Nutating Fluid-Mechanical Energy Converter for Wellbore Drilling

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional wellbore drilling systems face issues with power section stalling and elastomer damage due to hostile drilling mud, leading to reduced torque and efficiency, especially when dealing with high-pressure and high-benzene environments.

Innovation Solution

A nutating fluid-mechanical energy converter is introduced, which includes a stator and rotor cylinder within a tubular housing, utilizing a longitudinal guide to facilitate nutation and transfer rotation to the drill bit, reducing wear and increasing torque output by eliminating the need for lobes in the power section and using specialized coatings to prevent elastomer damage.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional power sections with lobes and elastomers are used in high-pressure and high-benzene environments, then the system can transfer rotation to the drill bit, but the elastomer suffers damage and the power section stalls, reducing torque and efficiency

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepower section reliabilityVSAvoidelastomer damage from hostile drilling mud

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent removes the vulnerable elastomer and lobe components from the power section, extracting the harmful interaction between the elastomer and hostile drilling mud. The progressive cavity mud motor design eliminates elastomers entirely, replacing them with a more robust mechanism that can operate in high-benzene and high-pressure environments without degradation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent employs specialized coatings and materials that can withstand hostile drilling conditions. The power section uses composite material structures that resist damage from high-benzene environments and high pressures, replacing traditional elastomers with materials that maintain integrity under extreme conditions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

2Power

If conventional mud motors with lobes are used, then rotation can be transferred to the drill bit, but torque output is reduced due to stalling in hostile conditions

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetorque outputVSAvoidtorque consistency under hostile conditions

Core Design Contradiction:

PowerVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the traditional lobe-based mechanical power transmission system with a progressive cavity mud motor mechanism. This substitution eliminates the stalling issues associated with lobes in hostile conditions, providing consistent torque output through a different mechanical approach that is more resilient to high-pressure and high-benzene environments.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Ease of operation

If lobes are used in the power section to transfer rotation, then the drill bit can be rotated, but the device complexity increases and wear occurs

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverotation transfer capabilityVSAvoidpower section structure

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and removes the complex lobe structure from the power section, simplifying the overall device design. By eliminating the lobes, the power section becomes less complex with fewer moving parts, reducing both structural complexity and potential wear points while maintaining rotation transfer capability through the progressive cavity mechanism.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The system enhances torque output and reduces stalling, maintaining efficiency even in hostile conditions, with the ability to achieve higher torque and minimize elastomer damage, thus improving overall wellbore drilling performance.

Implementation Method 1

a fluid-mechanical device (110) to extract energy from a fluid flow and to convert the extracted energy into a nutating motion

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectFluid-mechanical energy conversion:

Implementation Method 2

utilizing a longitudinal guide to facilitate nutation and transfer rotation to the drill bit

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectNutation:

Implementation Method 3

a rotation transfer device to transform the nutating motion of the fluid-mechanical device into rotation

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectMotion transformation:

Data Source

PatentEP3080379B1Nutating fluid-mechanical energy converter to power wellbore drilling

Publication Date: 2019.05.01 HALLIBURTON ENERGY SERVICES INC

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Figure 1C

AI summary

In one example, a nutating fluid-mechanical energy converter to power wellbore drilling includes a fluid-mechanical device and a rotation transfer device, each positionable in a wellbore drill string. The fluid-mechanical device includes a stator including an outer cylinder having a longitudinal passage and a longitudinal guide positioned in the longitudinal passage, which, with the stator, defines an annulus. A rotor cylinder is positioned in the annulus. The rotor cylinder includes a sidewall with a guide opening to receive the longitudinal guide. The rotor cylinder rotates within the stator along the longitudinal guide in response to the wellbore drilling fluid flow through the annulus. The rotation transfer device transfers at least a portion of a rotation of the rotor cylinder to a wellbore drill bit.