Drilling apparatus and method
AssigneeDrilformance Technologies, LLC
InventorsSean Gillis, Matt Mangan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A drilling apparatus including a drill bit and a nutation device. The drilling apparatus is configured to enable the drill bit to be rotated at a rotation frequency while the nutation device simultaneously nutates the drill bit at a nutation frequency. The nutation device may include a vibrating device for imposing vibrations upon the drilling apparatus at a vibration frequency, thereby causing nutation of the drill bit at the nutation frequency. The drilling apparatus may include a tuning mechanism for tuning the vibration frequency of the vibrating device. A method including rotating a drill bit at a rotation frequency and simultaneously nutating the drill bit at a nutation frequency.
Claims44
A drilling apparatus comprising a drill bit and a nutation device, wherein the drilling apparatus is configured to enable the drill bit to be rotated at a rotation frequency while the nutation device simultaneously nutates the drill bit at a nutation frequency.
A drilling method comprising rotating a drill bit at a rotation frequency and simultaneously nutating the drill bit at a nutation frequency.
An apparatus for providing a vibratory force to a pipe string, comprising:
- (a) a mass oscillator comprising at least one rotatable turbine and at least one eccentric mass rotatably connected with the turbine, wherein the turbine is driven by a fluid which is passed through the turbine;
- (b) a fluid bypass path for passing the fluid through the apparatus so that the fluid bypasses the turbine;
- and
- (c) a bypass valve associated with the fluid bypass path, wherein the bypass valve is actuated cyclically to vary a fluid flow rate through the turbine so that a vibration frequency of the mass oscillator cyclically sweeps through a vibration frequency range which extends between a lower frequency limit and an upper frequency limit.
A method for providing a vibratory force to a pipe string, comprising:
- (a) providing a mass oscillator comprising at least one rotatable turbine and at least one eccentric mass rotatably connected with the turbine, wherein the turbine is driven by a fluid which is passed through the turbine;
- (b) providing a fluid bypass path for passing the fluid through the apparatus so that the fluid bypasses the turbine;
- and
- (c) providing a bypass valve associated with the fluid bypass path;
- and
- (d) actuating the bypass valve cyclically to vary a fluid flow rate through the to turbine so that a vibration frequency of the mass oscillator cyclically sweeps through a vibration frequency range which extends between a lower frequency limit and an upper frequency limit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.