Fixed cutter drill bit with non-cutting erosion resistant inserts
View Patent ↗The present invention is directed to a drill bit with non-cutting erosion resistant inserts. In one illustrative embodiment, the apparatus comprises a matrix drill bit body comprising a plurality of blades, a plurality of cutting elements positioned on each of the blades, the cutting elements defining a plurality of web regions, and a plurality of spaced apart, non-cutting erosion resistant inserts positioned along a face of at least one of the blades, at least a portion of each of the non-cutting erosion resistant inserts being positioned in front of one of the web regions.
1. A fixed cutter drill bit, comprising:
a matrix drill bit body comprising a plurality of blades;
a plurality of cutting elements positioned on each of said blades, said cutting elements defining a plurality of web regions; and
a plurality of spaced apart, non-cutting erosion resistant inserts positioned along a face of at least one of said blades, at least a portion of each of said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts being positioned in front of one of said web regions.
2. The drill bit of claim 1 , wherein said spaced apart, non-cutting erosion resistant inserts are positioned so as to direct at least some of the flow of a drilling fluid away from said web region toward cutting elements adjacent said web region.
3. The drill bit of claim 1 , wherein each of said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts comprises a front surface and each of said cutting elements comprises a substantially planar cutting surface and wherein said front surfaces of said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts are positioned within a range of plus or minus 0.5 inches of a plane containing said substantially planar cutting surfaces of said cutting elements.
4. The drill bit of claim 1 , wherein each of said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts comprises a front surface and each of said cutting elements comprises a substantially planar cutting surface and wherein said front surfaces of said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts are positioned approximately even with a plane containing said substantially planar cutting surfaces of said cutting elements.
5. The drill bit of claim 1 , wherein each of said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts comprise a front surface and wherein each of said front surfaces extend above said face of said blade by a distance of approximately 0.01-0.5 inches.
6. The drill bit of claim 1 , wherein a rear edge of said non-cutting erosion resistant insert is offset from a line between a forward edge of two adjacent cutting elements by a distance that ranges from 0.1-1.0 inches.
7. The drill bit of claim 1 , wherein said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts are comprised of at least one of TSP (thermally stabilized polycrystalline diamond compact), natural diamond, cemented tungsten carbide, c BN (cubic boron nitride), silicon nitride, boron carbide, and a superhard coating element.
8. The drill bit of claim 1 , wherein each of said plurality of non-cutting erosion resistant inserts has at least one of a substantially conical, a substantially elliptical, a substantially round, a substantially spherical, a substantially oval, a substantially chiseled, and a substantially polyhedron shape.
9. The drill bit of claim 1 , wherein a rear edge of each of said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts is positioned in front of a line between the forward edge of two adjacent cutting elements.
10. The drill bit of claim 1 , wherein a center of each of said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts is approximately aligned with a center of a web region.
11. A fixed cutter drill bit, comprising:
a matrix drill bit body comprising a plurality of blades;
a plurality of cutting elements positioned on each of said blades, said cutting elements defining a plurality of web regions; and
a plurality of spaced apart, non-cutting erosion resistant inserts positioned along a face of at least one of said blades, each of said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts being positioned in front of and approximately aligned with one of said web regions.
12. The drill bit of claim 11 , wherein said spaced apart, non-cutting erosion resistant inserts are positioned so as to direct at least some of the flow of a drilling fluid away from said web region toward cutting elements adjacent said web region.
13. The drill bit of claim 11 , wherein each of said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts comprises a front surface and each of said cutting elements comprises a substantially planar cutting surface and wherein said front surfaces of said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts are positioned within a range of plus or minus 0.5 inches of a plane containing said substantially planar cutting surfaces of said cutting elements.
14. The drill bit of claim 11 , wherein each of said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts comprises a front surface and each of said cutting elements comprises a substantially planar cutting surface and wherein said front surfaces of said erosion resistant inserts are positioned approximately even with a plane containing said substantially planar cutting surfaces of said cutting element.
15. The drill bit of claim 11 , wherein each of said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts comprise a front surface and wherein each of said front surfaces extend above said face of said blade by a distance of approximately 0.01-0.5 inches.
16. The drill bit of claim 11 , wherein a rear edge of said non-cutting erosion resistant insert is offset from a line between a forward edge of two adjacent cutting elements by a distance that ranges from 0.1-1.0 inches.
17. The drill bit of claim 11 , wherein said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts are comprised of at least one of TSP (thermally stabilized polycrystalline diamond compact), natural diamond, cemented tungsten carbide, c BN (cubic boron nitride), silicon nitride, boron carbide, and a superhard coating elements.
18. The drill bit of claim 11 , wherein a rear edge of each of said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts is positioned in front of a line between the forward edge of two adjacent cutting elements.
19. The drill bit of claim 11 , wherein a center of each of said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts is approximately aligned with a center of a web region.
20. A method of forming a fixed cutter drill bit comprised of a plurality of blades, a plurality of cutting elements positioned along each of said blades, said cutting elements defining a plurality of web regions, the method comprising:
providing a mold for said fixed cutter drill bit;
positioning a plurality of spaced apart, non-cutting erosion resistant inserts in said mold such that said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts will be positioned along a face of at least one of said blades;
positioning a plurality of plugs in said mold so as to form pockets for placement of said cutting elements; and
introducing a matrix forming particulate material and a binder alloy into said mold.
21. The method of claim 20 , wherein said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts are positioned such that at least a portion of each of said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts is positioned in front of one of said web regions.
22. The method of claim 20 , wherein said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts are positioned such that said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts are substantially aligned with said web regions.
23. The method of claim 20 , wherein said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts are positioned such that a center of said non-cutting erosion resistant inserts is substantially aligned with a center of said web regions.