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US-12618288-B1 - Bottom hole assembly for rotary drilling

US12618288B1US 12618288 B1US12618288 B1US 12618288B1US-12618288-B1

Abstract

A bottom hole assembly includes a housing, a drill bit, a first flow path, a pump, a power source, and a second flow path. The housing defines a flow channel therethrough for receiving a fluid from a drill string. The first flow path being defined through the drill bit between a first inlet port and a first nozzle, the first inlet port fluidly coupled to the flow channel. The pump being disposed in the housing and having a pump inlet fluidly coupled to the flow channel, the pump being configured to pressurize a fluid and discharge the fluid through a pump outlet. The power source being coupled to the housing and operable to drive the pump. The second flow path being defined through the drill bit and extending between a second inlet port and a second nozzle, the second inlet port fluidly coupled to the pump outlet.

Inventors

  • Abdulmalik Alrasheed
  • Atallah Alharbi
  • Richard Pye

Assignees

  • SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20250321

Claims (13)

  1. 1 . A bottom hole assembly, comprising: a housing conveyable into a wellbore on a drill string and defining a flow channel therethrough for receiving a fluid from the drill string; a drill bit coupled to the housing and rotatable to drill a geologic formation and thereby extend the wellbore; a first flow path defined through the drill bit between a first inlet port and a first nozzle, the first inlet port being fluidly coupled to the flow channel to permit a first portion of the fluid received from the drill string to flow through the first flow path and exit the drill bit through the first nozzle; a pump disposed in the housing and having a pump inlet in fluid communication with the flow channel to receive a second portion of the fluid received from the drill string, the pump being configured to pressurize the second portion of the fluid and discharge the second portion of the fluid through a pump outlet; a power source coupled to the housing and operable to drive the pump, wherein the power source is a mud motor including a stator and a rotor operable to rotate relative to the stator in response to fluid flow through the mud motor; a transmission operable to transfer rotational power of the rotor to the pump; a torque limiter operably coupled between the transmission and the pump configured to permit rotation of the rotor relative to the pump when a predetermined torque threshold is reached; and a second flow path defined through the drill bit separate from the first flow path, the second flow path extending between a second inlet port and a second nozzle, the second inlet port being fluidly coupled to the pump outlet to permit the pressurized second portion of the fluid to flow through the second flow path and exit the drill bit through the second nozzle.
  2. 2 . The bottom hole assembly of claim 1 , wherein the pump is a reciprocating pump and the transmission interposes the power source and the pump, and wherein the transmission transfers the rotational power of the rotor to the pump by converting the rotational power to a reciprocating motion to drive reciprocation of the pump.
  3. 3 . The bottom hole assembly of claim 2 , wherein the reciprocating pump is a reciprocating piston pump partially receiving the drill bit, the reciprocating piston pump and the drill bit partially defining an interior pump chamber in fluid communication with the second flow path, wherein the reciprocating piston pump reciprocates relative to the drill bit in response to the reciprocating motion of the transmission to thereby discharge the second portion of the fluid from the interior pump chamber out of the second nozzle through the second flow path.
  4. 4 . The bottom hole assembly of claim 3 , further comprising at least one seal element sealing an interface between the reciprocating pump and the drill bit.
  5. 5 . The bottom hole assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a bypass conduit including a first end coupled to the pump inlet downhole of the power source and a second end arranged uphole of an intake of the mud motor.
  6. 6 . The bottom hole assembly of claim 1 , wherein the pump comprises: a cylinder axially fixed to the housing; a piston partially received within the cylinder; a self-reversing screw rotatable relative to the piston in response to the power source; and a follower block attached to the piston, wherein the follower block reciprocates the piston relative to the cylinder in response to the rotation of the self-reversing screw.
  7. 7 . The bottom hole assembly of claim 6 , wherein the transmission is configured to transmit power from the power source to the self-reversing screw; and the torque limiter interposes the transmission and the self-reversing screw, wherein the torque limiter is configured to disconnect power transmission from the transmission to the self-reversing screw when a torque threshold is reached.
  8. 8 . The bottom hole assembly of claim 1 , wherein the pump comprises a swash pump including: a cylinder block rotationally coupled to the power source; a swash plate disposed at an angle relative to the cylinder block and rotationally fixed to the housing; and a piston engaged with the swash plate and received in a piston bore defined in the cylinder block that includes an end aperture, the end aperture being the pump inlet during an intake stroke of the piston and being the pump outlet in fluid communication with the second flow path during a discharge stroke of the piston.
  9. 9 . A well system, comprising: a drill string conveyable into a wellbore; a housing coupled to a downhole end of the drill string and defining a flow channel therethrough for receiving a fluid from the drill string; a drill bit coupled to the housing and operable to drill a geologic formation and thereby extend the wellbore; a first flow path defined through the drill bit between a first inlet port and a first nozzle, the first inlet port being in fluid communication with the flow channel to permit a first portion of the fluid received from the drill string to flow through the first flow path and exit the drill bit through the first nozzle; a pump disposed in the housing and having a pump inlet in fluid communication with the flow channel to receive a second portion of the fluid received from the drill string, the pump being configured to pressurize and discharge the second portion of the fluid through a pump outlet, wherein the pump comprises: a cylinder axially fixed to the housing and including the pump inlet and the pump outlet; a piston partially received within the cylinder; a self-reversing screw rotatable relative to the piston; and a follower block attached to the piston; a power source coupled to the housing and operable to drive the pump, wherein the power source generates rotary power, and the self-reversing screw rotates in response to the power source; and a second flow path defined through the drill bit and separate from the first flow path, the second flow path extending between a second inlet port and a second nozzle, the second inlet port being in fluid communication with the pump outlet to permit the pressurized second portion of the fluid to flow through the second flow path and exit the drill bit through the second nozzle, wherein the follower block reciprocates the piston relative to the cylinder in response to the rotation of the self-reversing screw to intake a second portion of the fluid into the cylinder through the pump inlet and discharge the second portion of the fluid from the pump outlet into the second flow path.
  10. 10 . The wellbore system of claim 9 , wherein the cylinder is a first cylinder, and the piston is a first piston, and wherein the pump further comprises a second piston partially received in a second cylinder, the first and second pistons being attached to the follower block.
  11. 11 . The bottom hole assembly of claim 9 , further comprising a torque limiter interposing the transmission and the self-reversing screw, and wherein the torque limiter is configured to reduce rotary power transmission from the transmission to the self-reversing screw when a torque threshold is reached.
  12. 12 . A method of drilling a geologic formation, comprising: rotating a drill string to rotate a drill bit at a downhole end of the drill string against the geologic formation; pumping a fluid downhole through the drill string using a surface pump while rotating the drill string; discharging a first portion of the fluid from a first nozzle of the drill bit at a first discharge pressure; flowing a second portion of the fluid into a pump disposed in the drill string; rotating a rotor of a mud motor coupled to the drill string in response to fluid flow through the mud motor to generate rotational power; and transferring the rotational power to the pump through a transmission coupled to the pump to drive the pump to thereby discharge the second portion of the fluid from the pump into a flow path of the drill bit while rotating the drill string; discharging the second portion of the fluid from a second nozzle of the drill bit at a second discharge pressure greater than the first discharge pressure; and disconnecting the transfer of rotational power from the transmission to the pump when a predetermined torque threshold is reached.
  13. 13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein transferring the rotational power to the pump through the transmission comprises converting the rotational power to a linear movement with the transmission to thereby reciprocate the pump.

Description

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure relates generally to drilling subterranean wellbores and, more particularly, to drilling tools and methods for discharging a pressurized fluid from a drill string through a nozzle of a drill bit. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE Wellbores may be drilled to recover natural deposits of oil and gas, as well as other desirable materials that are trapped in subterranean geological formations. A drill string with a rotary drill bit may be used to drill the wellbores through the geologic formations. A drilling fluid may be circulated through the drill string and may be discharged through nozzles in the drill bit to lubricate the drill bit and to carry geologic cuttings back to a surface location. Some geologic formations are difficult for the drill bit to penetrate due to the composition of the rocks and stresses present in the geologic formation. Some geologic formations, for example, are highly stressed due to the overburden of the rock above the geologic formation. The high stress in the geologic formation decreases the rate of penetration of the drill bit. There is a need in the art for improving the rate of penetration of the drill bit. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE Various details of the present disclosure are hereinafter summarized to provide a basic understanding. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure and is neither intended to identify certain elements of the disclosure, nor to delineate the scope thereof. Rather, the primary purpose of this summary is to present some concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form prior to the more detailed description that is presented hereinafter. According to an embodiment consistent with the present disclosure, a bottom hole assembly includes a housing, a drill bit, a first flow path, a pump, a power source, and a second flow path. The housing being conveyable into a wellbore on a drill string and defining a flow channel therethrough for receiving a fluid from the drill string. The drill bit being coupled to the housing and operable to rotate to drill a geologic formation and thereby extend the wellbore. The first flow path being defined through the drill bit between a first inlet port and a first nozzle, the first inlet port fluidly coupled to the flow channel to permit a first portion of the fluid received from the drill string to flow through the first flow path and exit the drill bit through the first nozzle. The pump being disposed in the housing and having a pump inlet fluidly coupled to the flow channel to receive a second portion of the fluid received from the drill string, the pump being configured to pressurize the second portion of the fluid and discharge the second portion of the fluid through a pump outlet. The power source being coupled to the housing and operable to drive the pump. The second flow path being defined through the drill bit and distinct from the first flow path, the second flow path extending between a second inlet port and a second nozzle, the second inlet port fluidly coupled to the pump outlet to permit the pressurized second portion of the fluid to flow through the second flow path and exit the drill bit through the second nozzle. According to an embodiment consistent with the present disclosure, a well system includes a drill string disposable in a wellbore, a housing, a drill bit, a first flow path, a pump, and a power source, and a second flow path. The housing being coupled to a downhole end of the drill string and defining a flow channel therethrough for receiving a fluid from the drill string. The drill bit being coupled to the housing and operable to drill a geologic formation and thereby extend the wellbore. The first flow path being defined through the drill bit between a first inlet port and a first nozzle, the first inlet port fluidly coupled to the flow channel to permit a first portion of the fluid received from the drill string to flow through the first flow path and exit the drill bit through the first nozzle. The pump being disposed in the housing and having a pump inlet fluidly coupled to the flow channel to receive a second portion of the fluid received from the drill string, the pump being configured to pressurize the second portion of the fluid and discharge the second portion of the fluid through a pump outlet. The power source being coupled to the housing and operable to drive the pump. The second flow path being defined through the drill bit and distinct from the first flow path, the second flow path extending between a second inlet port and a second nozzle, the second inlet port fluidly coupled to the pump outlet to permit the pressurized second portion of the fluid to flow through the second flow path and exit the drill bit through the second nozzle. According to an embodiment consistent with the present disclosure, a method of drilling a geologic formation includes rotating a drill string to rotate a drill bit at a downhole end of the drill string a