Radial bearing apparatus for use with side forces
AssigneeHalliburton Energy Services, Inc.
InventorsHossam Gharib, Steven Graham Bell
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A radial bearing apparatus including a housing with a housing bore defining a radial bearing housing surface, a shaft extending through the housing bore and defining a radial bearing shaft surface, and a radial bearing contact interface between the radial bearing housing surface and the radial bearing shaft surface for bearing a variable side force applied to the shaft. The radial bearing contact interface includes an oblique section in which the radial bearing housing surface and the radial bearing shaft surface are oblique to each other when the side force is zero and progressively increase in contact in an axial direction in response to an increasing magnitude of the side force.
Claims22
An apparatus for use in a borehole comprising:
- a length and a distal end, wherein a portion of the length comprises a reduced stiffness section, and
- a radial bearing apparatus axially located along the length between the reduced stiffness section and the distal end, and comprising:
- a housing including a housing bore defining a radial bearing housing surface;
- a shaft extending through the housing bore and defining a radial bearing shaft surface;
- and
- a radial bearing contact interface between the radial bearing housing surface and the radial bearing shaft surface for bearing a variable side force applied to the shaft, the radial bearing contact interface including an oblique section in which the radial bearing housing surface and the radial bearing shaft surface are oblique to each other when the side force is zero and progressively increase in contact in an axial direction in response to an increasing magnitude of the side force.
An apparatus for use in drilling a borehole comprising:
- a housing having a housing bore;
- a shaft extending through the housing bore and having a protruding length which extends from the housing toward a distal end of the apparatus;
- a drill bit connected with the shaft at the distal end of the apparatus;
- and
- a bearing assembly for rotatably supporting the shaft within the housing, wherein the bearing assembly comprises a radial bearing apparatus, wherein the radial bearing apparatus comprises:
- a radial bearing housing surface defined by the housing bore;
- a radial bearing shaft surface defined by the shaft;
- and
- a radial bearing contact interface between the radial bearing housing surface and the radial bearing shaft surface and extending in an axial direction within the housing bore for bearing a variable side force applied to the shaft, the radial bearing contact interface including an oblique section in which the radial bearing housing surface and the radial bearing shaft surface are oblique to each other in the axial direction along the oblique section when the side force is zero and become less oblique to each other within a range along the oblique section as the side force increases from zero and progressively increase in contact in the axial direction in response to an increasing magnitude of the side force,
- the oblique section being provided at least in part by a taper of the radial bearing shaft surface, wherein the taper comprises a narrowing section of the shaft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.