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Abstract
Analysis of the drilling fluid temperature in a circulating well is the main objective of this study. Initially, different analytical temperature distribution models were studied. Variables that have significant effect on temperature profile are observed. Since the verification of the analytical model is not probable for many cases, a computer program that uses a finite element method is employed to simulate different well conditions. Three different wells are modeled by using rectangular elements with four nodes. Maximum drilling fluid temperature data corresponding to significant variables are collected from these models. These data are then used to develop an empirical correlation in order to determine maximum drilling fluid temperature. The proposed empirical correlation can estimate the temperature distribution within the wellbore with an average error of less than 16%, and maximum drilling fluid temperature with an average error of less than 7%.