Methods of forming polycrystalline compacts
AssigneeBaker Hughes Incorporated
InventorAnthony A. DiGiovanni
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods of forming a polycrystalline compact for use in an earth-boring tool include sintering a plurality of hard particles with catalyst material to form a polycrystalline material that includes a plurality of inter-bonded particles of hard material integrally formed with the catalyst material and introducing at least a portion of the polycrystalline material to a reactive material to remove at least a portion of the catalyst material contained within the polycrystalline material. The reactive material may include at least one of a molten glass, an ionic compound, a leaching liquor, and a chemical plasma. The reactive material may be introduced to the polycrystalline material at a temperature of greater than or equal to a melting point thereof.
Claims14
A method of forming a polycrystalline compact for use in an earth-boring tool, comprising:
- at least partially melting at least one of a silicate glass, an alkali metal salt, and a rare earth element to form a reactive material;
- introducing the reactive material to a polycrystalline compact comprising a plurality of interstitial spaces between inter-bonded crystals of a polycrystalline material throughout which interstitial spaces a catalyst material is dispersed;
- and
- removing at least a portion of the catalyst material with the reactive material from at least a portion of the plurality of interstitial spaces.
A method of forming a polycrystalline compact for use in an earth-boring tool, comprising:
- at least partially melting a rare earth element to form a reactive material;
- and
- introducing the reactive material to a polycrystalline compact comprising a catalyst material disposed in interstitial spaces between inter-bonded crystals of a polycrystalline material to remove at least a portion of the catalyst material, wherein at least partially melting a rare earth element to form a reactive material comprises at least partially melting a plurality of rare earth elements to form a binary eutectic liquid.
A method of forming a polycrystalline compact cutting element for an earth-boring tool, comprising:
- forming a cutting element comprising a polycrystalline material and a catalyst material disposed in interstitial spaces between inter-bonded crystals of the polycrystalline material;
- and
- removing at least a portion of the catalyst material from the interstitial spaces by exposing at least a portion of the polycrystalline material to a chemical plasma comprising an inert gas or an oxidizing agent, wherein removing at least a portion of the catalyst material from the interstitial spaces by exposing at least a portion of the polycrystalline material to a chemical plasma comprises introducing at least one surface of the polycrystalline material to a chemical plasma comprising at least one of argon, nitrogen, helium, xenon, krypton, and radon.
A method of forming a polycrystalline compact cutting element for an earth-boring tool, comprising:
- forming a cutting element comprising a polycrystalline material and a catalyst material disposed in interstitial spaces between inter-bonded crystals of the polycrystalline material;
- and
- removing at least a portion of the catalyst material from the interstitial spaces by exposing at least a portion of the polycrystalline material to a chemical plasma comprising an inert gas or an oxidizing agent, wherein removing at least a portion of the catalyst material from the interstitial spaces by exposing at least a portion of the polycrystalline material to a chemical plasma comprises introducing at least one surface of the polycrystalline material to a chemical plasma comprising at least one of oxygen, ozone, fluorine, chlorine, and a peroxide.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.