Wellbore Trajectory Control Based on Minimum Well Profile Energy for Drilling Automation

When deviated from the planned wellbore path, it is imperative for a drilling system to take correction actions. A new trajectory control model is developed based on minimum well profile energy criterion in order to achieve smooth well paths. The model is tested using different 2D and 3D well paths. The wellbore trajectory simulations show that minimum energy method, being compared with PID (Proportional, Integral and Derivative) control and fuzzy control, yields much smoother wellbore trajectories. Consequently, the new model is promising to reduce torque and drag and friction of the drilling string.