A Low-cost SINS-based MWD Method for Directional Drilling Applications

Abstract

In oil and gas drilling applications, the need to continually survey the trajectory between stationary survey stations is crucial, especially during a directional drilling process. A potential solution for the uninterrupted survey of boreholes does exist. It involves a low-cost SINS-based measurement-while-drilling (MWD) system integrating external rig drilling parameters with MEMS’ inertial sensor measurements based on non-linear Unscented Kalman filter (UKF). The main objective of this thesis is to design and test algorithms for this type of system to overcome typical challenges associated with drilling and survey interruptions, such as long-term drift error, and large, harsh-drilling-environment-induced MEMS errors. A simulation platform was developed to monitor how this proposed system operated in soft and hard formations, with Type 2 trajectories, at different speeds to represent the soft and hard formations, respectively. The ensuing results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed algorithms.