Patent ID: 9567836
Date: 2017-02-14
CPC Classifications: E21B,G06F

Claim:
1. A method comprising: drilling a wellbore penetrating a subterranean formation while circulating a drilling fluid; gathering real-time data about the drilling, the real-time data comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of a flow rate of the drilling fluid, a viscosity of the drilling fluid, a density of the drilling fluid, revolutions per minute of a drill bit, a rate of penetration into the subterranean formation, a torque applied to a drill string, a trajectory of the drill bit, a weight on the drill bit, a measured depth, a true vertical depth, a composition of the subterranean formation, a temperature, a pressure, and any combination thereof; calculating a cuttings distribution along the wellbore based on the real-time data using a transient model, wherein calculating the cuttings distribution involves dividing the wellbore into sections based on a wellbore condition and a wellbore geometry and calculating an average volume percent of cuttings in each section; calculating an equivalent circulating density profile along the wellbore based on (1) the cuttings distribution and (2) the real-time data; and changing at least one operational parameter based on a comparison of the equivalent circulating density profile to a fracture gradient of the subterranean formation.