Smith International, Inc.

Schlumberger Technology Corporation

James Layne Larsen

Michael Allen Siracki

Dwayne P Terracina

Luca Tedeschi

Peter Thomas Cariveau

Anthony Griffo

Alan W Lockstedt

Alysia C White

Steven W Peterson

Manikiran Bandi

Gary R Portwood

Simone Pallesi

Alessandro Bertini

Alessio Cechi

James L Neville

Johann Obermair

Quan V Nguyen

Gary Portwood

Syed Hossain

Riccardo Gronchi

Madapusi K Keshavan

Chris Edward Cawthorne

Thomas W Oldham

Mohammed Boudrare

Sudarsanam Chellappa

Prabhakaran K Centala

Yaou Wang

Parag Konde

Rui Gao

Brian D Squier

Timothy Scott Roberts

Godwin Apeh Gabriel

Srinivas Likki

Jeffrey D Leisey

Andrew Grebe

A cutting bit includes a bit body and high-pressure body with a high-pressure fluid conduit therethrough. The high-pressure body and bit body are joined together. The high-pressure fluid conduit is configured to convey a fluid at greater than 14.5 ksi, and in some embodiments greater than 40 ksi. The high-pressure fluid conduit may direct the fluid through a nozzle in a fluid jet to weaken material, such as an earth formation. The cutting bit includes at least one roller cone and/or blades with cutting elements thereon to remove the weakened material. A cutting bit includes both high and low-pressure fluid conduits, and high and low-pressure fluid nozzles. The high-pressure nozzles receive fluid flow from a downhole pressure intensifier, and a connection between the bit and the downhole pressure intensifier includes rigid connectors, flexible connectors, or a combination thereof.

Drill bit for use with intensified fluid pressures

A downhole tool includes a body having a bore extending at least partially therethrough. A component is disposed within the bore and arranged and designed to move axially from a first position to a second position within the bore. An axial end portion of the component has a first contact surface that is oriented at an angle from about 1&#xb0; to about 45&#xb0; with respect to a longitudinal axis extending through the component.

Actuating a downhole tool

A bearing assembly comprising a frame; a rotating disc disposed in the frame, the rotating disc comprising a first set of inserts; and a fixed disc disposed in the frame, the fixed disc comprising a second set of inserts, the second set of inserts configured to interact with the first set of inserts, and a lip disposed adjacent the second set of inserts. Also, a bearing assembly comprising a frame; a rotating disc disposed in the frame, the rotating disc comprising a first set of inserts and at least one groove disposed axially above at least one of the inserts; and a fixed disc disposed in the frame, the fixed disc comprising a second set of inserts, the second set of inserts configured to interact with the first set of inserts.

Flow control through thrust bearing assembly

A drill bit for drilling through an earthen formation to form a borehole includes a bit body having a central axis, an internal plenum, and an underside. The underside includes an annular outer region. The bit body includes an outer receptacle extending from the plenum to the outer region. In addition, the drill bit comprises a first and a second cone cutter. Each cone cutter comprises an outer region distal the bit axis. Further the drill bit comprises an outer sleeve having an upstream end received by the outer sleeve receptacle and a through passage. The through passage includes an upstream section having an upstream axis and a downstream section having a downstream axis that is skewed at an angle &#x3b1; relative to the upstream axis. A projection of the downstream axis passes between the outer regions of the first and second cone cutters.

Rock bit with vectored hydraulic nozzle retention sleeves

A drill bit for drilling through an earthen formation to form a borehole with a radius R. In an embodiment, the drill bit comprises a bit body having a central bit axis and including a pin end, an internal plenum, and a dome side. The dome side includes a central dome region extending from the bit axis to about 10% of the radius R and an intermediate dome region extending from the central region to about 50% of the radius R. In addition, the drill bit comprises an intermediate receptacle having a central axis and extending through the intermediate dome region. Further, the drill bit comprises a first and a second rolling cone, each including an intermediate cone region. A projection of the central axis of the intermediate receptacle passes between the intermediate regions of the first cone and the second cone.

Rock bit with hydraulic configuration

A method for forming a nozzle retention body suitable for engagement to a drill bit includes manufacturing an unfinished nozzle retention body which includes an upper end and a lower end. The upper end forms an inlet that transitions into a flowbore. The lower end has a nozzle receptacle passage machined therein toward the flowbore at an angle with respect to the lower end of the flowbore.

Method of forming a nozzle retention body

A method of manufacturing an earth-boring bit having a fluid plenum and a plurality of fluid pathways includes modeling flow characteristics of the fluid plenum and the plurality of fluid pathways, optimizing the flow characteristics to minimize fluid separation through each fluid pathway, constructing a plenum blank from the optimized model, and sintering matrix power between the plenum blank and a bit head mold to create the fluid plenum and plurality of fluid pathways.

Method of manufacturing a matrix body drill bit

A two-cone drill bit with a hydraulic arrangement that can be used for one or more of the following: cleaning roller cones, impinging on a hole bottom, or inducing a helical flow field. A two-cone drill bit having a bit body formed from two leg sections and two spacing members; methods of manufacturing a two-cone drill bit; and methods of improving hydraulics of a two-cone drill bit are disclosed.

Two-cone drill bit

Self relieving seals of this invention comprise an elastomeric seal body having a first sealing surface and a second sealing surface for contact with respective drill bit sealing surfaces. The seal includes a pair of external surfaces that each extend along the seal body between the first and second sealing surfaces. The seal includes one or more relief ports that are disposed through the seal body and that have openings through each of the seal body external surfaces. The relief port can be specially configured, e.g., have different diameter sections of constant or variable dimensions, to provide a degree of control over pressure equalization through the seal body when the seal is loaded within the drill bit. The seal may include an element, e.g., solid, tubular, or porous, disposed within the relief port to provide a further desired degree of control over pressure equalization through the seal when the seal is loaded within the drill bit. Surface features, on the seal or the drill bit, can be provided to offset the relief port opening from the rock bit so that it is not blocked off. The seal can include a valve mechanism to provide a further degree of control over fluid passage through the relief port.

Self relieving seal

An earth boring bit includes a bit body including plurality of PDC cutter elements and a fluid plenum connecting a fluid inlet to at least one fluid orifice. Furthermore, a ledge formed between a bottom of the fluid plenum and the at least one fluid orifice includes a relief region formed therein located across a flow change angle. Additionally, a method to improve a polycrystalline diamond compact drill bit body design includes determining flow change angles from a fluid plenum into a fluid orifice and modeling a relief region on a ledge to optimize fluid into the fluid orifice.

Nozzle bore for PDC bits

A drill bit configures hydraulic streams from the bit nozzles for the particular cutting structure to be cleaned based on the cutting structure location and geometry. The projected impingement location for each hydraulic stream projected fluid path is customized for a corresponding roller cone, with each nozzle or nozzle receptacle being individually positioned according to improve cone cleaning. At least two nozzles or nozzle receptacles should differ on the drill bit.

Cutting structure based hydraulics

A rotary cone rock bit includes one or more hole cleaning nozzles and one or more bit cleaning nozzles. The hole cleaning nozzles of one drill bit define a projected fluid path disposed at a lateral angle of less than six degrees in order to achieve a large impingement pressure on the hole bottom. The bit cleaning nozzles of the same drill bit define a projected fluid path disposed at a lateral angle of at least six degrees in order to pass within 0.5 inches of the teeth on leading edge of the lagging roller cone. This results in a drill bit that both cleans the bottom hole and cleans cone inserts.

Dual property hydraulic configuration

Growing community of inventors

Spring, TX, United States of America

James Layne Larsen