Case Study: C-FER Technologies achieves accurate prediction of unconventional oil well performance with Dassault Systèmes' Abaqus

C-FER Technologies - Customer Case Study

C-FER Technologies, an industry-led engineering, testing, and applied research center, faced the complex mechanical, thermal and multiphysics challenges of unconventional oil wells (high temperatures, formation loading, casing/cement integrity and connection fatigue). To support a strain‑based design approach and reduce costly full‑scale testing, C‑FER has used Abaqus from SIMULIA (Dassault Systemes) for finite element and coupled thermal‑mechanical analyses to evaluate well completion designs and operational scenarios.

Using Dassault Systemes’ Abaqus, C‑FER implemented coupled heat‑transfer/geomechanical/structural models and nonlinear 3D FEA to optimize heating rates, casing/connection designs and slotted‑liner patterns. Key findings included that typical heating rates around 0.6°C/min can cause widespread cement cracking (slower rates mitigate this), a 244 mm premium connection could tolerate several hundred thermal cycles with rotation while formation shear is more damaging, and staggered or gang slot patterns (OFA ≤3%) outperform overlapping slots (which exhibit “birdcaging”). These insights enabled safer, better‑performing designs, reduced risk of failures and downtime, and delivered measurable engineering criteria for field operations—all achieved using Dassault Systemes’ simulation tools.

C-FER Technologies

Jueren Xie

Analysis Team Leader and Senior Engineering Advisor