Directional Drilling Calculator

Calculate build rate, dogleg severity, turn rate, and toolface settings

Directional Calculations

Select calculation type

Calculate Dogleg Severity between two survey stations

Calculate required toolface for desired trajectory change

Calculate build section parameters

DLS Limits

  • Rotary drilling: 3-6 deg/100ft
  • Sliding motors: 6-12 deg/100ft
  • RSS tools: 6-10 deg/100ft
  • Casing running limit: 3-8 deg/100ft

Results

Enter parameters and click Calculate

Common Build Rates

Build Rate Radius Application
1 deg/100ft5730 ftLong radius
3 deg/100ft1910 ftMedium radius
6 deg/100ft955 ftShort radius
10 deg/100ft573 ftUltra-short

Formula Reference

Dogleg Severity (DLS)

cos(DL) = cos(I1)cos(I2) + sin(I1)sin(I2)cos(A2-A1) DLS (deg/100ft) = DL x 100 / Course Length Where: DL = Dogleg angle (degrees) I1, I2 = Inclinations (degrees) A1, A2 = Azimuths (degrees)

Build and Turn Rates

Build Rate = (I2 - I1) / Course Length x 100 Turn Rate = (A2 - A1) x sin(I_avg) / Course Length x 100

Toolface Calculation

Toolface = atan2(Turn_component, Build_component) Required DLS = sqrt(Build^2 + Turn^2) % Sliding = (Required DLS / Motor DLS) x 100

Radius of Curvature

Radius (ft) = 5729.58 / Build Rate (deg/100ft) Build Length = (Inc2 - Inc1) / Build Rate x 100