Continuous Real-Time Measurement of Drilling Trajectory With New State-Space Models of Kalman Filter

Abstract

Rotary-steerable drilling provides unique features such as an extended reach and accurate well trajectory control. These characteristics can notably increase drilling efficiency and safety. One of the main technical difficulties of rotary-steerable drilling is dynamically measuring the spatial attitude at the bottom of the rotating drillstring as the drillstring rotates. We developed a strap-down measurement system, with a triaxial accelerometer and triaxial magnetometers installed near the bit. The inclination and azimuth can be measured in real time even as the drillstring rotates. Although the magnetic system is the norm, we can use this system to achieve continuous measurement while drilling; to achieve this, a novel state-space model is proposed here and the Kalman filter is used to estimate the states. Simulation and experiments show that a continuous-survey system with a Kalman filter approach can improve measurement precision and reduce errors produced by drillstring vibration.