This is a Continuation-In-Part application of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/736,613, filed Dec. 14, 2000, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,585,063.
Not Applicable.
Nozzle jets have been used for several years in rotary cone rock bits both in or near the center of the rock bit and around the peripheral edge of the bit to encourage cone cleaning, to enhance removal of debris from a borehole bottom, and to efficiently cool the face of the rock bit.
Rotary cone rock bits are typically configured with multiple jet nozzle exits spaced at regular intervals along the periphery of the bit. High velocity fluid from these jet nozzles impacts the hole bottom and removes rock cuttings and debris. Center jets are also used in rotary cone rock bits for a variety of reasons. These include enhanced cone cleaning, protection against bit balling, and increased total flow of drilling fluid through the drill bit without creating washout problems.
Too much drilling fluid exiting the peripheral jets is believed to encourage undesirable re-circulation paths for drilling fluid at the bottom of the wellbore. In fact, all else being equal, it is thought desirable to have all or nearly all the drilling fluid exit the center jet. However, due to erosion concerns typically only 15 to 30 percent of the total hydraulic fluid (drilling fluid or drilling mud) flow passes through the center jet, with the remainder of the mud being jetted through the peripheral nozzles. In particular, excessive drilling fluid flow through the center jet causes flow erosion at the cutter surfaces such as the tips of the cutting teeth, resulting in premature failure of the rock bit. Even when fluid flow through the peripheral jets might be desirable, such as for cleaning the cutting teeth on the roller cones in sticky formations, excessive erosion of the cone shell and other components is a concern.
Many techniques have been used in an effort to optimize the bit hydraulics by modifying the nozzle configuration on the peripheral jets by moving the nozzle closer to the hole bottom, changing the nozzle jet vector, or both. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,687,067; 4,784,231; 4,239,087; 3,070,182; 4,759,415; 5,029,656; and 5,495,903 teach modifications to the peripheral jets to improve the bit hydraulics, and each is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.
Three different types of nozzles are commonly used in center jet applications i.e. the diverging diffuser nozzle, the standard, non-diverging nozzle and the mini-extended nozzle. A less commonly utilized center jet nozzle has multiple discharge ports. Multiple exit nozzles are desirable since they offer the most flexibility to the designer to orient the flow patterns to clean the cutters or to improve borehole cleaning. However, multiple exit nozzles have two major design problems. First, the size for each of the exit ports is necessarily small because the total flow area (TFA) of a multiple exit nozzle is equal to the sum of the exit areas and to keep the total flow to within tolerable limits, the individual exit nozzles are necessarily small. As a result, the jet nozzle is prone to plugging. Second, the small nozzle size does nothing to reduce the exit flow velocity. Even though the flow is redirected, high fluid flow rates through each nozzle pointed toward metal components will likely lead to surface erosion and possible catastrophic failure.
A drill bit is needed that provides more efficient drilling fluid flow from the bottom of the borehole without increased erosion concerns around the drill bit. Ideally, this could be accomplished by a novel jet nozzle design or combination, so that the basic drill bit design would remain unchanged.
A disclosed embodiment of the invention is a drill bit with one or more attached multi-stage diffuser nozzles. The nozzles of this embodiment include a flow restrictor component distinct from a fluidic distributor component, allowing the selective matching of different sized or shaped flow restrictors and fluidic distributors. The flow restrictor has an internal passage to carry fluid from the liquid plenum of the drill bit, the internal passage including a throat of effective cross-sectional area A0E. The fluid distributor, downstream from the flow restrictor, includes a fluid exit region with an effective cross-sectional area A1E greater than A0E.
This embodiment of the invention may also include numerous variations. For example, the fluidic distributor may be designed to project drilling fluid toward the hole bottom at a variety of desired angles. To minimize undesired pressure fluctuations in the drilling fluid, a transition region of effective cross-sectional area A2 may be added, either as a distinct component or not. Effective cross-sectional area A2 would therefore be larger than either A0E or A1E. The drill bit may also be designed so that the diffuser nozzle is either closer to the longitudinal axis of the bit or the periphery of the bit.
A second embodiment of the invention is a nozzle body which may be manufactured from only a single component. This nozzle body includes a first set of one or more passages at an upper end that, combined, are a first cross-sectional area. It also includes a second set of one or more passages at a lower end that, combined, are a second cross-sectional area, the second cross-sectional area being greater than the first cross-sectional area. In addition, the second set of passages directs at least a portion of the fluid along a vector that is not collinear with the central axis of the nozzle body. Similar to the first embodiment, this embodiment may advantageously include a transition region between the first and second sets of passages, the transition region having a cross-sectional area that is greater than either of the first or second cross-sectional areas. The first and second sets of passages may have a variety of configurations. For example, their cross-sectional areas may vary along their lengths, they may be circular or non-circular, they may direct drilling fluid from exit ports in the fluidic distributor at a variety of angles, they may be straight or curved, etc.
A third embodiment of the invention may be expressed as a method of controlling fluid flow through a drill bit. This method includes lowering the fluid pressure of drilling fluid flowing through a drill bit from an initial pressure (such as that present inside the fluid plenum) to a restrictor pressure, dampening the fluid pressure oscillations in the drilling fluid, and increasing the fluid pressure to an exit pressure (such as that present in the annulus of the wellbore). The exit pressure is necessarily higher than the restrictor pressure in this embodiment. The drilling fluid pressure may be lowered to the restrictor pressure by a first single passage, for example. The drilling fluid pressure may then be raised to the transition pressure by a second passage having a cross-sectional area greater than that of the first single passage. One implementation of this embodiment ensures that the difference between the initial pressure and the transition pressure is greater than the difference of the transition pressure and the exit pressure.
Another aspect of the invention is an assembly to fixedly orient a directional nozzle. The assembly includes a sleeve to receive the directional nozzle, the directional nozzle, and means to fixedly orient the nozzle in one or more desired directions. The preferred means to fixedly orient the nozzle is lobes on the diffuser portion of the nozzle and engagement slots on a lip of the sleeve.
Another aspect of the invention is a drill bit with a center multi-stage diffuser nozzle and diverging nozzles installed at non-central port locations. This drill bit design is believed to improve the drill bit's rate of penetration by improved cone cleaning and desirable flow paths.
The various characteristics described above, as well as other features, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, and by referring to the accompanying drawings.
For a more detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
With reference now to
Also shown is a multi-stage diffuser nozzle 30 according to a first embodiment of the invention. The multi-stage diffuser nozzle 30 of
Referring to
The purpose of having a smaller area through the restrictor nozzle 34 than through the distributor nozzle 36 is to force most of the pressure drop across the nozzle system 30 to occur across the restrictor nozzle 34. In other words, a larger pressure drop occurs across the restrictor nozzle 34 than across the distributor nozzle 36. For the same total pressure drop across the system, a lower pressure drop occurs across distribution nozzle 36. The reduced pressure drop across the distribution nozzle 36 equates to lower nozzle exit velocities for the drilling fluid. Thus, many aspects of the invention can be characterized by a description of the relative pressure drops or velocities across a restrictor nozzle 34 and a distributor nozzle 36, or equivalent structure.
The flow rate through the multi-staged nozzle is adjusted by changing the orifice size of the flow restrictor 34. The average volumetric flow rate “Q” of the drilling fluid through an orifice, can be used to calculate the average velocity using the following equation:
Where,
Q=Volumetric flow rate through the orifice;
V=Average velocity of the fluid flowing through the orifice; and
A=Effective cross-sectional area of the orifice.
Thus, as a given throat size of the flow restrictor is changed, the total flow through the multi-stage nozzle can be controlled.
The nozzle exit velocity of the drilling fluid is then controlled by the fluidic distributor 36. One aspect of the invention is that the total effective exit area from nozzle 36 is larger than the effective area of the throat in the restrictor nozzle 34. This lowers the exit flow velocity. Of course, the same principles could be used to increase the exit flow velocity by making the effective cross-sectional area of the flow distributor smaller than the flow restrictor, but bit designers are generally not seeking higher exit flow velocities in the locations where this invention would be proposed for use.
The average velocity of a fluid as it leaves each jet exit hole can then be determined by dividing the total volume flow rate (Q) through the multi-stage nozzle by the total nozzle exit area (A1E) at the flow distributor. Because the total flow rate through the flow restrictor must be equal to the flow rate through the fluidic distributor, it can be determined from equation (1) that:
where,
V0=Velocity of the fluid through the throat in the flow restrictor;
V1=Velocity of the fluid at the exit of the fluidic distributor
A0E=Effective area of the throat in the flow restrictor;
A1E=Effective area of the exit ports of the fluidic distributor.
Because the total effective nozzle exit area, A1E, is larger than the effective cross-sectional area of the throat, A0E, the velocity of the fluid exiting the multi-stage diffuser nozzle, V1, is lower than the velocity of the fluid as it flows through the throat, V0. In fact, by use of equation (2) the exit velocity can be predictably controlled by increasing or decreasing the total effective nozzle exit area.
To understand the differences between various nozzle designs, the concept of an effective nozzle exit area should be explained. Effective nozzle size or effective cross-sectional area are terms used to describe the comparison of nozzle geometries based upon their pressure drop characteristics under fluid flow conditions. For example, when a given nozzle of certain design is exposed to a particular fluid flow, a specific pressure drop occurs across the nozzle. Another nozzle of the same general design but having a different throat diameter, under the same flow conditions, will produce a different pressure drop than the first nozzle. Thus, two nozzles having the same general nozzle design, under the same flow conditions, produce different pressure drops because of different throat areas. Similarly, two nozzle systems having significantly different internal geometries but the same throat diameter will likely produce different pressure drops, even under the same flow conditions. The energy losses associated with the different internal geometries will cause dissimilar pressure drop responses. For instance, a nozzle design with a smooth, streamlined entrance to the exit orifice will have a lower pressure drop than a nozzle with the same throat diameter but having a sharp 90 degree edge entrance. Consequently, depending on the design of the restrictor nozzle 34 and the distributor nozzle 36, the pressure drops across each may not accurately reflect their relative physical area sizes. In other words, if the design of the flow restrictor 34 is inefficient because of the selected geometry of the nozzle, its physical or measured throat diameter may actually be larger than the distributor nozzle 36. Nonetheless, the pressure drop across the restrictor nozzle 34 would still be greater than that across the distributor nozzle 36, making the restrictor nozzle a choking nozzle.
The effective cross-sectional area for a nozzle can be determined by measuring its pressure drop and comparing this pressure drop against a set of measurements made for a standard or baseline nozzle configuration. For example, assume that a nozzle system made with design “A” is considered the standard or baseline nozzle system. Pressure drop measurements could be made for design “A” at a variety of nozzle sizes and flow rates.
To further explain, the modified Bernoulli equation as derived in “Introduction to Fluid Mechanics” can be employed to characterize the differences between nozzle geometries. In its basic form the Bernoulli equation illustrates the relationship between velocity, pressure and elevation in a flow stream without consideration of losses incurred due to friction or those resulting from flow separation. In the modified Bernoulli equation, energy losses associated with pipe friction and geometric discontinuities in the flow field are added in to help better model the real situation. Thus the modified Bernoulli equation can be written as follows:
Where
Generally, in the case of nozzles, the distance L is inconsequential which results in the frictional losses being considered negligible. However, the minor loss contribution can substantially influence the flow stream, especially in regards to nozzles. Depending on their entrance geometries, exit geometries and internal flow path, the pressure drop across nozzles can be significantly different even in cases where the cross-sectional area at the throat and the flow rates are the same. These differences are addressed in the modified Bernoulli equation by the summation of the minor loss coefficients “K”. Consequently, two nozzles having the same measured throat diameter but different equivalent or effective nozzle sizes will have different loss coefficients “K”.
To illustrate the effect of the area on the overall flow rate, Equation (3) can be simplified with the following assumptions: First, ignore the frictional losses; second, assume the inlet area to the nozzle is much larger than the throat diameter of the nozzle; third, assume that all minor losses occur at the throat velocity; and fourth, ignore any changes in elevation. Using Equation (3), the flow rate through the nozzle can be calculated using the equation:
Where:
Q=Flow rate through the nozzle
ΔP=Pressure drop across the nozzle
AT=Physical cross-sectional area
ρ=Density of fluid
K=Minor loss coefficient
Thus, the flow rate through the restrictor nozzle 34 is directly related to the cross-sectional area of nozzle 34, at its minimum cross-section (i.e. at its throat), which will be referred to as the physically measured throat or AT. It is also related to the square root of 1/(K+1). Thus, as the minor loss coefficient is increased through less efficient geometries, the nozzle becomes more restrictive and reduces the flow rate for a fixed ΔP even though the throat diameter remains constant. In effect, the inefficient geometry creates a nozzle that acts as a smaller, more restrictive, nozzle compared to a well designed streamlined nozzle set. The geometry element AT/(K+1)0.5 of equation 4 is called the restriction factor.
As stated above, the effective nozzle size is determined by comparing the pressure drop of a new nozzle system to some known baseline nozzle system. If the new nozzle is inefficient, the physical throat area AOP is increased until the pressure drop across the nozzle matches that of the standard nozzle system at the same flow rate. This can be done mathematically using the restriction factor. First, assume that we have two nozzle systems, a standard nozzle system and a new nozzle system. For the two systems to have the same or very similar flow rate vs. pressure drop characteristics, the flow restriction factors will be the same or very similar. The nozzle size required for the new nozzle system for an equivalent pressure drop is
Where
ATS=standard or baseline nozzle size (physical and effective are the same by definition for the baseline nozzle);
ATN=Physical nozzle size of new or compared nozzle;
KN=Minor loss coefficient of new nozzle; and
KS=minor loss coefficient of standard or baseline nozzle
At this point, it is easy to see that when the minor loss coefficient KN of the new nozzle is increased, likely through less efficient geometry, the physical throat area of the new nozzle is increased to maintain an equivalent pressure drop across the nozzle. The effective cross sectional area ATN of the new nozzle system is thus defined as the area, ATS, that characterizes the pressure response of the new nozzle system. Thus, for equation (5) to balance, the physical area ATN will be larger or smaller relative to the baseline nozzle to account for the differences in their respective minor loss coefficients KN and KS. For example, assume that the baseline nozzle has an area ATS of 0.442 square inches and that KN=0.5 and KS=0.05. The physical area ATN of the new nozzle system is calculated to be 0.528 square inches. However, its effective cross sectional area would be 0.442 square inches based on its pressure drop response relative to the baseline system. Alternatively, through testing, the nozzle area ATN of the new nozzle could be incrementally increased or decreased and tested until it had the same pressure drop for the given flow rate as the baseline nozzle. While there are many methods that can be used to characterize the response of a nozzle system, the intent of such characterization for the purposes of this invention is only to establish the portion of the nozzle that restricts the flow and that which distributes the flow at an average lower velocity. The methodology of determining those characteristics is inconsequential.
The effective cross-sectional area of the throat in the flow restrictor portion, A0E, depends on the physical cross-sectional area of the throat, the geometry of the entrance to the throat region (sharp corners at the entrance to the throat tend to create an obstacle to fluid flow and therefore the effective cross-sectional area of the throat is smaller than if rounded corners were present at the entrance to the throat) and on certain downstream effects (a smooth downstream transition to a larger opening such as shown in
By coupling the flow restrictor nozzle 34 with the fluidic distributor nozzle 36, thereby providing a nozzle design where the total exit area from nozzle 36 is larger than the throat 44 of the flow restrictor nozzle, fluid velocities exiting the two-component multi-stage diffuser nozzle can be reduced significantly. For example, most state of the art nozzles have exit velocities on the order of 200–400 ft/sec. In contrast, the principles of the invention can be used to reduce the nozzle exit velocities to impingement velocities on the cones to 100 ft/sec. or lower. Further, because this embodiment of the invention includes distinct flow restrictor and fluidic distributor components, the choking or flow restriction behavior of the multi-stage diffuser nozzle can easily be controlled independent of the nozzle system exit velocities. In particular, the flow rate through the jet can be controlled independent of the exit flow velocity by selectively matching a particular flow restrictor component with a particular fluidic distributor component just prior to insertion into the drill bit body. This also allows the decision to be made regarding the desired flow rate and exit velocity as late in the drilling job as possible.
In addition, this embodiment of the invention includes a plenum or chamber 46 formed between the restrictor nozzle 34 and the multiple exit nozzle 36. The plenum 46 is an optional transition region with a volume and design sufficient to slow the fluid flow, dampen fluid oscillations in the fluid flow, and generally steady the flow of fluid passing through the nozzle assembly 30 and out the multiple exits 42 formed by nozzle body 37. Preferably, the transition region has an actual cross-sectional area greater than the actual cross-sectional area of the throat. By significant reduction of the pressure surges and perturbations in the drilling fluid, the transition region helps to keep actual flow velocities at the exit ports close to the average flow velocity, and helps ensure that the drilling fluid is properly distributed among the exit ports of the multi-stage diffuser nozzle according to their size. Thus, although a transition region is not essential to the invention, it is a desirable feature of a multi-stage diffuser nozzle.
Thus, one aspect of the invention is control of the exit fluid velocity from nozzles on the face of the drill bit. This allows an increased amount of drilling fluid to flow through the center of the drill bit, such as from 35 to 100 percent, and more preferably in specific designs any selected percentage from 50 to 75 to 90 to 100 percent.
Referring again to
Referring to
To facilitate expression of this aspect of the invention, the trajectory of the fluid jet from the diffuser nozzle may be expressed as a line 1930 projected from the center of an exit port. This projected centerline 1930 from the diffuser nozzle exit port 1910 corresponds to the region in the fluid jet with the highest velocity, and thus the fluid jet may be defined as generally traveling along projected centerline 1930. This methodology works particularly well for nozzle orifice designs such as cylinders or other surfaces of revolution which direct the fluid in the direction of the projected centerline.
Cleaning of the cutting elements on the cone surface of the drill bit is often desirable to maintain an adequate rate of penetration for the drill bit. Projection of the centerline toward a cone to within 0.4″ or less from a tip 1940 of the closest insert 1945 at its closest point (i.e. the minimum distance between the exit port centerline and the insert tip) is believed will result in improved cleaning of the cutting elements on the roller cones. It is believed that the projected centerline for larger drill bits may be slightly further away from the tip location, such as 0.5″, and still receive the same benefits. Depending on velocity of the fluid, and the geometry of the fluid jet after being ejected from the nozzle, a distance of 0.25″ may achieve better cone cleaning. Exactly how close the fluid is positioned to the cone cutting elements and the velocity and geometry of the fluid depends on numerous variables. The formation being drilled and its propensity for bit balling is one variable, the weight and composition of the drilling fluid is another, and other downhole conditions may be another. Of course, a significant advantage of the invention is its ability to control the exit velocity of the drilling fluid to whatever extent is desired, and thus the invention also includes projection of the centerline on the cutting tip itself, or even the cone surface, and control of the fluid velocity to prevent catastrophic failure of the rock bit. It is this flexibility that is so desirable to bit designers.
The location of the exit point of the multi-stage diffuser nozzles also is an aspect of the invention. As is well known, each roller cone of a drill bit rotates around a cylindrical journal. Each journal defines a journal axis. Referring to
There is therefore a distinct fluid pressure relationship amongst the flow restrictor, the transition region, and the flow distributor portions of a preferred multi-stage diffuser nozzle. In a flow restrictor portion, the drilling fluid undergoes a significant pressure drop, which is followed by a pressure recovery in the transition portion, and which is finally followed by a pressure drop corresponding to the fluidic distributor portion of the nozzle. Given a transition region of sufficient size, oscillations in fluid pressure are reduced significantly or die out prior to the fluid flowing into the multiple exit ports of the fluidic distributor portion. Obviously, this pressure relationship changes somewhat in a multi-stage diffuser nozzle that does not have a transition region or where the transition region is very, small.
Numerous variations to the basic designs are possible. Referring now to
In other words, the effective cross-sectional area of the flow restrictor is less than the effective cross-sectional area of the fluidic distributor.
Of course, the multi-stage diffuser nozzle can be manufactured to eject drilling fluid at any angle from each exit port, and different angles may be used for different exit ports.
The multi-stage diffuser nozzle provides the drill bit designer great flexibility. Because the exit velocities of the drilling fluid from the nozzle jets can be reduced significantly, it allows a substantially higher fraction of drilling fluid to be ejected from a center jet if that is what is desired. The fraction of drilling fluid ejected from the peripheral jets may therefore also be controlled. Regardless of whether the principles of the invention are utilized for a center jet or a peripheral jet, the drilling fluid flowing through the multi-stage diffuser nozzle may be split into two or more portions, directed at an angle away from the centerline of the multi-stage nozzle, or otherwise manipulated. Different designs of multi-stage assemblies may be utilized at different locations on the drill bit. For embodiments of the invention that include distinct flow restriction and fluidic distributor components, further flexibility is provided in the field, where a last minute determination can be made economically for the most desirable flow rate and exit velocity.
While the embodiments are shown on roller cone bits, the invention could likewise be used on fixed cutter (PDC) type bits. The invention could likewise be used on fixed cutter (PDC) type bits. These are also known as drag bits. Referring to
In typical drilling applications, nozzles are generally used that have no nozzle orientation required. While the multi-staged diffuser can be installed into the bit without regard to its orientation relative to the cones, it is preferable that it be installed at an indexed (pre-calculated) position within the body of the bit. Indexing the multi-staged diffuser will ensure that the distribution ports are vectored to the desired locations and will generate the desired effect. This could be done by simply orienting the diffuser to the predetermined position and locking it with the retaining nut through frictional forces. Alternatively, it could be done with indexing pins or grooves that would only allow a single predetermined installation orientation or a set of predetermined installation orientations.
An aspect of the invention is a method and structure to fix the orientation of the nozzle relative to the bit cutting structure. This aspect of the invention is particularly suited for use with a multi-stage diffuser assembly although it may also be used with no ill effect with other any other appropriate type of nozzles such any other sort of diffuser nozzle, mini-extended nozzles, or standard nozzles.
Sleeve 2220 includes a lip 2225 at its lower end. Protruding through a central hole in lip 2225 is an end 2230 of a multi-stage nozzle assembly. The top of a multiport retainer 2240 can also be seen. As would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the lower end of sleeve 2220 may be welded into a nozzle receptacle orifice in the drill bit body similar to the manner by which nozzle sleeves are welded into the drill bit body.
Referring to
While the lobes as shown are located on the distributor portion of a multi-stage nozzle assembly, they may be located at any suitable location along a directional nozzle that engages a nozzle sleeve. However, a particular advantage of this aspect of the invention is when the lobes are placed on the exit side of the nozzle. This allows the system to operate regardless of the retention system on the top side of the nozzle. Thus, any suitable retention system can be used to retain the nozzle to the sleeve, such as a snap ring or threaded retainer.
It is notable that while the sleeve may have the same number of machined slots as the nozzle has lobes, this is not necessary to the invention. For example, the directional nozzle may include a single lobe, with the sleeve having three engagement locations such as cuts or slots. This would provide flexibility to an operator to adapt the drill bit for expected drilling conditions. For example, an operator may insert the directional nozzle having one lobe in any one of three positions for a sleeve that has three receptive slots. Similarly, the nozzle could have two lobes, with the sleeve having four slots. This would provide two alternate locations for installation of the nozzle in the sleeve.
It also should be noted that although the invention includes lobes that are manufactured as part of the distributor component, the lobes may be made formed from sheet metal or other suitable material and added to a machined distributor component by glue or other suitable means.
Drilling fluid flows from the fluid plenum of the drill bit (not shown) through a passage at the top of the multi-port retainer 2240. It then flows through the nozzle restrictor 2410 and distribution nozzle 2420 as previously described, where it is ejected into the bottom of the wellbore. The weld-in sleeve 2220 is fixed such that the fluid exiting the bit will impinge the fluid in pre-defined locations relative to the cutting structure. As can be appreciated, any nozzle that is designed to direct drilling fluid to a particular location on or relative to a component of a drill bit body needs to be fixedly oriented and thus will be assisted by this aspect of the invention.
One particularly effective application of a multi-stage diff-user nozzle is to reduce bit balling. As is known in the art, bit balling describes the packing of formation between the cones and bit body, or between the bit cutting elements, while cutting formation. When it occurs, the cutting elements are packed off so much that they don't penetrate into the formation effectively, tending to slow the rate of penetration for the drill bit (ROP). Cone cleaning reduces the problem of bit balling, and thus effective cone cleaning is a desirable feature of bit design.
It is believed particularly effective to combine a multi-stage diffuser center jet and a set of three diverging outer jet nozzles on a three-cone rock bit. A multi-stage nozzle carrying the typical amount of fluid flow (20–25%) is located at a center jet location. Because a conventional roller cone bit has three equally spaced cutting cones, the multi-stage nozzle would generally have a distributor portion with three equally spaced exit ports although it could have more or less than three if desired to improve the effectiveness of the nozzle. A centerline extends from each exit port and projects to within 0.4″ from the closest tip of a cutting element at its nearest proximity on the respective cone (although a designer may wish to vary this distance depending on bit size and other conditions). Along the perimeter of the drill bit, at the three conventional locations for a three-cone rock bit, is placed three diverging nozzles.
Such a configuration was tested in the Dabbiya field in Abu Dhabi. It normally requires two milled tooth bits to drill the entire section because of bit balling. However, a drill bit with a multi-stage diff-user center jet and a set of three diverging outer jet nozzles drilled the entire interval with one bit in one run. This reduces costs, not only the cost of a drill bit but also the time it takes to remove a drill bit from the wellbore.
The design of a diverging nozzle is shown in
Diverging nozzles distinguish from the standard nozzle shown in
Testing has shown that there is an advantage of combining the use of a multi-stage diffuser nozzle in the center of the bit while using one or more diverging nozzles in the jet ports on the outer periphery of the bit. This combination is thought to be particularly advantageous since the diverging nozzles can more effectively clean the cone and cutting elements because the wider “foot print” of the exiting fluid will cover more area on the cone with high velocity fluid. Thus, the multi-stage diffuser nozzle is used to clean the inner rows of the cutting structure while the diverging nozzles on the outer periphery area are used to clean the further outboard cutters. Since both the multi-stage diffuser and the diverging nozzles are lowering the exit velocity of the fluid, they help to prevent cone shell that leads to bit failure. Yet, the combination of the two types of nozzles on the drill bit provides sufficient energy to the cone to maintain a clean cutting structure which helps to increase the penetration rate of the drill bit.
While preferred embodiments of this invention have been shown and described, other modifications can be made to these embodiments by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or teaching of this invention. For example, not all of the exit ports are required to be at non-central locations. The multi-stage diffuser nozzle may be employed on tools other than a drill bit, such as a hole reamer or hole opener. The embodiments described herein are exemplary only and are not limiting. Many variations and modifications of the system and apparatus are possible and are within the scope of the invention. Different aspects of the invention may be separately patentable. Accordingly, the scope of protection is not limited to the embodiments described herein, but is only limited by the claims which follow, the scope of which shall include all equivalents of the subject matter of the claims.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2945678 | Boudreaux et al. | Jul 1960 | A |
3070182 | Runte | Dec 1962 | A |
3087558 | Dougherty, Jr. | Apr 1963 | A |
3215215 | Kellner | Nov 1965 | A |
3823789 | Garner | Jul 1974 | A |
4071097 | Fulop et al. | Jan 1978 | A |
4185706 | Baker et al. | Jan 1980 | A |
4187921 | Garner | Feb 1980 | A |
4189014 | Allen et al. | Feb 1980 | A |
4369849 | Parrish | Jan 1983 | A |
4378853 | Chia et al. | Apr 1983 | A |
4619335 | McCullough | Oct 1986 | A |
4673045 | McCullough | Jun 1987 | A |
4687067 | Smith et al. | Aug 1987 | A |
4690229 | Raney | Sep 1987 | A |
4759415 | Pessier | Jul 1988 | A |
4784231 | Higgins | Nov 1988 | A |
4848489 | Deane | Jul 1989 | A |
4856601 | Raney | Aug 1989 | A |
5293946 | Besson et al. | Mar 1994 | A |
5355967 | Mueller et al. | Oct 1994 | A |
5579855 | Dickey | Dec 1996 | A |
5601153 | Ensminger et al. | Feb 1997 | A |
5669459 | Larsen et al. | Sep 1997 | A |
5775443 | Lott | Jul 1998 | A |
5785258 | Akin et al. | Jul 1998 | A |
5853055 | Siracki et al. | Dec 1998 | A |
5921476 | Akin et al. | Jul 1999 | A |
6065683 | Akin et al. | May 2000 | A |
6142248 | Thigpen et al. | Nov 2000 | A |
6192999 | Nguyen | Feb 2001 | B1 |
20020112889 | Larsen | Aug 2002 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20040069534 A1 | Apr 2004 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 09736613 | Dec 2000 | US |
Child | 10610017 | US |