ABSTRACT
The consensus among drilling personnel is that shale shaker as a primary solids control tool should reject the shale cuttings at first pass. In our effort to contribute to the design of a new shaker system, a basic and fundamental need was recognized with regard to the magnitude of power needed to generate a given or average size of shale cutting. The logic was that the power expended at the rock face, excluding the effect of hydrational and in-situ stresses, could be correlated with the shale cutting (chip) average size as has been done in comminution theories.
Following this logic, two detailed sets of field tests, one in Nigeria and one in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, were analyzed for two different hole sizes. The results showed a good correlation between power input-output and average cutting size for both 8 1/2 and 6 5/8 inch drill bits.
