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Intelligent identification method for drilling conditions based on artificial neural networks
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  • Open access
  • Published: 16 January 2026

Intelligent identification method for drilling conditions based on artificial neural networks

  • Wei Li1,
  • Yuan Yang2,
  • Donglin Fan3 &
  • …
  • Yuxing Zhou4 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Energy science and technology
  • Engineering
  • Mathematics and computing

Abstract

Drilling efficiency analysis typically relies on manual post-event analysis, which is subjective and arbitrary, failing to accurately reflect real-time field conditions in a timely manner. To enable real-time, accurate, and automatic identification of drilling conditions and improve drilling efficiency, the authors developed an intelligent identification model based on artificial neural networks. Using Pearson correlation coefficient for correlation analysis, eight drilling parameters from comprehensive logging data were selected as input for network training: well depth, bit position, hook height, hook load, weight on bit, rotary speed, torque, flow rate, and standpipe pressure. By comparing the performance of Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural networks, BP, and CNN in real-time intelligent identification of drilling conditions in deep formations, it was found that LSTM outperformed the others. The LSTM model achieved a recognition accuracy of 97%, demonstrating its efficiency and reliability while providing important theoretical and technical support for effective drilling condition identification.

Data availability

The datasets generated and analysed during the present study are not publicly available because of applicable institutional guidelines but are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the contribution of all authors on the whole MS.

Funding

Funding was supported by Research on Automated Crawler Core Drilling Equipment and Process Technology (E210100721).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Production Management Department, CHN Energy Shendong Coal Group Corporation Ltd., Ordos, 017209, Inner Mongolia, China

    Wei Li

  2. CHN Energy Shendong Coal Group Geodesy Company, Ordos, 017209, Inner Mongolia, China

    Yuan Yang

  3. CHN Energy Shendong Coal Group Technology Research Institute, Ordos, 017209, Inner Mongolia, China

    Donglin Fan

  4. Jinneng Holding Equipment Manufacturing Group Cortech Shanxi Energy Technology Co., LTD, Jincheng, 102600, China

    Yuxing Zhou

Authors
  1. Wei Li
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  2. Yuan Yang
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  3. Donglin Fan
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  4. Yuxing Zhou
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Contributions

W.L. completed the writing, revision of the figures, conception, structure. Y.Y. completed the model building, analysisi, perform of the model, data analysis. D.F. completed the data analysis, model test, figures. Y.Z. completed the conception, language, data analysis, revision.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yuxing Zhou.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

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Cite this article

Li, W., Yang, Y., Fan, D. et al. Intelligent identification method for drilling conditions based on artificial neural networks. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-34242-6

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  • Received: 17 November 2025

  • Accepted: 26 December 2025

  • Published: 16 January 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-34242-6

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Keywords

  • Neural networks
  • Machine learning
  • Drilling conditions
  • Intelligent identification
  • Prediction
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