Positive Displacement Motors (PDMs), also known as Moineau-type motors, and Progressive Cavity Pumps (PCPs) include a rotor that rotates within an elastomer helicoid stator and can be used in borehole drilling applications. The helicoid shaped stator is made with an elastomer compound that is bonded within a metal housing. Pressurized drilling fluid (e.g., drilling mud) is driven into the motor and into a cavity between the rotor and the stator, which generates rotation of the rotor and a resulting torque is produced. The resulting torque is used to drive a working tool, such as a drill bit, to cut material such as when drilling a borehole. A PCP operates similarly to a PDM, but in reverse where the rotor is driven and fluid is pumped out of the PCP by the rotation of the rotor.
To form a stator in a metal housing for PDM and PCP stators, an adhesive system is first applied by brushing or spraying a solvent- or water-based primer and/or adhesive onto inner surface of the metal housing tube after grit-blasting and cleaning the metal surface to be bonded. To form the stator, an elastomer is injected and molded inside the adhesive applied-metal tubular housing so as to form lobes for interacting with the rotor to impart rotation. The elastomer may be formed as a variable wall with different thickness around the interior of the housing to form the lobes. Alternatively, the stator may be an evenwall stator, where the lobe contours are formed in the interior of the housing and the elastomer is applied with an even thickness around the interior of the housing to form the lobes.
During use, the elastomer acts to seal against the rotor and is compressed. As the rotor rotates, the elastomer then expands back to its original shape after compression. The elastomer can also expand and contract due to changes in operating temperature as well as absorb moisture and chemicals from the mud. The cyclic compression of the elastomer can result in damage due to internal hysteresis heating. Common methods to address this is to use harder elastomers which not only compress less under high loads but can also exhibit reduced hysteresis. Other methods include the use of the evenwall stator. The equal thickness (and reduced thickness) of the elastomer reduces hysteretic heating and the support of the metal improves sealing performance which can be used to improve performance (by reducing elastomer deflection under high pressures and loads).
Manufacturing the contour for the evenwall stator tube is complex due to the length of the stators and the complexity of the contour shape. Some methods include electrochemical etching, EDM methods and welding indexed plates that have the contour cut into the ID of the plates to generate the profile. All these methods are time consuming and expensive. The selection of materials is also limited to the same material as the stator tube.
it is sometimes also desirable to facilitate an electrical connection across the PDM or PCP to connect components above and below the PDM or PCP. The challenge is the nutating motion of the rotor typically does not allow the use of traditional connectors and wiring as the motion of the rotor would induce strain on the connectors. One option is to run wiring through the stator but doing so is challenging in conventional stators due to the relatively thin wall thickness of the stator tube and the typical requirement to ensure that the elastomer can be easily replaced when damaged or worn without affecting the electrical connection.
Therefore, it is desired for a PDM or PCP to include ease of manufacture while properly supporting operation of the rotation of the rotor while increasing reliability and decreasing failure.
Embodiments of the downhole motor or pump with stator manufactured with cold spray are described with reference to the following figures. The same or sequentially similar numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. The features depicted in the figures are not necessarily shown to scale. Certain features of the embodiments may be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic form, and some details of elements may not be shown in the interest of clarity and conciseness.
The present disclosure describes an assembly with a downhole motor or pump with a stator manufactured with cold spraying. Specifically, the stator includes an outer housing and a metallic overlay deposited by cold spray onto an interior of the housing to form overlay contours internal to the housing along a first length of the stator. Rotatable within the stator is a rotor, rotation of which either powers the rotation of a drill bit in the case where the stator and rotor operate as a downhole motor or pumps fluid in the case where the stator and rotor operate as a downhole pump.
As an example of a downhole motor, a main borehole may in some instances be formed in a substantially vertical orientation relative to a surface of the well, and a lateral borehole may in some instances be formed in a substantially horizontal orientation relative to the surface of the well. However, reference herein to either the main borehole or the lateral borehole is not meant to imply any orientation, and the orientation of each of these boreholes may include portions that are vertical, non-vertical, horizontal, or non-horizontal. Further, the term “uphole” refers a direction that is towards the surface of the well, while the term “downhole” refers a direction that is away from the surface of the well.
The stator 108 includes multiple (e.g., eight) overlay lobes 120 extending along the stator 108 in a helical configuration and defining a cavity 122. A rotor 118 is rotatable within the stator 108 and includes lobes extending along the rotor 118 in a helical configuration. The stator 108 and rotor 118 can also have more or fewer lobes where the difference between the rotor and stator lobes is one extra stator lobe 120 for the number of rotor lobes. The rotor 118 is operatively positionable in the cavity 122 such that the rotor lobes cooperate with the stator lobes 120 in that applying fluid pressure to the cavity 122 by flowing fluid within the cavity 122 causes the rotor 118 to rotate within the stator 108. For example, referring to
During a drilling operation, the drilling fluid 124 is pumped down the interior of a drill string 126 (shown broken away) attached to downhole motor 104. The drilling fluid 124 enters cavity 122 having a pressure that is a combination of pressure imposed on the drilling fluid by pumps (e.g., pumps at the surface) and the hydrostatic pressure of the above column of drilling fluid 124. The pressurized drilling fluid entering cavity 122, in cooperation with the lobes 120 of the stator 108 and the geometry of the stator 108 and the rotor 118 causes the rotor 118 to turn to allow the drilling fluid 124 to pass through the motor 104, thus rotating the rotor 118 relative to the stator 108. The drilling fluid 124 subsequently exits through ports (e.g., jets) in the drill bit 106 and travels upward through an annulus 128 between the drill string 126 and the wellbore 102 and is received at the surface where it is captured and pumped down the drill string 126 again.
It is appreciated by those skilled in the art in addition to a drilling system that uses a PDP, a downhole assembly using a stator and rotor as described above may also be used as a PCP in a completion system for pumping downhole fluids to the surface. When operating as a PCP, the rotor 118 is driven to rotate within the stator 108, thus forcing fluid within the stator 108 to flow and be pumped uphole to the surface.
As shown in
Alternatively, the overlay layer 211b may include a WC based a Cr2C3 based composite material with an alloyed mixture or Ni—Cr—B alloy. In addition to the composite material, the overlay layer 211b may be further reinforced using a co-deposited solid lubricant such as tungsten disulfide, graphite, boron nitride, or similar lubricating materials to prevent wear at the rotor/stator interface. Additionally, the outermost overlay layer 211a need not include overlay lobes. Instead, the overlay lobes may be formed only with the innermost overlay layer 211b.
In addition, like the overlay 211 in stator 208 of
Example 1. A downhole motor or pump assembly that comprises: a stator comprising a tubular housing and an overlay deposited by cold spray onto an interior of the housing to form overlay lobes along a first length of the stator; and a rotor rotatable within the stator.
Example 2. The assembly of Example 1, wherein the shape of the metallic overlay changes over the length of the stator.
Example 3. The assembly of Example 1, wherein the metallic overlay comprises a first layer comprising a first material and a second layer comprising a second material different than the first material.
Example 4. The assembly of Example 1, wherein the metallic overlay comprises a layer comprising a mixture of a composite material and a solid lubricant.
Example 5. The assembly of Example 1, wherein the metallic overlay comprises a layer comprising a mixture of a composite material and a heat conducting material.
Example 6. The assembly of Example 1, wherein the stator further comprises an elastomer bonded to the overlay lobes.
Example 7. The assembly of Example 6, further comprising at least one of one or more conducting cables or one or more cooling channels embedded in the metallic overlay.
Example 8. The assembly of Example 6, further comprising a porous structure within the metallic overlay allowing fluid flow along the first length of the stator.
Example 9. The assembly of Example 6, wherein the thickness of the elastomer changes over the first length of the stator such that the shape of the elastomer lobes changes over the first length of the stator.
Example 10. The assembly of Example 1, comprising no metallic overlay along a second length of the stator and further comprising an elastomer bonded directly to the tubular housing along the second length in varying thicknesses around the interior of the housing and shaped to form the elastomer lobes.
Example 11. The assembly of Example 1, wherein the assembly is connected to and operable as a motor to power the rotation of a drill bit.
Example 12. A method of performing a downhole operation in a borehole, comprising operating a downhole motor or downhole pump assembly, the motor or pump comprising: a stator comprising a tubular housing and an overlay deposited by cold spray onto an interior of the housing to form overlay lobes along a first length of the stator; and a rotor rotatable within the stator.
Example 13. The method of Example 12, wherein the shape of the metallic overlay changes over the length of the stator.
Example 14. The method of Example 12, wherein the metallic overlay comprises a first layer comprising a first material and a second layer comprising a second material different than the first material.
Example 15. The method of Example 12, wherein the metallic overlay comprises a layer comprising a mixture of a composite material and a solid lubricant.
Example 16. The method of Example 12, wherein the metallic overlay comprises a layer comprising a mixture of a composite material and a heat conducting material.
Example 17. The method of Example 12, wherein the stator further comprises an elastomer bonded to the overlay lobes in an even thickness at any point along the first length of the stator to form elastomer lobes.
Example 18. The method of Example 17, further comprising at least one of one or more conducting cables or one or more cooling channels embedded in the metallic overlay.
Example 19. The method of Example 17, further comprising a porous structure within the metallic overlay allowing fluid flow along the first length of the stator.
Example 20. The method of Example 17, wherein the thickness of the elastomer changes over the first length of the stator such that the shape of the elastomer lobes changes over the first length of the stator.
Example 21. The method of Example 12, comprising no metallic overlay along a second length of the stator and further comprising an elastomer bonded directly to the tubular housing along the second length in varying thicknesses around the interior of the housing and shaped to form the elastomer lobes.
Example 22. The method of Example 12, wherein the downhole operation comprises drilling a wellbore by pumping fluid into the assembly to rotate the rotor to power the rotation of a drill bit.
Certain terms are used throughout the description and claims to refer to particular features or components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, different persons may refer to the same feature or component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components or features that differ in name but not function.
While compositions and methods are described herein in terms of “comprising” various components or steps, the compositions and methods can also “consist essentially of” or “consist of” the various components and steps.
Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about” or “approximately”. Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties of the present disclosure.
The embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted, or otherwise used, as limiting the scope of the disclosure, including the claims. It is to be fully recognized that the different teachings of the embodiments discussed may be employed separately or in any suitable combination to produce desired results. In addition, one skilled in the art will understand that the description has broad application, and the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary of that embodiment, and not intended to suggest that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, is limited to that embodiment.
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