Non-Planar Cutting Crests for Rock Fracturing Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional downhole cutting tools, such as drill bits, face limitations in efficiently cutting and fracturing rock formations due to the planar nature of their cutting surfaces, which can lead to reduced effectiveness and increased wear.
Innovation Solution
The development of cutting elements with non-planar working surfaces featuring multiple cutting crests and valleys, along with canted surfaces, that distribute load and divert cuttings, allowing for enhanced rock fracturing and cutting efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional planar cutting surfaces are used, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but cutting efficiency is reduced and wear increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting surface is transformed from a conventional planar geometry to a non-planar geometry with multiple crests and valleys. This curvature variation creates multiple cutting edges that simultaneously engage with the rock formation, increasing cutting efficiency while the overall structure remains a single integrated cutting element
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting surface is extended from a two-dimensional planar surface to a three-dimensional non-planar surface with varying heights, crests, and valleys. This dimensional enhancement allows multiple cutting crests to engage the formation at different levels, improving productivity without requiring multiple separate cutting elements
2Reliability
If planar cutting surfaces are used, then manufacturing is straightforward, but rock fracturing effectiveness is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting surface is segmented into multiple distinct crests and valleys rather than being a continuous planar surface. This segmentation creates multiple discrete cutting edges that can independently engage with the rock formation, enabling multiple fracture modes (tensile, sliding, and tearing) that improve fracturing effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting element incorporates an ultrahard layer deposited on a substrate, creating a composite structure. This composite material approach enhances the cutting edge durability and effectiveness while the non-planar geometry is formed through controlled material removal or deposition processes
3Duration of action of stationary object
If conventional cutting edges are used, then the design is simple, but cutting element wear increases
Solution Approach 1:
The non-planar cutting surface with multiple crests and valleys distributes the mechanical load across multiple cutting edges rather than concentrating it on a single edge. This load distribution reduces wear on individual cutting edges, extending the service life of the cutting element while the complex geometry is maintained through controlled manufacturing processes
Data Source
AI summary
A cutting element may include a substrate; and an ultrahard layer on the substrate, the ultrahard layer including a non-planar working surface that is surrounded by a peripheral edge having a varying height around a circumference of the cutting element, the working surface also having: a plurality of cutting crests extending from an elevated portion of the peripheral edge across at least a portion of the working surface; at least one valley between the plurality of cutting crests; and a canted surface extending laterally from each of the outer plurality of cutting crests towards a depressed portion of the peripheral edge, a height between the depressed portion and the elevated portion being greater than a height between the elevated portion and the valley.