Granted Patent B2

US 12,643,146 · App. 17/567,531 · Granted Jun 2, 2026

Inventors: Guodong Zhan (Dhahran, SA); Jianhui Xu (Dhahran, SA); Timothy E. Moellendick (Dhahran, SA); Duanwei He (Chengdu, CN)

Assignees: SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY; CHENGDU DONGWEI TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD

B22F7/008B22F3/24B22F7/02B22F2003/247B22F2302/406

Abstract

Claims (16)

1 . A method comprising:

forming a plurality of catalyst-free, substrate-free synthesized polycrystalline diamonds using compressive pressures within a range of 10 Gigapascals (GPa) to 35 GPa and temperatures within a range of 2000 Kelvin (K) to 3000 K, wherein each polycrystalline diamond is free of a substrate;

providing the plurality of polycrystalline diamonds, each of the polycrystalline diamonds having a cross-sectional dimension of at least 4 millimeters;

depositing the plurality of polycrystalline diamonds within a mold;

after depositing the plurality of polycrystalline diamonds within the mold, depositing a matrix body material within the mold; and

performing an infiltration process to bond the plurality of polycrystalline diamonds to the matrix body material and form a substrate-free polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) drill bit, wherein the infiltration process comprises heating the plurality of polycrystalline diamonds and the matrix body material deposited within the mold to an infiltration temperature greater than about 700 degrees Celsius (° C.) and less than about 1400° C.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the plurality of polycrystalline diamonds comprises synthesizing each of the polycrystalline diamonds from diamond powder with a particle size within a range of from about 0.1 micrometers (μm) to about 50 μm.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein providing the plurality of polycrystalline diamonds comprises shaping each of the synthesized polycrystalline diamonds by laser cutting or mechanical grinding.

4 . The method of claim 2 , wherein, for each of the polycrystalline diamonds, the cross-sectional dimension of at least 4 millimeters is a first cross-sectional dimension, and each of the polycrystalline diamonds has a second cross-sectional dimension greater than the first cross-sectional dimension.

5 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the infiltration temperature is less than about 800° C.

6 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the infiltration temperature is about 800° C.

7 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the infiltration process comprises heating the plurality of polycrystalline diamonds and the matrix body material deposited within the mold at a heating rate in a range of from about 1° C. per minute (C/min) to about 40° C./min until the plurality of polycrystalline diamonds and the matrix body material deposited within the mold reach the infiltration temperature.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the infiltration process comprises maintaining the plurality of polycrystalline diamonds and the matrix body material deposited within the mold at the infiltration temperature for an infiltration time duration in a range of from about 10 minutes to about 180 minutes.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the infiltration process comprises:

after maintaining the plurality of polycrystalline diamonds and the matrix body material deposited within the mold at the infiltration temperature for the infiltration time duration, cooling the plurality of polycrystalline diamonds and the matrix body material deposited within the mold at a cooling rate in a range of from about −1° C. per minute (° C./min) to about −40° C./min; and

removing the formed PDC drill bit from the mold.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (153)