Angularly Offset Roller Stabilizer for Bore Wall Contact
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current well bore stabilizers face challenges in achieving 360-degree contact with the bore walls while maintaining sufficient flow area and fitting through the well bore, as existing designs often fail to provide complete contact and are prone to flow restrictions and blockages.
Innovation Solution
A drill string stabilizer with angularly offset stabilizing elements and a plenum, featuring polycrystalline diamond compact surfaces and eccentrically positioned rollers with a bearing, providing 360-degree contact and an open line-of-sight path to prevent cuttings buildup and ensure flow, while allowing a smaller pass-through diameter than the gauge diameter.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If existing roller stabilizers use small rollers in a concentric array, then the stabilizer can fit in the well bore, but the rollers do not reach all the way to the walls and cannot provide 360-degree contact
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilizing element is segmented into multiple roller segments arranged in a polyhedral configuration rather than a simple concentric array. This segmentation allows each roller to be positioned at specific angles to achieve comprehensive bore wall contact while maintaining compact overall dimensions for well bore passage.
Solution Approach 2:
The design transitions from a two-dimensional concentric array to a three-dimensional polyhedral arrangement of rollers. This dimensional change enables rollers to contact the bore wall at multiple angular positions simultaneously, achieving 360-degree coverage without increasing the stabilizer's radial profile beyond well bore constraints.
2Reliability
If stabilizers are designed to maximize contact with bore walls, then stabilization is improved, but flow area is restricted and blockages occur
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilizing element uses segmented rollers with gaps between them, creating multiple flow channels. This segmentation allows the stabilizer to maintain contact with the bore wall at multiple points for stabilization while preserving adequate flow area for drilling fluid and cuttings removal through the gaps between rollers.
Solution Approach 2:
The roller segments are positioned to contact the bore wall at specific locations while leaving other areas open for flow. This local application of contact points provides sufficient stabilization without creating continuous obstruction, balancing stabilization quality with flow requirements.
3Reliability
If rollers are positioned to provide comprehensive bore contact, then stabilization is improved, but the pass-through diameter is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The roller arrangement transitions from a planar configuration to a three-dimensional polyhedral structure. This allows rollers to be positioned at angular offsets that maximize bore contact while maintaining a compact envelope that preserves adequate pass-through diameter for the drill string.
Solution Approach 2:
The roller segments are designed to be freely rotatable within their races, allowing dynamic adaptation to bore irregularities. This dynamic capability enables comprehensive bore contact through rotational adjustment while maintaining a compact fixed outer dimension for pass-through capability.
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 solution effectively stabilizes the drill string by maximizing contact with the well bore while preventing flow blockages, extending the intervals between repairs and ensuring efficient drilling operations.
Implementation Method 1
each stabilizing element further comprises at least one well bore contacting surface. In a preferred embodiment, each well bore contacting surface is a polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) surface
Implementation Method 2
The stabilizing elements are intended to transmit unwanted drill string vibrations through the tool to the well bore, damping them out from the system
Implementation Method 3
each stabilizing element is comprised of a race with a roller within the race. Preferably, the rollers are able to freely rotate within the races. The drill string stabilizer preferably further comprises a bearing positioned between the race and the roller
Implementation Method 4
The stabilizing elements are intended to transmit unwanted drill string vibrations through the tool to the well bore, damping them out from the system
Data Source
AI summary
A drill string stabilizer for use in a well bore includes a tubular body with a stabilizer axis, a first roller including a first roller axis spaced apart from the stabilizer axis of the tubular body, and at least a second roller spaced longitudinally apart from the first roller, the at least a second roller including a second roller axis spaced apart from the stabilizer axis of the tubular body. The first roller is angularly offset from the at least the second roller around a circumference of the tubular body.