Directional Drilling Control Using a Bendable Driveshaft
AssigneeHalliburton Energy Services, Inc.
InventorMark A. Sitka
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed are systems and methods of directional drilling with a steering sub. One steering sub includes a housing defining a central passage, a shaft extended within the central passage, bearings arranged within the central passage and configured to receive and support the shaft for rotation within the central passage, and one or more pressure chambers defined longitudinally in the housing and configured to deflect the housing upon experiencing an increased pressure, wherein deflection of the housing causes the shaft to correspondingly deflect via engagement with the bearings.
Claims24
An apparatus, comprising:
- a housing defining a central passage;
- a shaft extended within the central passage;
- bearings arranged within the central passage and configured to receive and support the shaft for rotation within the central passage;
- and
- one or more pressure chambers defined longitudinally within the housing and configured to bend the housing in response to experiencing an increased fluid pressure, wherein bending the housing causes the shaft to correspondingly bend via engagement with the bearings.
A system, comprising:
- a drill string;
- a drill bit arranged at a distal end of the drill string;
- and
- a steering apparatus coupled between the drill string and the drill bit and configured to direct the drill bit, the steering apparatus comprising:
- a housing defining a central passage;
- a shaft extended within the central passage;
- bearings arranged within the central passage and configured to receive and support the shaft for rotation within the central passage;
- and
- one or more pressure chambers defined longitudinally within the housing and configured to bend the housing upon experiencing an increased fluid pressure, wherein bending the housing causes the shaft to correspondingly bend via engagement with the bearings.
A method of steering a drill bit, the method comprising:
- supporting a shaft for rotation within a housing of a steering sub with one or more bearings arranged within the housing and radially interposing the shaft and the housing, the shaft being operatively coupled to the drill bit;
- pressurizing one or more pressure chambers defined longitudinally within the housing and thereby causing the housing to bend;
- and
- bending the shaft via engagement with the one or more bearings which transfer lateral deflection forces from the housing to the shaft.
An adjustable bend sub, comprising:
- a housing having first and second ends configured to be fixedly coupled to first and second elements, respectively, of a drill string;
- and
- one or more pressure chambers defined longitudinally in the housing and configured to bend the housing upon experiencing an increased pressure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.