DrillMud – Drillpath Hydraulics Program

Guided horizontal drilling has become one of the most popular trenchless techniques for the installation of many types of utility lines. To aid engineers and planners in the design process, Maurer developed a suite of PC-based software programs comprised of DrillPath, DrillMud and DrillEst. Together these programs represent one of the most comprehensive and powerful software tools for designing and constructing high-quality, cost-effective utility installations using HDD directional drilling technology.

DrillMud is designed to address the wide variety of hydraulics problems that can arise during HDD pilot-hole drilling and back-reaming operations due to changes within the borehole. The program examines drilling fluid volume requirements, borehole pressures versus fracture gradients, cuttings transport and expected horsepower requirements. The input screens are designed to logically follow the normal order of operations in typical field installations.

Pull-down databases include drilling fluid properties (shown), drillpipe dimensions and mud motor pressure drops.
Separate input screens for pilot-hole and back-reaming operations
Detailed tabular and graphical outputs define key aspects of hydraulic performance

Benefits

• Improved hole stability
• More efficient use of drilling fluids
• Lower drilling costs
• Minimizes drilling problems
• Rates the potential for frac-out