Gas Research Institute

Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.

Maurer Engineering Gmbh

Brooklyn Union Gas Co.

Other

Electric Power Research Institute Incorporated

Westerngeco L.l.p.

Nabors Drilling Technologies USA, Inc.

Axon Downhole Products, Inc.

Gerard T Pittard

William J McDonald

John H Cohen

Curtis E Leitko, Jr

William C Maurer

Terry P Clifton

Karl F Kiefer

William C Herben

Michael R Wasson

Gerald Rockower

Gregory C Givler

Rory J Mallard, Jr

J Christopher Hetmaniak

Donald L Chaffee

Noel Evan Browne

C Grissom Steele

Curtis Leitko

William C McDonald

Charles G Steele

A bearing assembly for a downhole motor is provided. The bearing assembly includes a housing and a drive shaft designed to rotate with respect to the housing. The bearing assembly also includes stackable thrust bearings, each pre-loaded via a corresponding spring component. Some thrust bearings are arranged such that their spring components distribute axial loads from the housing in a first direction to the thrust bearings. Other thrust bearings are arranged such that their spring components distribute axial loads from the drive shaft in the first direction to the thrust bearings. Thus, the bearing assembly may be tailored via the stackable bearings to distribute axial thrust forces on the downhole motor evenly across the different thrust bearings. The bearing section may include a machinable spacer used to provide a double shouldered connection between the drive shaft and a drive shaft cap used to compress the stackable bearings.

Bearing section of a downhole drilling motor

Power section and transmission components within a downhole drilling motor that may reduce or eliminate axial thrust loads on the transmission of the drilling motor are provided. The transmission may utilize a driven shaft coupled between two connectors that enable torque transfer to and from the transmission while allowing the driven shaft to move freely in two planes. The power section may include a rotor with a through bore and a flex-shaft disposed in the through bore. The flex-shaft may be designed to rotate with the rotor. The flex-shaft may extend beyond the length of the rotor in one direction to be centralized within a bearing assembly. The opposite end of the flex-shaft may include a load-carrying shoulder that is retained in the bottom end of the rotor.

Power section and transmission of a downhole drilling motor

A portable apparatus for creating holes in rock. A rock drill connected to a compressed air supply is engaged with a connector attached between the rock drill and a rock bit. The connector has a substantially tubular shaft for transporting compressed air from the air supply to the rock bit. The tubular shaft uniquely maximizes the air available for removing rock cuttings and minimizes the possibility of rock bit sticking in the rock hole. The invention is particularly suited to seismic shothole drilling requiring portable equipment operable by a single person.

Portable seismic shothole drilling system

A system of apparatus for use in a coring tool measures the height of a core sample being recovered and transmits data relative thereto to the surface of a formation concurrently during the coring operation. A transmitter of an electromagnetic ranging system rides atop a core sample being formed in the barrel chamber and a receiver member of the electromagnetic ranging system is fixed at a top end of the barrel it known distance above the transmitter. During the coring operation the transmitter transmits a fixed frequency signal to the receiver through drilling fluid disposed therebetween. The distance between the transmitter and receiver decreases and the amplitude of the transmitted signal changes as a function of the separation distance between the transmitter and receiver as the core sample enters the inner barrel and the height of the core sample within the barrel is determined as a function of time and depth. The pressure of the drilling fluid is modulated to transmit a series of pressure pulses from the barrel to the surface encoded to produce a binary digital or pulse-width modulation signal. The electromagnetic ranging system may be incorporated into a coring tool having a core bit disposed at a lower end and a full closure ball valve and core retention assembly movable to a closed position to close the bottom end of the inner barrel and prevent the loss of core collected in the inner barrel chamber.

Advanced coring apparatus and method

A downhole buried utility sensing and data transmission system for connection at the lower end of a drill string has sensors capable of detecting the existence of various different types of buried utilities and objects and making calculations as to the radial separation distance between the detected utilities and the drill head and transmitting data between the down hole drill head to the surface. The sensors respond to material properties used to construct the utility lines or the energy fields created by the operation of these lines (pipes and cables) or from the energy associated with transmission of the particular utility service, including sound energy resulting from fluid flow and electromagnetic energy from electric currents. The system can detect and distinguish the presence of ferromagnetic metallic objects including steel pipes and structures; non-metallic utility infrastructure including gas pipelines, concrete sewer lines, telecommunication lines, and cable systems outfitted with RF tracer lines and transmitters; energized AC and DC power cable systems; and determining the approximate range, relative azimuth, and elevation of the sensors relative to the detected utility or object. The system also supports automatic cessation of drilling operations by combining the warning information with microprocessor control of drill string rotation and thrust.

Downhole buried utility sensing and data transmission system and method

The present invention is directed toward a method for preventing, suppressing or mitigating explosions in a confined subterranean chamber, access opening, or entryway of an underground structure such as the manhole of sewers, service boxes, and mining tunnels. The method utilizes a flexible bladder filled with an inert gas or explosion suppressing agent, wherein the bladder is maintained in the chamber in an inflated condition and the volume of the inflated bladder occupies greater than 70% of the volume of the chamber to significantly reduce the amount of space in which an explosive fuel/air mixture may otherwise accumulate. The bladder is heat critical to disintegrate at a predetermined temperature and release a volume of the explosion suppressing agent or inert gas relative to the volume of the chamber which is sufficient to alter the ratio of the fuel/air mixture in the chamber to prevent, suppress or mitigate the explosive reaction. The inflated bladder also serves as a compressible plenum or pressure accumulator to retard ultimate pressure buildup such that the pressures caused by a limited explosion are not transferred to the chamber cover and interconnecting ducts of the subterranean enclosure.

Method and apparatus for prevention, suppression or mitigation of

Apparatus is disclosed for providing one hundred percent inspection of natural gas mains under operating flow conditions. The apparatus includes a scan unit assembly which is inserted into the gas main to collect data for the production of graphic images of the wall of the gas main. The scan unit includes a plurality of scan rollers, each containing an ultrasonic transducer, which traverse the surface of the wall defining the inner diameter of the gas main. The ultrasonic transducers transmit interrogating pulses into the wall of the gas main at a pre-determined spaced apart interval resulting in a helical scan pattern of interrogating pulses. The return pulses from the surfaces defining the inner diameter and outer diameter of the gas main and any imperfections and/or flaws within the wall of the main are received by the transducer and transmitted to a display unit for a visual indication (a tomograph) of the wall of the gas main.

Scan assembly structure

An apparatus and method for supporting pipe main repair tools in an excavation while repairs are being made requires only exposure of the top surface of a buried main and utilizes an anchoring system installed in or above the excavation and an elongate support member that spans the excavation in a generally horizontal position above the pipe main and supports an elongate tubular seal tube against the exposed surface of the pipe main. The elongate support member is secured and supported at opposite ends on the ground surface on opposed sides of the excavation by a pair of parallel laterally spaced shoring members firmly engaged on opposed sides of the excavation, or by a pair of parallel laterally spaced anchor plates firmly engaged on the ground surface on opposed sides of the excavation. The bottom end of the elongate tubular seal tube is engaged on the exterior of the pipe main and an adjustable clamping assembly mounted on the support member supports the seal tube in selective radially extending positions relative to the longitudinal axis of the pipe main. A jack mechanism between the seal tube and the adjustable clamping assembly on the support member forces the seal tube downward to seal against the pipe main. Various tools may be passed through the interior of the seal tube to perform operations on the pipe main.

Apparatus and method for supporting pipe main repair tools in an

A wireless downhole electromagnetic data transmission system and method utilizes microprocessor controlled frequency synthesis for two-way communication between the surface and a downhole guided boring or drilling apparatus in the range of from 100 Hz to 100 KHz. A non-magnetic downhole probe unit connected between a drill motor or drill bit and the drill string contains data gathering and transmission components including accelerometers which measure the earth's gravity vector and fluxgate magnetometers which read the earth's magnetic field and serve as power line proximity sensors. The drill pipe acts as an electrical lossy, single conductor with the earth forming the electrical return path. Sensory data gathered by the downhole probe is encoded in digital format and impressed upon the drill string using frequency shift keying of the electromagnetic energy waves and is picked off at the surface by a signal receiver-demodulator and message processor unit. The surface unit instructs the downhole probe to transmit multiple frequencies and selects one or more frequencies with the most favorable signal-to-noise ratio(s) in response to local conditions to maximize the transmission distance at a selective frequency band range and given transmitter power level and baud rate. The received signal is filtered, demodulated, processed and displayed at the surface and gravity and magnetic field vectors are combined with the created hole length to calculate x, y, and z hole coordinates and derive hole position vectors.

Wireless downhole electromagnetic data transmission system and method

An apparatus and method for shutting off fluid flow in a pipe main while repairs are being made requires only exposure of the top surface of a buried main and utilizes an anchor system installed in or above the excavation which supports an elongate tubular seal tube against the exposed surface of the main to extend radially therefrom. A jack mechanism compresses the lower end of the seal tube containing a seal member against the exterior surface of the main. A tubular cutting tool installed inside the seal tube is rotated by an air motor to cut a hole in the side wall of the main. A tubular sealant application tool installed inside the seal tube has a nozzle at its bottom end that sprays liquid sealant material onto the interior surface of the main and is then removed. A tubular bladder deployment tool installed inside the seal tube carries a pair of deflated bladders. The bladders are deployed from the deployment tool in opposed direction into the interior of the main along the longitudinal axis of the main and are then inflated to expand and form a seal to shut off fluid flow in the main. After repairs have been made, the bladders are deflated and retracted and the bladder deployment tool is removed. A tubular thread tapping and plugging tool is installed inside the seal tube and rotated to form threads in the cut hole and then removed and then installed again to secure a threaded plug into the hole. After the hole has been plugged, the seal tube is removed.

Apparatus and method for shutting off fluid flow in a pipe main

A test stand has a base supporting standards on which are mounted a crossbar and an adjustably locatable header. The header supports an actuator for raising and lowering the crossbar which holds V-blocks for engaging the handles of an impact or impact-rotary tool and which applies downward pressure to the tool. The tool chuck is fitted to the top of a guide rod whose lower end passes with a sliding fit through a disc to which it is keyed and bears against a piston in an hydraulically pressurized cylinder. Sensors detect rotation of the disc and movement of the piston to provide information to a computer as to impact energy and rotary speed. A manifold fitted with sensors for temperature, pressure, and flow rate supplies operating air to the tool. The computer includes a database with stored information as to past history of the tool and the manufacturer's recommended operating specifications to which the measured data is compared.

Impact and impact-rotary tool testing apparatus using rotary speed and

A method of rapid earth excavation without damaging buried pipe, cable or other underground objects utilizes drills and augers having soft cutting edges and/or control of the torque and weight of the boring apparatus. In one embodiment, the bit of a drill, or bottom end of an earth auger is equipped with inserts formed of soft polymeric material. Another embodiment of an earth auger apparatus has soft polymeric material on the leading cutting surface of the flight, or the auger flight may be formed of soft polymeric material. The flexibility and low abrasion of the polymeric material prevents damage to the object contacted. Another embodiment has a dual concentric auger with a small earth-auger rotatably mounted inside the shaft of a larger auger and driven independently such that each is capable of providing and maintaining a torque adequate to create a given hole diameter but sufficiently below that which would damage the object expected to be encountered. Another embodiment has an indicator mounted forward of and below the leading cutting surface of the auger to warn the operator of a buried utility or to automatically stop the auger before the cutting surface contacts the buried utility.

Rotary rapid excavation system

A new and improved air motor operated rotary earth drilling tool for use with a source of high pressure, high volume compressed air has a circulation control housing, a motor housing, a reduction gear housing, and a bearing housing connected longitudinally in series. The circulation control housing is connected to high pressure, high volume, compressed air and has an outlet opening into the motor housing, and an exhaust opening for discharge of compressed air for flushing cuttings and debris from a bore hole which is controlled by longitudinal movement of an inlet tube. The motor housing has a motor chamber and a sliding vane rotor with a rotary shaft extending into the reduction gear housing. A planetary reduction gear receives the rotor shaft and has a low speed, high torque output shaft extending into the bearing housing. A passageway conducts compressed air around the planetary reduction gear for cooling. A radial and thrust bearing pack in the bearing housing is connected to the planetary reduction gear output shaft. A hollow, rotary drill bit sub extends into the bearing housing and is supported on the bearing pack for rotation by the planetary reduction gear. Part of the compressed air operating the motor and cooling the planetary reduction gear is discharged through the drill bit sub and part flows though the bearing pack for cooling and discharge into the bore hole.

Air motor operated rotary earth drilling tool

Long utility holes, for gas lines, electrical conduit, communications conduit and the like, may be bored or pierced horizontally through the earth, particularly under obstacles, such as buildings, streets, highways, rivers, lakes, etc. Such holes may be bored by an underground drilling mole (underground percussion drill) supported on a hollow drill rod and supplied with compressed air through the rod to operate an air hammer which strikes an anvil having an external boring face, preferably constructed to apply an asymmetric boring force. The drill rod is operated by a drill rig on the surface or recessed in special pit for horizontal drilling and provides for additional sections of pipe or hollow rod as the boring progresses. The asymmetric boring force causes the boring path to curve and, when straight line drilling is needed, the drill rod is rotated to counteract the asymmetric boring force. An alternative boring tool utilizes an expander supported on a solid or hollow drill rod and having a base end supported on and larger in diameter than the rod and tapering longitudinally forward therefrom. It may have a uniform extension protruding a short distance forward. The tool penetrates the earth upon longitudinal movement of the drill rod.

Guided earth boring tool

Long utility holes, for gas lines, electrical conduit, communications conduit and the like, may be bored or pierced horizontally through the earth, particularly under obstacles, such as buildings, streets, highways, rivers, lakes, etc. Such holes may be bored by an underground drilling mole (underground percussion drill) supported on a hollow drill rod and supplied with compressed air through the rod to operate an air hammer which strikes an anvil having an external boring face, preferably constructed to apply an asymmetric boring force. The drill rod is operated by a drill rig on the surface or recessed in special pit for horizontal drilling and provides for addition of sections of pipe or hollow rod as the boring progresses. The asymmetric boring force causes the boring path to curve and, when straight line drilling is needed, the drill rod is rotated to counteract the asymmetric boring force. An alternative boring tool utilizes an expander supported on a solid or hollow drill rod and having a base end supported on and larger in diameter than the rod and tapering longitudinally forward therefrom. It may have a uniform extension protruding a short distance forward. The tool penetrates the earth upon longitudinal movement of the drill rod.

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

Gerard T Pittard