The use of drilling automation is accelerating, mostly in the area of rate of penetration (ROP) enhancement. Autonomous directional drilling is now a high focus area for automating drilling operations. The potential impact is immense because 93% of the active rigs in the US are drilling directional or horizontal wells. The 2018–2019 Drilling Systems Automation Technical Section (DSATS)-led international Drillbotics® Student Competition includes automated directional drilling. In this paper, we discuss the detailed design of the winning team. We present the surface equipment, downhole tools, data and control systems, and lessons learned.

SPE DSATS organizes the annual Drillbotics competition for university teams to design and develop laboratory-scale drilling rigs. The competition requires each team to create unique downhole sensors to allow automated navigation to drill a directional hole. Student teams have developed new rig configurations to enable several steering methods that include a rotary steering system and small-scale downhole motors with a bent-sub. The most significant challenge was creating a functional downhole motor to fit within a 1.25-in. (3.18 cm) diameter wellbore. Besides technical issues, teams must demonstrate what they have learned about bit-rock interaction and the physics of steering. In addition, they must deal with budgets and funding, procurement and delivery delays, and overall project management. This required an integrated multidisciplinary approach and a major redesign of the rig components.

The University of Oklahoma (OU) team made significant changes to its existing rig to drill directional holes. The design change was introduced to optimize the performance of the bottomhole assembly (BHA) and allow directional drilling. The criteria for selecting the BHA was hole size, BHA dynamics, a favorable condition for downhole sensors, precise control of drilling parameters, rig mobility, safety, time constraints, and economic practicality. The result is an autonomous drilling rig that drills a deviated hole toward a defined target through a 2 × 2 × 1-ft (60.96 × 60.96 × 30.48 cm) sandstone block (i.e., rock sample) without human intervention. The rig currently uses a combination of discrete and dynamic modeling from experimentally determined control parameters and closed-loop feedback for well-trajectory control.

The novelty of our winning design is in the use of a small-scale cable-driven downhole motor with a bent-sub and quick-connect-type swivel system. This is intended to replicate the action of a mud motor within the limits of the borehole diameter. In this paper, we present details of the rig components, their specifications, and the problems faced during the design, development, and testing. We demonstrate how a laboratory-scale rig can be used to study drilling dysfunctions and challenges. Building a downhole tool to withstand vibrations, water intrusion, magnetic interference, and electromagnetic noise are common difficulties faced by major equipment manufacturers.

钻探自动化的使用正在加速，主要是在提高钻速（ROP）的领域。自主定向钻孔现在是自动化钻孔操作的重点领域。潜在的影响是巨大的，因为美国93％的在用钻机在钻定向井或水平井。由DSATS主持的2018–2019钻井系统自动化技术分会国际Drillbotics®学生竞赛包括自动定向钻井。在本文中，我们讨论了获胜团队的详细设计。我们介绍了地面设备，井下工具，数据和控制系统以及经验教训。

SPE DSATS为大学团队举办年度Drillbotics竞赛，以设计和开发实验室规模的钻机。比赛要求每个团队都创建独特的井下传感器，以允许自动导航来钻出定向孔。学生团队开发了新的钻机配置，以实现多种转向方法，包括旋转转向系统和带有弯头的小型井下电动机。最重大的挑战是要制造一个能在1.25英寸内安装的功能性井下马达。（3.18厘米）直径的井眼。除技术问题外，团队还必须证明他们对位岩相互作用和转向物理学的了解。此外，他们必须处理预算和资金，采购和交付延迟以及整体项目管理。

俄克拉荷马大学（OU）团队对其现有钻机进行了重大改动，以钻出定向孔。进行了设计更改，以优化井底组件（BHA）的性能并允许定向钻孔。选择BHA的标准是井眼大小，BHA动力学，井下传感器的有利条件，精确控制钻井参数，钻机移动性，安全性，时间限制和经济实用性。结果是自动钻机在没有人工干预的情况下，通过2×2×1英尺（60.96×60.96×30.48厘米）的砂岩块（即岩石样品）朝着确定的目标钻了一个偏斜的孔。目前，该钻机结合了离散和动态建模方法，结合了实验确定的控制参数和闭环反馈，可进行井眼轨迹控制。

我们获奖设计的新颖之处在于使用了带有弯接头和快速连接式旋转系统的小型电缆驱动井下电动机。其目的是在井眼直径的限制内复制泥浆马达的作用。在本文中，我们介绍了钻机组件，其规格以及在设计，开发和测试过程中面临的问题的详细信息。我们演示了如何使用实验室规模的钻机来研究钻井功能障碍和挑战。主要设备制造商面临的普遍困难是，建造一种能够抵抗振动，水侵入，电磁干扰和电磁噪声的井下工具。