Finite Element Analysis of Casing Material Behavior in Steam Injection Well Operations

Abstract

Casing design is one of the most important parts of the well planning in the oil and gas industry. Various factors affecting the casing material needs to be considered by the drilling engineers. Wells partaking in thermal oil recovery processes undergo extreme temperature variation and this induces high thermal stresses in the casings. Therefore, forecasting the material behavior and checking for failure mechanisms becomes highly important. This paper uses Finite Element Methods to analyze the behavior two of the frequently used materials for casing - J55 and L80 steels. Modeling the casing and application of boundary conditions are performed through Ansys Workbench. Effect of steam injection pressure and temperature on the materials is presented in this work, indicating the possibilities of failure during heating cycle. The change in diameter of the casing body due to axial restriction is also presented. This paper aims to draw special attention towards the casing design in high temperature conditions of the well.

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