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US-12618302-B2 - System and method for attaching a poppet to an electromechanical actuator apparatus

US12618302B2US 12618302 B2US12618302 B2US 12618302B2US-12618302-B2

Abstract

An assembly having a coupling component and a poppet is disclosed. The coupling component has a first end. The first end has an opening extending into the coupling component, such that the coupling component has a sidewall extending around and defining the opening, the sidewall at least partially constructed of a ductile material. The poppet is positioned within the opening. The poppet has a first end outside of the opening, a second end within the opening, and an outer surface extending between the first end and the second end. The poppet has a recess positioned between the first end and the second end, the recess being defined by at least one sidewall and a bottom. At least a portion of the ductile material of the sidewall is positioned within the recess to secure the poppet into the opening.

Inventors

  • Pedro R. Segura

Assignees

  • BENCH TREE GROUP, LLC

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20240122

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . An assembly, comprising: a shaft having a first end, the first end of the shaft having an opening extending into the shaft, such that the shaft has a sidewall extending around and defining the opening, the sidewall of the shaft is at least partially constructed of a ductile material, the shaft having a first hardness, a first modulus of elasticity, and a first fracture toughness; and a poppet positioned within the opening of the shaft and extending into the first end of the shaft, the poppet having a first end outside of the opening of the shaft, a second end within the opening of the shaft, and an outer surface extending between the first end of the poppet and the second end of the poppet, the poppet having a recess formed in the outer surface and positioned between the first end of the poppet and the second end of the poppet, at least a portion of the ductile material of the sidewall of the shaft being positioned within the recess of the poppet to secure the poppet into the opening of the shaft such that the poppet does not move relative to the shaft, the poppet having a second hardness greater than the first hardness, a second modulus of elasticity greater than the first modulus of elasticity, and a second fracture toughness less than the first fracture toughness.
  2. 2 . The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the recess of the poppet is an annular recess devoid of any ends and extends continuously around the outer surface of the poppet.
  3. 3 . The assembly of claim 2 , wherein the annular recess has a bottom, the outer surface of the poppet having a first outer diameter outside of the annular recess and a second outer diameter adjacent to the bottom of the annular recess, the second outer diameter being less than the first outer diameter.
  4. 4 . The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the poppet includes a first longitudinal axis extending between the first end of the poppet and the second end of the poppet, and wherein the shaft includes a second longitudinal axis extending from the first end of the shaft, and wherein the first longitudinal axis of the poppet and the second longitudinal axis of the shaft are co-located and aligned such that the poppet is concentric with the shaft.
  5. 5 . The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the recess of the poppet is defined by two sidewalls and a bottom, the two sidewalls being spatially disposed.
  6. 6 . A method of making an assembly, comprising: positioning at least a portion of a poppet into an opening extending into a first end of a coupling component such that a recess formed in an outer surface of the poppet is positioned within the opening extending into the first end of the coupling component and surrounded by a sidewall of the first end of the coupling component, at least a portion of the sidewall of the first end of the coupling component being constructed of a ductile material, the ductile material aligned with the recess formed in the outer surface of the poppet, the coupling component having a first hardness, a first modulus of elasticity, and a first fracture toughness; and deforming the ductile material of the first end of the coupling component into the recess formed in the outer surface of the poppet so as to secure the poppet into the opening of the first end of the coupling component such that the poppet does not move relative to the coupling component, the poppet being constructed of at least one material having a second hardness greater than the first hardness, a second modulus of elasticity greater than the first modulus of elasticity, and a second fracture toughness less than the first fracture toughness.
  7. 7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the recess formed in the outer surface of the poppet is an annular recess devoid of any ends and extends continuously around the outer surface of the poppet, and wherein deforming is defined further as deforming the ductile material of the first end of the coupling component into the recess formed in the outer surface of the poppet to form a connection portion having a ring shape.
  8. 8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the outer surface of the poppet has a first outer diameter outside of the annular recess, and a second outer diameter adjacent to a bottom of the annular recess, the second outer diameter being less than the first outer diameter.
  9. 9 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the poppet includes a first longitudinal axis extending between a first end of the poppet and a second end of the poppet, and wherein the coupling component includes a second longitudinal axis extending from the first end of the coupling component, and wherein positioning the poppet into the opening of the coupling component is defined further as positioning at least a portion of the poppet into the opening of the coupling component such that the first longitudinal axis of the poppet and the second longitudinal axis of the coupling component are co-located and aligned and such that the poppet is concentric with the coupling component.
  10. 10 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the recess formed in the outer surface of the poppet is defined by two sidewalls and a bottom, the two sidewalls being spatially disposed.
  11. 11 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the coupling component is part of a shaft.
  12. 12 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the poppet is constructed of at least one of a ceramic material and a carbide material.
  13. 13 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the recess formed in the outer surface of the poppet is defined by a first sidewall, a second sidewall, and a bottom, the first sidewall spatially disposed from the second sidewall, the first sidewall having a first root radius located at a first intersection of the first sidewall and the bottom, and the second sidewall having a second root radius located at a second intersection of the second sidewall and the bottom.
  14. 14 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the recess formed in the outer surface of the poppet is defined by a first sidewall, a second sidewall, and a bottom having a radius.
  15. 15 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the poppet has a longitudinal axis and the recess formed in the outer surface of the poppet extends at an angle other than normal relative to the longitudinal axis of the poppet.
  16. 16 . The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the poppet is constructed of at least one of a ceramic material and a carbide material.
  17. 17 . The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the recess formed in the outer surface of the poppet is defined by a first sidewall, a second sidewall, and a bottom, the first sidewall spatially disposed from the second sidewall, the first sidewall having a first root radius located at a first intersection of the first sidewall and the bottom, and the second sidewall having a second root radius located at a second intersection of the second sidewall and the bottom.
  18. 18 . The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the recess formed in the outer surface of the poppet is defined by a first sidewall, a second sidewall, and a bottom having a radius.
  19. 19 . The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the poppet has a longitudinal axis and the recess formed in the outer surface of the poppet extends at an angle that is normal relative to the longitudinal axis of the poppet.
  20. 20 . The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the poppet has a longitudinal axis and the recess formed in the outer surface of the poppet extends at an angle other than normal relative to the longitudinal axis of the poppet.

Description

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE The present application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 17/818,168, filed on Aug. 8, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 16/899,127, filed on Jun. 11, 2020, which claims priority to the provisional patent application identified by U.S. Ser. 62/859,980, filed on Jun. 11, 2019, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND Electromechanical actuator systems generally are well known and have existed for a number of years. In the downhole industry (oil, gas, mining, water, exploration, construction, etc), an electromechanical actuator may be used as part of tools or systems that include but are not limited to, reamers, adjustable gauge stabilizers, vertical steerable tools, rotary steerable tools, by-pass valves, packers, down hole valves, whipstocks, latch or release mechanisms, anchor mechanisms, or measurement while drilling (MWD) pulsers. For example, in an MWD pulser, the actuator may be used for actuating a pilot/servo valve mechanism for operating a larger mud hydraulically actuated valve. Such a valve may be used as part of a system that is used to communicate data from the bottom of a drilling hole near the drill bit (known as down hole) back to the surface. The down hole portion of these communication systems are known as mud pulsers because the systems create programmatic pressure pulses in a mud or a fluid column that can be used to communicate digital data from the down hole to the surface. Mud pulsers generally are well known and there are many different implementations of mud pulsers as well as the mechanism that may be used to generate the mud pulses. Many existing systems have cylindrical valve components constructed of a hard and brittle material connected to a shaft of an actuator. The hard and brittle material is ceramic or carbide. The shaft of the actuator, on the other hand, is made of a different type of material, such as a steel alloy, stainless steel alloy, or nickel alloy, that is more ductile and has a higher tensile strength than the poppet. Attaching very hard and brittle materials to the more ductile and higher tensile strength shaft of the actuator has proven challenging, especially in harsh environments. In addition, the small size of some components, such as a servo valve poppet, has added to the difficulty of attaching the poppet to the shaft of the actuator. A typical servo poppet is cylindrically shaped, and is ½ long and 5/16 in width. Many attempts have been proposed to attach the poppet to the shaft of the actuator. Threading, securing with screws, securing with pins, brazing/soldering, press fitting, clamping with set screws have been used in the past. In addition, making the poppet and the shaft of the actuator as a unitary structure out of the hard and brittle material has also been proposed. Combinations of these techniques have been used also. Manufacturing threads, in hard and brittle materials requires grinding, EDMing, or bushings made from one or more ductile material. Such features also create stress concentrations at which cracks can initiate. Threaded fasteners can become loose in high vibration and temperature cycling environments. Thread lockers such as Loctite degrade in drilling fluids. Screws and pins have relatively small shear areas and can create stress concentrations in the poppet, leading to failure. Capturing the hard and brittle material of the poppet between other components, such as component shoulders or retaining rings, is not always feasible. Brazing or soldering the poppet to the shaft of the actuator can be unreliable due to process sensitivity and corrosion. Brazing or soldering adds an additional dissimilar metal that can cause anodic corrosion. Corrosion can be accelerated in typically used borehole fluids. Press fitting or clamping the poppet into the shaft of the actuator can be unreliable due to the low frictional coefficient of these hard materials and thermal expansion rate differences between the carbide/ceramic and metal alloys. Roughening the outer surface of the poppet to enhance frictional engagement can cause additional issues, as the roughened surface can create sites for crack initiation and failure also. Thus, it is desirable to increase the reliability and strength of the connection between the poppet and the shaft of the actuator. It is to a solution to the problems discussed above that the present disclosure is directed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional diagram of an exemplary electromechanical actuator having a poppet secured to a servo shaft of an actuator in accordance with the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of an embodiment of the poppet of the electromechanical actuator constructed in accordance with the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary embodiment of the servo shaft of the electromechanical actuator constructed in accordance with the present disclosure.