Research and Development of a Drilling Tool Management SystemBased on RFID Technology

An information acquisition and management system for drilling tools based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology was studied with the goal of improving the informatization in drilling tool management. Ultrahigh frequency RFID tags compatible with drill pipes were chosen as information carriers, and the impact of tag mounting holes on drill pipe strength was analyzed by using the finite element method. In addition, with ultrahigh frequency RFID reading technology, an information acquisition hardware system equipped with circular array antenna was built, with the capacity that reading and writing signals emitted from the antenna array could cover the drill pipes in all directions. In order to achieve remote and unmanned acquisition and storage of drilling tool information, a remote information management system was developed with .NET technology. A circular array antenna and a reader were installed below the drill platform, and the drill pipes passed through the circular array antenna while tripping. Thus, the drill pipe information could be collected even when the location of the RFID tags were unknown, and the information could be managed through the Web terminal. Test results demonstrated that even if the location of the RFID chips were unknown, and the drill pipes were tripping with a speed of 0–2.00 m/s, the system could still accurately and completely record information of the drill pipes. Therefore, the development of the drill pipe management system based on ultrahigh frequency RFID technology can provide an effective way to achieve the informatization of drilling tool management.