Tooth design to avoid shearing stresses

Abstract

Teeth disposed on the bit face of a rotating bit are, angularly oriented on the sloping surface of the bit face such that a vertical loading force which is applied to each tooth vectorially sums with a wedging force exerted by the rock formation on each tooth to create a resultant force applied to the diamond cutting element included within the tooth. The angular orientation of the tooth is chosen such that the resultant force is applied to the diamond cutting element in a direction which minimizes shear stress on the element. For example, in the case where the diamond cutting element is an equilateral triangular prismatic element tangentially set on the bit face with one apical edge defined by two adjacent triangular sides outermost on the tooth, the orientation or inclination of the tooth with respect to the vertical loading force and wedge force is such that the resulting force lies near or on the bisector of the dihedral angle formed by the apical edge. Similarly, the diamond cutting element is rearwardly raked in the longitudinal direction, generally parallel to the tangential motion during normal drilling as defined by the rotation of the bit, such that the vectorial sum of the vertical loading force in a reactive cutting force applies a resultant force on the diamond cutting element in a direction which minimizes shear stress, namely, in the example in a direction approximately perpendicular to one of the end faces of the triangular prismatic diamond cutting element.