Numerical and experimental investigation on the depressurization capacity of a new type of depressure-dominated jet mill bit

Efficient cuttings transport and improving rate of penetration (ROP) are two major challenges in horizontal drilling and extended reach drilling. A type of jet mill bit (JMB) may provide an opportunity to catch the two birds with one stone: not only enhancing cuttings transport efficiency but also improving ROP by depressuring at the bottom hole. In this paper, the JMB is further improved and a new type of depressure-dominated JMB is presented; meanwhile, the depressurization capacity of the depressure-dominated JMB is investigated by numerical simulation and experiment. The numerical study shows that low flow-rate ratio helps to enhance the depressurization capacity of the depressure-dominated JMB; for both depressurization and bottom hole cleaning concern, the flow-rate ratio is suggested to be set at approximately 1:1. With all other parameter values being constant, lower dimensionless nozzle-to-throat-area ratio may result in higher depressurization capacity and better bottom hole cleaning, and the optimal dimensionless nozzle-to-throat-area ratio is at approximately 0.15. Experiments also indicate that reducing the dimensionless flow-rate ratio may help to increase the depressurization capacity of the depressure-dominated JMB. This work provides drilling engineers with a promising tool to improve ROP.