Method and apparatus for jet-assisted drilling or cutting
AssigneesThe Curators of the University of Missouri, Regency Technologies LLC
InventorsDavid Archibold Summers, Klaus Hubert Woelk, Kenneth Doyle Oglesby, Grzegorz Galecki
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An abrasive cutting or drilling system, apparatus and method, which includes an upstream supercritical fluid and/or liquid carrier fluid, abrasive particles, a nozzle and a gaseous or low-density supercritical fluid exhaust abrasive stream. The nozzle includes a throat section and, optionally, a converging inlet section, a divergent discharge section, and a feed section.
Claims10
An apparatus for cutting or drilling by means of a gas-carrying or low-density fluid-carrying abrasive jet stream containing abrasive particles, said apparatus comprising:
- an abrasive-laden primarily liquid or high density supercritical fluid under predetermined pressure and temperature;
- a nozzle having an inlet converging conic section for admitting said abrasive-laden primarily liquid or high density supercritical fluid under predetermined pressure and temperature and for increasing the velocity of said abrasives and fluids;
- said nozzle having a narrow diameter aperture throat section to accelerate the velocity of said abrasive particles;
- said nozzle having a diverging conic discharging section, whereby said primarily liquid or high density supercritical fluid expands into its gas carrying or low-density phase;
- and
- wherein said inlet converging conic section leads to said narrow diameter aperture throat section, which further leads to said diverging conic discharging section.
An apparatus for cutting or drilling by means of a gas-carrying or low density fluid-carrying abrasive jet stream containing abrasive particles, said apparatus comprising:
- an abrasive-laden primarily liquid or high density super critical fluid under predetermined pressure and temperature;
- an inlet converging conic section for admitting said abrasive-laden primarily liquid or high density supercritical fluid under predetermined pressure and temperature and for increasing the velocity of said abrasives and fluids;
- a narrow diameter aperture in fluid communication with said inlet converging conic section to accelerate the velocity of said abrasive particles;
- a diverging conic discharging section in fluid communication with said narrow diameter aperture, whereby said primarily liquid or high density supercritical fluid begins to expand into its gas carrying or low-density phase.
A method for drilling and cutting comprising the steps of:
- providing an abrasive-laden primarily liquid or high density supercritical fluid under predetermined pressure and temperature, wherein said abrasive-laden primarily liquid or high density supercritical fluid comprises a suspension of said abrasive particles in said abrasive-laden primarily liquid or high density supercritical fluid;
- imparting a spinning motion to the combination of primarily liquid or high density supercritical fluid and abrasives in advance of the inlet converging section;
- delivering said abrasive-laden primarily liquid or high density supercritical fluid to a nozzle;
- increasing velocity of said abrasive-laden primarily liquid or high density supercritical fluid as it passes through a flow-restriction in said nozzle;
- beginning expansion of said primarily liquid or high density supercritical fluid into its gaseous or low-density state as it passes through said nozzle;
- transferring kinetic energy from said expanding fluid to said abrasive particles to accelerate velocity of said particles;
- and
- discharging a gas-carrying or low-density supercritical fluid-carrying abrasive jet stream containing abrasive particles from said nozzle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.