LAUSR

Abstract Solid Expandable Tubular (SET) technology is a recent important breakthrough in petroleum exploration and drilling. The expansion forming theory and the constitutive model of the tubular materials are the theoretical basis for the development of this technology. This work focuses on establishing analytical and finite element models on the basis of the Twin Shear Stress (TSS) yield criterion to investigate the forming behavior of solid expandable tubular. The expansion force expression of the power exponential hardening material model was derived. A constitutive model using the TSS yield criterion and related flow rules was proposed and implemented into the ABAQUS software. Further to this, variations of the expansion forces, residual stresses and plastic deformation under different expansion ratios and friction coefficients were investigated. In addition, a tubular expansion experiment was conducted to validate the analytical and finite element solutions. Results show that the expansion force expression is reliable, but there are discrepancies within a reasonable range. The finite element model is capable of predicting the expansion forces, residual stress distributions, thickness reduction and length shortening accurately. Moreover, it is found that the expansion ratio should be controlled below 35% to avoid burst and collapse of the expandable tubular in practical application. For expansion operations, suitable lubrication conditions should be determined to ensure an acceptable expansion force and maintain a certain friction coefficient.