Baker Hughes Corporation

Baker Hughes, a Ge Compnay, LLC

Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations LLC

Hughes Tool Company LLC

Hughes Tool Company-usa

US Synthetic Corporation

Baker Hughes Holdings LLC

Eric Charles Sullivan

Tu Tien Trinh

Don Quy Nguyen

Xiaomin C Cheng

Chih C Lin

Anton F Zahradnik

Daryl Pritchard

Scott Ray Schmidt

Paul E Pastusek

Evan C Turner

Jack Thomas Oldham

Mark William Dykstra

Kenneth R Evans

Eric E McClain

Alan J Massey

L Allen Sinor

Robert A Laing

Theodore Edward Zaleski, Jr

Daniel E Ruff

Glenn R Zadrapa

Keith Glasgow

Paul J Lutes

R Keith Glasgow, Jr

Navish Makkar

John H Stevens

Terry J Koltermann

Aaron J Dick

Richard Jin Yao

Jason R Habernal

Scott Shiqiang Shu

Danielle V Roberts

Priscila Farias Ronqui

R Scot Smith

Juan Miguel Bilen

Feyzi Inanc

Sorin Gabriel Teodorescu

Yi Liu

Xu Huang

Bo Yu

Craig Hodges Cooley

Timothy Nathan Sexton

Nicholas J Lyons

Jeffrey B Lund

Chaitanya K Vempati

James Andy Oxford

David Alexander Curry

Timothy King Marvel

John F Bradford

Terry D Watts

Heeman Choe

Carmel Zouheir El Hakam

Daryl L Pritchard

Danny Eugene Scott

Anthony Albert DiGiovanni

Victor I Lyamichev

Otto N Fanini

James Leslie Overstreet

Gregory Prevost

Steven Craig Russell

Gregory L Ricks

Jigar Patel

Matthew J Meiners

Mark Phillip Blackman

Wanjun Cao

John Gerard Evans

David Keith Luce

Bruce H Burr

W Allen Gilchrist

Ajay V Kulkarni

Umesh Prasad

Dan E Scott

Carl E Poteet, Iii

Stanley R Scales

John Francis Bradford, Iii

Daniel E Scott

Louis H Barnard

Christopher W Lane

Terry Hunt

Lane Snell

Thomas Albert

Terry J Kolterman

Manjunath Prabhakar

Chris Perez

Kenneth A Gibbs

Daniel W Allford

Matthew Meiners

John G Evans

John F Bradford Iii

Ronnie L Jones

Christopher G Beuershausen

A cutting element may include a fluid passage passing through the cutting element. The cutting element may further include a cutting edge and an aperture proximate the cutting edge. The aperture may be coupled to the fluid passage.

Earth-boring tools, cutting elements, and associated structures, apparatus, and methods

Displacements for use in forming at least a portion of a bit body of an earth-boring rotary drill bit may comprise a machineable material portion configured to form an integral machineable material portion of the bit body. Such displacements may optionally also include a sacrificial material portion. Bit bodies resulting from the use of such displacements may comprise a main body comprised of a particle-matrix composite material and a plurality of integral machineable material portions. Earth-boring rotary drill bits may include such bit bodies. Methods of manufacturing such bit bodies, and methods of manufacturing earth-boring rotary drill bits utilizing displacements are also disclosed.

Displacement members comprising machineable material portions, bit bodies comprising machineable material portions from such displacement members, earth-boring rotary drill bits comprising such bit bodies, and related methods

A method of operating a wellbore using a plurality of acoustic emission transducers. The method comprises deploying acoustic emission transducers in association with at least one of a member of a drill string, a bottomhole assembly, and a drill bit coupled to the drill string in a wellbore. The acoustic emission transducers are coupled to a controller comprising a processor and memory. The processor is programmed to determine one or more of a frequency of the acoustic emissions, an amplitude of the acoustic emissions, an energy of the acoustic emissions, a duration of the acoustic emissions, a rise time of the acoustic emissions, and a frequency centroid of the acoustic emissions. The method includes measuring acoustic emissions generated by acoustic events originating within the wellbore with the acoustic emission transducers. Downhole acoustic systems for monitoring drilling operations of a wellbore are also disclosed.

Downhole acoustic systems and related methods of operating a wellbore

A method of determining a rate of penetration of a downhole tool. The method comprises introducing a downhole tool including a drill bit configured to drill through a subterranean formation in a wellbore, the downhole tool comprising at least one reader configured to communicate with identification tags using electromagnetic radiation. The method includes advancing the wellbore with the drill bit and placing, with a component of a bottomhole assembly of the downhole tool, a first identification tag at a first location proximate the wellbore and at least a second identification tag at a second location proximate the wellbore and separated from the first location by a distance. An interrogation signal is transmitting from the at least one reader toward a wall of the wellbore and response signals from the identification tags are received by the at least one reader to determine proximity of the identification tags to the reader. A rate of penetration of the downhole tool is determined, using a processor and associated memory, based at least in part on a distance between identification tags and an amount of time between receiving response signals from a first identification tag and at least a second identification tag. Downhole systems for determining a rate of penetration and other methods are also disclosed.

Downhole system for determining a rate of penetration of a downhole tool and related methods

An earth-boring tool includes a shank. The shank may include a central bore extending partially through the shank. An end-cap may be disposed within the central bore, and the end-cap may include a first flange, a second flange, and a body portion extending between the first flange and the second flange. An annular chamber may be defined between the body portion of the end-cap and an interior wall of the central bore of the shank. At least one strain gauge may be secured to an outer surface of the body portion of the end-cap. At least one stain gauge may be secured to a cap portion welded over a recess formed in the earth-boring tool.

Sensors in earth-boring tools, related systems, and related methods

A tool for forming or servicing a wellbore includes a first body, a second body, and a retaining member located between a surface of the first body and a surface of the second body. The retaining member at least partially retains the second body with respect to the first body. The retaining member comprises a shape memory material configured to transform, responsive to application of a stimulus, from a first solid phase to a second solid phase. A method of forming a tool for forming or servicing a wellbore includes disposing a retaining member comprising a shape memory material in a space between a first body and a second body and transforming the shape memory material from a first solid phase to a second solid phase by application of a stimulus to cause the retaining member to create a mechanical interference.

Method and apparatus for securing bodies using shape memory materials

Wellbore sensor systems and related methods are disclosed. A wellbore sensor system includes a first sensor node and a second sensor node. The first sensor node is operably coupled to a drill string at a first location. The second sensor node is operably coupled to the drill string at a second location. A method includes taking first sensor readings from the first sensor node relative to a first spatial frame of reference, and taking second sensor readings from the second sensor node relative to a second spatial frame of reference, and using the first sensor readings and the second sensor readings to estimate parameters of a mathematical transform configured to transform the second sensor readings into the first spatial frame of reference. The method also includes transforming the second sensor readings into the first spatial frame of reference with the estimated mathematical transform.

Multiple downhole sensor digital alignment using spatial transforms

An earth-boring tool includes a tool body, at least one cutting element, and a retaining member comprising a shape memory material (e.g., alloy, polymer, etc.) located between a surface of the tool body and a surface of the cutting element. The shape memory material is configured to transform, responsive to application of a stimulus, from a first solid phase to a second solid phase. The retaining member comprises the shape memory material in the second solid phase, and at least partially retains the at least one cutting element adjacent the tool body. The shape memory material may be trained in a first phase to a first shape, and trained in a second phase to a second shape. The retaining member may be at least partially within a cavity in the first phase, then transformed to the second phase to apply a force securing the cutting element to the tool body.

Earth-boring tools and methods for forming earth-boring tools using shape memory materials

Methods of operating earth-boring tools may involve extending a selectively actuatable cutting element outward from a face of the earth-boring tool. A portion of an underlying earth formation may be crushed by a crushing cutting action utilizing the selectively actuatable cutting element in response to extension of the cutting element. The selectively actuatable cutting element may subsequently be retracted. Earth-boring tools may include a selectively actuatable cutting element mounted to a blade, the selectively actuatable cutting element configured to move between a retracted state in which the selectively actuatable cutting element does not engage with an underlying earth formation and an extended state in which the selectively actuatable cutting element engages with the underlying earth formation. The selectively actuatable cutting element may be configured to perform a gouging or crushing cutting action at least upon initial positioning into the extended state.

Earth-boring tools including selectively actuatable cutting elements and related methods

Method of operating earth-boring tools may involve activating a selectively activatable hydraulic fracturing device secured to the earth-boring tool to impact an underlying earth formation with a fluid from the selectively activatable hydraulic fracturing device. A crack may be at least one of initiated or propagated in a portion of the underlying earth formation utilizing the fluid in response to activation of the selectively activatable hydraulic fracturing device. The selectively activatable hydraulic fracturing device may be subsequently deactivated. Earth-boring tools may include a selectively activatable hydraulic fracturing device configured to transition between an activated state in which fluid is permitted to flow through the selectively activatable hydraulic fracturing device to engage with an underlying earth formation and a deactivated state in which fluid does not flow through the selectively activatable hydraulic fracturing device. The selectively activatable hydraulic fracturing device may be configured to at least one of initiate or propagate cracks.

An earth-boring tool includes a tool body having an aperture therein defining a nozzle port, a nozzle or nozzle assembly disposed in the nozzle port, and a shape memory material disposed adjacent a surface of at least one component of the nozzle or nozzle assembly. The shape memory material retains at least one component of the nozzle or nozzle assembly by a threadless connection. The threadless connection includes mechanical interference between the shape memory material, the at least one component of the nozzle or nozzle assembly, and the tool body or another component of the nozzle or nozzle assembly. The shape memory material is formulated and configured to transform from a first phase and a first shape upon heating and to transform from a second phase and a second shape upon cooling.

Nozzle assemblies including shape memory materials for earth-boring tools and related methods

A method of forming an earth-boring tool includes forming a tool body including at least one inverted cutting element pocket, at least a portion of the at least one inverted cutting element pocket having a profile substantially matching a profile of an actual cutting element to be secured within a cutting element pocket to be formed by subsequently machining the at least one inverted cutting element pocket. Hardfacing material may be applied to portions of the tool body. The actual cutting element pocket is formed by removing material of the tool body within the at least one inverted cutting element pocket subsequent to applying the hardfacing material to portions of the tool body. A cutting element is affixed within the actual cutting element pocket.

Earth-boring tools with precise cutter pocket location and orientation and related methods

Methods of forming earth-boring tools include using a plasma spray device to gouge at least one recess through a hardfacing material and into a body. At least a portion of the recess may define a cutting element pocket in which a cutting element may be received and bonded. The recess formed using the plasma spray device optionally may be further machined to form the cutting element pocket. Earth-boring tools are fabricated using such methods.

Methods for forming earth-boring tools having cutting elements mounted in cutting element pockets and tools formed by such methods

A method of forming an earth-boring tool includes introducing metal into a die, rotating the die to generate centrifugal forces on the metal, and cooling the metal in the rotating die. A rotary drill bit may include a unitary, centrifugally cast bit body including an integral shank, at least one blade, and at least one cutting element on the blade. A rotary drill bit or a roller cone may include a first centrifugally cast material and a second centrifugally cast material. Another rotary drill bit includes a bit body comprising a maraging steel alloy. A method of forming a rotary drill bit may include disposing cutting elements on a rotary drill bit comprising maraging steel and aging the rotary drill bit to form at least one intermetallic precipitate phase. Methods of repairing a rotary drill bit include annealing and aging at least a portion of a rotary drill bit.

Rotary drill bits comprising maraging steel and methods of forming such drill bits

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

Eric Charles Sullivan