A New OCTG Strength Equation for Collapse Under Combined Loads

Wells are becoming more challenging and casing designers are faced with increasing design pressures. Deep hydrocarbon targets lead to requirements for the casing to resist collapse under external pressure while significant internal pressure and axial compression or tension may exist at the same time. This paper describes the development, and its evaluation, of a new collapse strength equation for oil country tubular goods (OCTG). It is based on a generalization of a model previously proposed by Tamano et al. 1 . The new model is evaluated through comparisons with both finite element analyses and test data. It is more accurate in dealing with combined internal pressure, external pressure and axial load than, for example, the model currently provided in API Bulletin 5C3 2