Individually variably configurable drag members in an anti-rotation device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10161196-B2
Application number	US-201415111586-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 14, 2014
Priority date	Feb 14, 2014
Publication date	Dec 25, 2018
Grant date	Dec 25, 2018

Abstract

Variably configurable anti-rotation device (252) in a rotary steerable subterranean drill (20). The rotary steerable subterranean drill (20) includes a housing (46) with which the anti-rotation device (252) is associated. Wellbore engaging portions of the anti-rotation device (252) are positioned at an exterior (52) of the housing (46) and have a plurality of differently configurable, radially deployable drag members (254) that are peripherally spaced about the exterior (52) of the housing (46). A controller is coupled to the plurality of drag members (254) and is configured to instruct different deployed configurations of at least two of the drag members (254) in dependence upon a controller-determined formation force experienced on a toolface of a drill bit (22) of the rotary steerable subterranean drill (20).

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A rotary steerable subterranean drill capable of establishing a deflection angle and azimuthal toolface direction of a drill bit, the rotary steerable subterranean drill, comprising:
a housing;
an anti-rotation device positioned at an exterior of the housing and comprising a plurality of differently configurable, radially deployable drag members that are peripherally spaced about the exterior of the housing;
a controller coupled to the plurality of drag members and which is configured to instruct different deployed configurations of at least two of the drag members in dependence upon a controller-determined formation force experienced on a drill bit of the rotary steerable subterranean drill; and
a sensor configured to detect a toolface direction of the drill bit and a magnitude of a formation force acting on the drill bit, the sensor having an output that is configured to output data representative of the detected toolface direction of the drill bit and the detected magnitude of the formation force acting on the drill bit;
wherein the controller is configured to instruct a greatest radial extension length of a deployable drag member that has a radial extension direction generally parallel to the detected toolface direction of the drill bit.

2. The rotary steerable subterranean drill of claim 1 , further comprising:
a drilling configuration of the rotary steerable subterranean drill in which at least two of the drag members have different magnitude deployment forces against a surrounding formation.

3. The rotary steerable subterranean drill of claim 1 , further comprising:
a drilling shaft that is rotatably supported in the housing and wherein the drilling shaft and the housing are each substantially cylindrical shaped and have a longitudinal centerline.

4. The rotary steerable subterranean drill of claim 3 , further comprising:
a drilling configuration of the rotary steerable subterranean drill in which at least two of the drag members have different radial extension lengths relative to the longitudinal centerline of the housing.

5. The rotary steerable subterranean drill of claim 4 , wherein, in the drilling configuration of the rotary steerable subterranean drill, at least two of the drag members have different magnitude deployment forces against a surrounding formation.

6. The rotary steerable subterranean drill of claim 1 , wherein the controller further comprises an input configured to receive output data from the sensor that is representative of the detected toolface direction of the drill bit and the detected magnitude of the formation force acting on the drill bit, and in dependence thereupon, the controller is configured to determine the different deployed configurations of at least two of the drag members.

7. The rotary steerable subterranean drill of claim 6 , wherein the controller is configured to instruct non-uniform deployment of the plurality of radially deployable drag members that at least partially counteracts the detected formation force acting on the drill bit.

8. The rotary steerable subterranean drill of claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to instruct a greatest deployment force by at least one deployable drag member that has a radial extension direction generally parallel to the detected toolface direction of the drill bit.

9. The rotary steerable subterranean drill of claim 1 , wherein the deployable drag member having the greatest radial extension length is located on the same side of the rotary steerable subterranean drill upon which the formation force acts.

10. The rotary steerable subterranean drill of claim 3 , further comprising:
a drilling shaft deflection assembly contained within the housing and comprising an outer eccentric ring and an inner eccentric ring that engages the drilling shaft; and
a pair of bi-directional drive motors anchored relative the housing and respectively coupled, one each, to the inner and outer eccentric rings for rotating each eccentric ring in two directions.

11. The rotary steerable subterranean drill of claim 10 , further comprising:
the longitudinal centerlines of the drilling shaft and housing being substantially coincident when the drilling shaft is undeflected within the housing;
the drilling shaft deflection assembly configured to transition the drilling shaft between deflected and undeflected configurations;
the outer eccentric ring being rotatably supported at an inner peripheral surface of the housing and having a circular inner peripheral surface that is eccentric with respect to the housing;
the inner eccentric ring being rotatably supported at the circular inner peripheral surface of the outer eccentric ring and having a circular inner peripheral surface that engages the drilling shaft and which is eccentric with respect to the circular inner peripheral surface of the outer eccentric ring; and
one of the pair of motors drivingly coupled by a first transmission to the outer eccentric ring and which rotates the outer eccentric ring in a first direction and an opposite, second direction relative to the housing and the other of the pair of motors drivingly coupled by a second transmission to the inner eccentric ring and which rotates the inner eccentric ring in a first direction and an opposite, second direction relative to the outer eccentric ring.

12. The rotary steerable subterranean drill of claim 11 , wherein each of the pair of drive motors is an electronically commutated motor.

13. The rotary steerable subterranean drill of claim 12 , wherein each of the electronically commutated motors is a brushless direct current motor.

14. A method for determining a configuration of an anti-rotation device of a rotary steerable subterranean drill in a drilling configuration, the method comprising:
detecting, at a sensor, a toolface direction of a drill bit and a magnitude of a formation force acting on the drill bit of a rotary steerable subterranean drill, wherein the rotary steerable subterranean drill comprises a housing, an anti-rotation device positioned at an exterior of the housing, and the anti-rotation device comprising a plurality of differently configurable, radially deployable drag members that are peripherally spaced about the exterior of the housing;
receiving, at a controller, from the sensor, data representative of the detected toolface direction of the drill bit and the detected magnitude of the formation force acting on the drill bit;
determining, at the controller, in dependence upon the received data representative of the detected toolface direction of the drill bit and the detected magnitude of a formation force acting on the drill bit, an instruction that differently configures the plurality of differently configurable, radially deployable drag members; and
issuing, from the controller, the instruction and thereby configuring the rotary steerable subterranean drill into a corresponding drilling configuration in which the radially deployable drag members are differently configured; and
causing a greatest radial extension length in a deployable drag member that has a radial extension direction generally parallel to the detected toolface direction of the drill bit.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein, in the established drilling configuration, at least two of the drag members exert different magnitude deployment forces against a surrounding formation.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein, in the established drilling configuration, at least two of the drag members have different radial extension lengths relative to a longitudinal centerline of the housing.

Assignees

• Halliburton Energy Services Inc

Inventors

• Kirkhope Kennedy J

Classifications

• E21B17/1014 Primary

  Flexible or expansible centering means, e.g. with pistons pressing against the wall of the well (E21B17/1042 takes precedence) · CPC title

• E21B4/16

  Plural down-hole drives, e.g. for combined percussion and rotary drilling (E21B4/10 takes precedence); Drives for multi-bit drilling units · CPC title

• E21B7/062

  the tool shaft rotating inside a non-rotating guide travelling with the shaft (E21B7/067 and E21B7/068 take precedence) · CPC title

• E21B47/0006

  Fixed Constructions · mapped topic

• E21B4/04

  Electric drives (E21B4/12 takes precedence) · CPC title