Roller cone bits, variously referred to as rock bits or drill bits, are used in earth drilling applications. Typically, they are used in petroleum or mining operations where the cost of drilling is significantly affected by the rate that the drill bits penetrate the various types of subterranean formations. That rate is referred to as rate of penetration (“ROP”), and is typically measured in feet per hour. There is a continual effort to optimize the design of drill bits to more rapidly drill specific formations so as to reduce these drilling costs.
Roller cone bits are characterized by having roller cones rotatably mounted on legs of a bit body. Each roller cone has an arrangement of cutting elements attached to or formed integrally with the roller cone. A roller cone bit having two cones was invented in 1908 and is the predecessor of the more common three-cone bit. Two-cone drill bits greatly improved drilling rates in the early 1900's, but were found to suffer severe near bit vibrations, which resulted in extensive damage to downhole tools. Three-cone bits gradually replaced two-cone drill bits because of an increase in stability and reduction in vibrations during drilling. Historically, the advantage maintained by two-cone drill bits is that they are generally able to drill faster than three-cone bits. Additionally, for drilling small holes, using three-cone bits, as opposed to two-cone bits, requires smaller legs that will be subjected to high loads through the roller cones, which are rotatably mounted. Two-cone drill bits are able to offer relatively larger legs for such hole sizes.
The two legs of most prior art two-cone drill bits are disposed substantially opposite of each other (i.e., 180 degrees apart) to evenly distribute the weight on bit (“WOB”) while drilling. However, recently it has been found that improvements to the stability of two-cone drill bits may be made through the orientation of roller cones and/or changes in cutting structure arrangements on the roller cones.
In one aspect, the present invention relates to a two-cone drill bit. The two-cone drill bit includes a bit body having a connection adapted to connect to a drill string. The bit body has a first leg and a second leg formed thereon. A first roller cone is rotatably mounted on the first leg, and a second roller cone is rotatably mounted on the second leg. A plurality of cutting elements is disposed on the roller cones. The first roller cone has a cone separation angle of about 145 degrees to about 166 degrees relative to the second roller cone.
In another aspect, the present invention relates to a two-cone drill bit. The two-cone drill bit includes a bit body having a connection adapted to connect to a drill string. The bit body has a first leg and a second leg formed thereon. A first roller cone is rotatably mounted on the first leg, and a second roller cone is rotatably mounted on the second leg. A plurality of cutting elements is disposed on the roller cones. The plurality of cutting elements is arranged to provide greater than about 17 percent bottom hole coverage per revolution of the two-cone drill bit.
In another aspect, the present invention relates to a two-cone drill bit. The two-cone drill bit includes a bit body having a connection adapted to connect to a drill string. The bit body has a first leg and a second leg formed thereon. A first roller cone is rotatably mounted on the first leg, and a second roller cone is rotatably mounted on the second leg. A plurality of cutting elements is disposed on the roller cones. The plurality of cutting elements is arranged to provide greater than about 17 percent bottom hole coverage per revolution of the two-cone drill bit. The first roller cone has a cone separation angle of about 145 degrees to about 166 degrees relative to the second roller cone. At least two lug pads are disposed on opposing sides of the bit body between the first leg and second leg, and the lug pads have a radial clearance of less than about a ½ inch exists between an outer extent of the two lug pads and a gauge diameter of the two-cone drill bit.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims.
In one or more embodiments, the present invention relates to two-cone drill bits. More specifically, the present invention relates to two-cone drill bits having improved stability.
In
In
In the embodiment shown in
Also shown for the two-cone drill bit in
Turning to
To determine an appropriate size of the lug pads 103A, 103B, a designer should consider the annular space 151A, 151B that is available for fluid and formation cuttings to pass after exiting the drill bit. In
Continuing with
While only two lug pads are shown in the embodiment in
In
In general, a three-cone drill bit will have about 17 percent to 25 percent bottom hole coverage. As used herein, “bottom hole coverage” refers to the percentage of bottom hole area contacted by cutting elements on the roller cones during one complete rotation of the drill bit. Bottom hole coverage is typically expressed as a percentage of the total area of the hole determined by the gauge diameter of the drill bit. The amount of bottom hole coverage varies depending on the number of contact points 401 (i.e., the number of cutting elements), as well as the ratio of roller cone revolutions to bit revolutions. The shape and orientation (e.g. journal angle and cone offset angle) of the roller cone also affect the bottom hole coverage. For example, by increasing the cone offset angle, the contact area of each contact point 401 is increased by causing the cutting element to scrape along the bottom of the hole, which increases the bottom hole coverage. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that bottom hole coverage can vary depending on the physical properties (e.g. hardness) of the earth formation being drilled.
Those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that several methods are available for determining the number of contact points 401 and bottom hole coverage. For example, a designer may manually determine the number of contact points 401 by calculating the location of the cutting elements through all or a portion of a rotation of the drill bit. The bottom hole coverage may be determined by calculating the depth at which each cutting elements penetrates and combining that calculation with the location and quantity of the contact points 401. Drilling simulations may also be performed to determine the number of contact points 401 and bottom hole coverage. One example of a suitable drilling simulation method that may be used for this purpose is U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,293, entitled “Method for Simulating Drilling of Roller Cone Bits and its Application to Roller Cone Bit Design and Performance,” which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and now incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Prior art two-cone drill bits typically have a reduced number of contact points compared to three-cone drill bits because of the lower number of roller cones. The reduced number of contact points typically results in a bottom hole coverage of 11 percent to 15 percent for prior art two-cone drill bits. The present inventors have found that increasing the bottom hole coverage of a two-cone drill bit correlates to an increase in stability and a reduction of vibrations during drilling compared to prior art two-cone drill bits.
In
Depending on the desired bottom hole coverage area, a drill bit designer may not be able to sufficiently increase the number of cutting elements without altering the geometry of the roller cones. In prior art roller cone drill bits, each of the roller cones partially intermesh with each other. As used herein, “intermesh” refers to the amount that the cutting elements on one roller cone extend into the gaps between cutting elements on another cone. Intermeshing roller cones provides the advantage of mechanically cleaning formation cuttings from the roller cones. The present inventors have found that a two-cone drill bit can be made without intermeshing the roller cones. Referring to
Embodiments of the invention may provide one or more of the following advantages. Vibrations during drilling may be reduced through improvements in the stability, both lateral and vertical, with embodiments of the invention. The reduction in vibrations helps to improve the overall life of the drill bit, as well as to reduce the occurrence of damage to other components in a drill string that may be exposed to the vibrations. Improvements in lateral stability also help to provide a more circular and straight well bore.
Two-cone drill bits in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention have also been found to provide improved steerability when combined with assemblies for controlling the direction of the drill bit. Further, embodiments of the invention are directionally stable when a straight hole is desired. This characteristic is improved in part because of a reduced WOB that is required for drilling the same ROP as a three-cone drill bit of a similar IADC type.
While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate that other embodiments can be devised which do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20060054361 A1 | Mar 2006 | US |