Quad-Rotor Directional Steering System Controller Design Using Gravitational Search Optimization

Directional Steering System (DSS) has been established for well drilling in the oilfield in order to accomplish high reservoir productivity and to improve accessibility of oil reservoirs in complex locations. In this paper, a novel feedback linearization controller to cancel the nonlinear dynamics of a DSS is proposed. The proposed controller design problem is formulated as an optimization problem for optimal settings of the controller feedback gains. Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA) is developed to search for optimal settings of the proposed controller. The objective function considered is to minimize the tracking error and drilling efforts. In this study, the DSS considered has 4 downhole motors. The robustness of the proposed GSA-based approach for the controller design is demonstrated. The simulation results of the considered 4-rotor DSS is presented and the effectiveness of the proposed controller is confirmed.