipe divided by the density of steel
For common field units, Eq. 7.28 becomes

wp is the weight per foot of pipe in air

 9- Torsion
The torsional shear stress ( ) acting in the circumferential direction at
a radius at some point in the pipe-body wall thickness is

Jp = polar moment of inertia

Mt= makeup torque

r= the radius
 6-Casing accessories
1- Guide shoes
A guide shoe is used to guide the casing through the hole, avoiding
jamming the casing in washed-out zones, or in deviated wells. It can be a
simple guide or may contain a valve . When a guide shoe contains a
valve element it is described as a float shoe.
 2- Float Collars
A float collar is a one way valve placed at one or two joints above the
shoe. The float collar provides the same functions as a float shoe by
preventing fluid back flow into the casing.
The distance between the shoe and float collar is called Shoe Track.
 3- Centralizers

A centralizer is a mechanical device attached to the outside of casing.

The primary purpose of this equipment is to center the casing in the hole
and provide a uniform flow passage with relatively equal frictional
pressure losses surrounding the casing. Another major function of
centralizers in a deviated hole is to help prevent differential pipe
sticking.
4- Scratchers
Scratchers are designed to clean mud-filter cake off the wall of the wellbore when the
casing is rotated. Scratchers help remove filter cake and prepare the formation for
bonding with the cement.