Ultra-hard constructions with erosion resistance

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10107042-B2
Application number	US-201314019394-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 5, 2013
Priority date	Sep 7, 2012
Publication date	Oct 23, 2018
Grant date	Oct 23, 2018

Abstract

Ultra-hard constructions comprise polycrystalline diamond-body having a first metallic substrate attached thereto, and having a second metallic substrate attached to the first metallic substrate. The first and second substrates each comprise a first hard particle phase, e.g., WC, and a second binder material phase, e.g., Co, wherein the hard particles in the second substrate are sized larger than those in the first substrate. The first substrate may contain a larger amount of binder material than the second substrate. Constructed in this matter, the first substrate is engineered to facilitate sintering diamond body during HPHT conditions, while the second substrate is engineered to provide an improved degree of erosion resistance when placed in an end-use application. The construction may be formed during a single HPHT process. The second substrate may comprise 80 percent or more of the combined thickness of the first and second substrates.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An ultra-hard construction comprising:
A diamond body comprising a matrix phase of intercrystalline bonded diamond, and a plurality of interstitial regions dispersed within the matrix phase, wherein the diamond body is formed by subjecting diamond grains to a high-pressure/high-temperature sintering process;
a first metallic substrate attached to the diamond body during formation of the diamond body during the high-pressure/high-temperature sintering process; and
a second metallic substrate attached to a surface of the first metallic substrate opposite the diamond body during the high-pressure/high-temperature sintering process used to form the diamond body, the second metallic substrate having an axial thickness greater than that of the first metallic substrate, the first metallic substrate having an unchanged axial thickness upon attachment with the second substrate, and wherein the second metallic substrate is not bonded directly to the diamond body,
wherein the first and second substrates are selected from the group consisting of metallic materials, ceramic materials, cermet materials, and combinations of the same, wherein the first and second substrate each comprise a first hard particle phase and a second binder material phase, and wherein the second metallic substrate comprises hard particles having an average particle size that is greater than that of hard particles in the first metallic substrate.

2. The construction as recited in claim 1 , wherein the binder phase in the first substrate is selected from the group of consisting of Group VIII elements of the Periodic Table, and wherein such binder phase infiltrates into the diamond body during the high-pressure/high-temperature process to catalyze diamond bonding.

3. The construction as recited in claim 1 , wherein one or both of the first and second substrate hard phases comprises a carbide material.

4. The construction as recited in claim 1 , wherein the second substrate hard phase material has an average particle size greater than about 10 microns.

5. The construction as recited in claim 1 , wherein the second substrate has a thickness that is greater than both the first substrate and the diamond body.

6. A bit for drilling subterranean formations comprising a body and a number of cutting elements operatively attached thereto, wherein one or more of the cutting elements comprises the ultra-hard construction of claim 1 .

7. The construction as recited in claim 1 , wherein a population of the interstitial regions is substantially free of a catalyst material used to sinter the diamond body at high-pressure/high-temperature conditions.

8. The ultra-hard construction as recited in claim 1 wherein the diamond body has an axial thickness along an outside diameter that is greater than an axial thickness along an inside diameter.

9. The ultra-hard construction as recited in claim 8 wherein the change in thickness between the inside and outside diameters of the diamond body is stepped or gradient.

10. The ultra-hard construction as recited in claim 1 , wherein the first substrate comprises an amount of binder material that is greater than the amount of the binder material in the second substrate.

11. A cutting element used with a device for drilling subterranean formations, the cutting element comprising an ultra-hard construction comprising:
an ultra-hard body comprising a matrix phase of bonded-together diamond crystals and a plurality of interstitial regions dispersed within the matrix phase, wherein a catalyst material used to catalyze diamond bonding to form the body from diamond grains at high-pressure/high-temperature sintering conditions is disposed in a population of the interstitial regions;
a first substrate attached to the body and having a material composition comprising hard phase particles and the catalyst material used to catalyze diamond bonding, wherein the body is attached with the first substrate during the body forming high-pressure/high-temperature sintering conditions; and
a second substrate attached to a surface of the first substrate opposite the body during the high-pressure/high-temperature sintering conditions, wherein the second substrate comprises hard phase particles that are sized larger than the hard phase particles in the first substrate, wherein the second substrate has an axial thickness greater than the first substrate, wherein the amount of catalyst material in the first substrate is greater than the amount of a binder material in the second substrate, and wherein the body does not directly contact the second substrate.

12. The cutting element as recited in claim 11 , wherein the average particle size of the hard particles in the second substrate is greater than about 10 microns.

13. The cutting element as recited in claim 11 , wherein the ultra-hard body includes a region comprising interstitial regions substantially free of the catalyst material.

14. A bit for drilling subterranean formations comprising a body and a number the cutting elements as recited in claim 11 operatively attached thereto.

15. A method for making an ultra-hard construction comprising the steps of:
forming a sintered diamond-bonded body by exposing a volume of diamond grains to high-pressure/high-temperature sintering conditions in the presence of a catalyst material provided by a first substrate positioned adjacent the volume of diamond grains, wherein the first substrate comprises a hard phase material;
attaching the first substrate to the diamond-bonded body during the high-pressure/high-temperature sintering conditions used to form the diamond-bonded body, the first substrate having an axial thickness of less than about ½ that of the diamond-bonded body during the step of attaching; and
attaching a second substrate to a surface of the first substrate different from a surface of the first substrate attached to the diamond-bonded body during the high-pressure/high-temperature sintering conditions used to form the diamond-bonded body, the second substrate having an axial thickness greater than that of the first substrate during the step of attaching to the first substrate, wherein the second substrate has a hard phase material, wherein the hard phase material in the second substrate has an average particle size greater than the average particle size of the first substrate hard phase material, and wherein the diamond-bonded body does not directly contact the second substrate.

16. The method as recited in claim 15 , wherein the second substrate includes a binder material, and wherein the binder material content is less than the content of the catalyst material in the first substrate before the step of forming.

17. The method as recited in claim 15 , wherein the second substrate has an axial thickness at the time of attachment with the first substrate that is greater than the combined axial thickness of the diamond-bonded body and the first substrate.

18. The method as recited in claim 15 , further comprising the step of removing the catalyst material from at least a region of the diamond-bonded body to render the region substantially free of the catalyst material.

19. The method as recited in claim 15 , wherein the ultra-hard body has an axial thickness along an outside diameter that is greater than an axial thickness along an inside diameter.

20. A bit for drilling subterranean formations comprising a plurality of cutting elements, wherein at least one of the cutting elements comprises an ultra-hard construction made according to the me

Assignees

• Smith International

Inventors

• Yu Feng
• Randall Benjamin
• Zhang Haibo
• Belnap J Daniel

Classifications

• E21B10/5735 Primary

  Interface between the substrate and the cutting element · CPC title

• B22F3/15

  Hot isostatic pressing · CPC title

• B22F2303/35

  Molten metal infiltrating a metal preform · CPC title

• E21B10/46 Primary

  characterised by wear resisting parts, e.g. diamond inserts · CPC title

• B22F7/062

  involving the connection or repairing of preformed parts · CPC title