Rotary drill bits including at least one substantially helically extending feature, methods of operation and design thereof

A method of operating a rotary drill bit for subterranean drilling, comprising:

• providing a rotary drill bit having a longitudinal axis and at least one substantially helically extending feature having a selected Helical Pitch;
• drilling into a subterranean formation with the rotary drill bit to form a borehole within the subterranean formation;
• contacting the subterranean formation with the at least one substantially helically extending feature in response to the rotary drill bit traversing the subterranean formation with a cutting element associated with the at least one substantially helically extending feature traveling at substantially the selected Helical Pitch.

A method of designing a rotary drill bit for subterranean drilling, comprising:

• selecting a plurality of cutting elements and positioning the plurality of cutting elements upon the rotary drill bit under design for drilling a borehole;
• selecting at least one substantially helically extending feature rotationally following and associated with at least one of the plurality of cutting elements, respectively;
• wherein the at least one substantially helically extending feature exhibits a selected maximum Helical Pitch.