Methods for characterizing a polycrystalline diamond element by magnetic measurements
AssigneeUS Synthetic Corporation
InventorsDebkumar Mukhopadhyay, Kenneth E. Bertagnolli
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Abstract
Embodiments of methods for measuring one or more magnetic characteristics of a polycrystalline diamond (“PCD”) element and use of those results to adjust one or more process parameters for fabricating a PCD element and/or for quality control are disclosed. Measurements of one or more magnetic characteristics may be used to adjust process parameters for fabrication of a PCD element to, for example, control catalyst concentration and/or the extent of diamond-to-diamond bonding in the PCD element.
Claims33
A method for adjusting one or more process parameters for fabricating a polycrystalline diamond (“PCD”) element for use in a subterranean drilling apparatus, the method comprising:
- providing the PCD element;
- measuring one or more of magnetic characteristics of the PCD element;
- and
- adjusting the one or more process parameters for fabricating the PCD element at least partially based on the one or more of the magnetic characteristics.
A method for adjusting one or more process parameters for fabricating a polycrystalline diamond (“PCD”) element for use in a subterranean drilling apparatus, the method comprising:
- fabricating the PCD element in a high-pressure, high-temperature (“HPHT”) process;
- at least partially leaching a catalyst from the PCD element to form an at least partially leached PCD element;
- measuring one or more of a magnetic saturation or a coercivity of the PCD element;
- and
- adjusting the one or more process parameters of the HPHT process for fabricating the PCD element at least partially based on one or more of the measured magnetic saturation or the measured coercivity.
A method for adjusting one or more process parameters for fabricating a polycrystalline diamond compact (“PDC”) for use in a subterranean drilling apparatus, the method comprising:
- fabricating the PDC in a high-pressure, high-temperature (“HPHT”) process, wherein the PDC includes a substrate having a polycrystalline diamond (“PCD”) table formed thereon;
- separating the PCD table from the substrate;
- at least partially leaching a catalyst from the PCD table in a leaching process to form a leached region;
- measuring one or more of a magnetic saturation or a coercivity of at least the leached region of the PCD table;
- and
- adjusting the one or more process parameters of at least one of the leaching process or the HPHT process at least partially based on one or more of the measured magnetic saturation or the measured coercivity.
A method of performing quality control on a polycrystalline diamond (“PCD”) element for use in a subterranean drilling apparatus, the method comprising:
- fabricating the PCD element in a high-pressure, high-temperature (“HPHT”) process;
- at least partially leaching a catalyst from the PCD element to form an at least partially leached PCD element;
- measuring a magnetic saturation of the at least partially leached PCD element to determine a catalyst concentration in at least a portion of the at least partially leached PCD element;
- and
- rejecting the at least partially leached PCD element if the measured catalyst concentration exceeds a selected limit, or accepting the at least partially leached PCD element if the measured catalyst concentration is less than the selected limit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.