Breaking the Limits: Next-Generation Drilling Technologies for Extreme Conditions
A Special Issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417) belonging to the section "Earth Sciences".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 February 2027 | Viewed by 107
Editors
Interests: efficient exploration and in situ conversion technologies for shale oil resources; deep drilling technology and equipment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: gas hydrate drilling and production and polar ice drilling technologies
Interests: dynamics of drilling engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue addresses the critical challenges and emerging solutions in drilling technologies for extreme environments, including deep/ultra-deep strata, deep-sea resources, polar and permafrost regions, and high-temperature geothermal reservoirs. As drilling technologies advance toward extreme environments featuring high-temperature and high-pressure (HPHT), ultra-low temperatures, and high in situ stresses, conventional drilling systems face fundamental limitations in tool reliability, fluid stability, drilling efficiency, and wellbore integrity. This Special Issue seeks to bring together multidisciplinary research that advances our understanding of wellbore heat transfer, high-temperature rock-breaking mechanisms, high-performance drilling tools, thermally stable drilling fluids, and drill string mechanics under extreme loads. We invite original research, comprehensive reviews, and engineering case studies that present innovative theories, methodologies, and technologies capable of breaking the current operational limits. Emphasis is placed on next-generation solutions including intelligent drilling systems, digital twins, non-mechanical penetration technologies, and advanced materials. By bridging theoretical advances with engineering applications, this Special Issue aims to accelerate the development of safe, efficient, and sustainable drilling practices for the most demanding subsurface environments.
Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Wellbore heat transfer and thermal management in HPHT drilling.
- High‑efficiency drilling technologies and ROP enhancement methods.
- High‑performance drilling tools for HPHT conditions.
- Rock‑breaking mechanisms at HPHT environment.
- High‑temperature‑resistant drilling fluids.
- Drill string mechanics and wellbore integrity under extreme conditions.
- Intelligent drilling, real‑time monitoring, digital twins, and AI‑driven optimization.
- Non‑mechanical and hybrid rock penetration technologies (laser, plasma, electro‑pulse, etc.).
- Polar drilling technologies in freezing, ice‑covered, and permafrost environments.
Dr. Shaotao Xu
Prof. Dr. Bing Li
Dr. Qilong Xue
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- extreme-condition drilling
- high-temperature high-pressure (HPHT)
- deep/ultra-deep strata
- wellbore heat transfer
- rock-breaking mechanisms
- high-temperature drilling fluids
- drill string mechanics
- intelligent drilling systems
- non-mechanical penetration technologies
- polar drilling technologies
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