Active torsional isolator and damper

Abstract

An active system is provided that changes the mechanical stiffness of a BHA during drilling to prevent/reduce damage to a BHA due to vibrations. The active system uses a combination of mechanical and electronic systems to change the physical characteristics of a BHA that govern the natural frequencies thereof. The active system can change the mechanical stiffness of a BHA by switching between two different coupling modes for connecting sections or portions of the BHA. An active torsional isolator and damper (ATID) can be used to switch between the different coupling modes. In one example, the ATID includes: (1) a dynamic coupler configured to connect a first portion of a BHA to a second portion of the BHA according to different coupling modes, and (2) a processor configured to control switching of the dynamic coupler between the different coupling modes during a drilling operation of a drill bit.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.