Nanofiber strain gauge sensors in downhole tools

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9869171-B2
Application number	US-201414764589-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 25, 2014
Priority date	Jul 25, 2014
Publication date	Jan 16, 2018
Grant date	Jan 16, 2018

Abstract

A downhole drilling tool may include a strain gauge inside a rolling-bearing element. For example, the downhole drilling tool may include a rolling-bearing element having an inner race, an outer race, and one or more bearings disposed between the inner and outer races; and a strain gauge disposed on an interior surface of the rolling-element bearing, the strain gauge including at least one circuit formed by (1) a first substrate and a second substrate defining a gap therebetween and having first conductive fibers and second conductive fibers, respectively, extending therefrom into the gap in an intermingling configuration, (2) an electrical connection between the first and second substrates, and (3) an electrical resistance sensor arranged within the electrical connection.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A downhole drilling tool comprising:
a downhole tool having a rolling-element bearing, the rolling-element bearing having an inner race, an outer race, and one or more bearings disposed between the inner and outer races; and
a strain gauge disposed on an interior surface of the outer race or the inner race of the rolling-element bearing, the strain gauge including at least one circuit formed by (1) a first substrate and a second substrate defining a gap therebetween and having first conductive fibers and second conductive fibers, respectively, extending therefrom into the gap in an intermingling configuration, (2) an electrical connection between the first and second substrates, and (3) an electrical resistance sensor arranged within the electrical connection.

2. The downhole drilling tool of claim 1 , wherein the interior surface corresponds to the outer race of the rolling-element bearing.

3. The downhole drilling tool of claim 1 , wherein the interior surface corresponds to the inner race of the rolling-element bearing.

4. The downhole drilling tool of claim 1 , wherein the strain gauge is a first strain gauge and the interior surface corresponds to the outer race of the rolling-element bearing, and wherein the downhole drilling tool further comprises a second strain disposed on a second interior surface corresponding to the inner race of the rolling-element bearing.

5. The downhole drilling tool of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second conductive fibers are formed by a conductive material.

6. The downhole drilling tool of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second conductive fibers are formed by a nonconductive material and having a coating of a conductive material disposed thereon.

7. The downhole drilling tool of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second substrates are formed by a conductive material.

8. The downhole drilling tool of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second substrates are formed by a nonconductive material with a coating of a conductive material.

9. The downhole drilling tool of claim 1 , wherein the downhole drilling tool is a roller cone drill bit and the rolling-element bearing is positioned within a cone assembly and a spindle of a roller cone drill bit.

10. The downhole drilling tool of claim 9 , further comprising one or more additional rolling-element bearings and one or more additional strain gauges positioned within additional cone assemblies and spindles of the roller cone drill bit.

11. The downhole drilling tool of claim 1 , wherein the rolling-element bearing is positioned within a bottom hole assembly for directional drilling, wherein the rolling-element bearing is a first rolling-element bearing, wherein the bottom hole assembly includes a bearing package assembly having a plurality of rolling-element bearings that include thrust bearings and radial bearings, and wherein one of the plurality of rolling-element bearings is the first rolling-element bearing.

12. The downhole drilling tool of claim 11 , wherein the strain gauge is a first strain gauge, wherein the first rolling-element bearing is one of the thrust bearings having the first strain gauge disposed therein, and wherein a second rolling-element bearing is one of the radial bearings having a second strain gauge disposed on an interior surface of the second rolling-element bearing.

13. A drilling system comprising:
a drill string extending into a wellbore penetrating a subterranean formation and including at least a downhole tool having a rolling-element bearing; and
a strain gauge coupled to the rolling-element bearing, the rolling-element bearing having an inner race, an outer race, and one or more bearings disposed between the inner and outer races, and the strain gauge being disposed on an interior surface of the outer race or the inner race of the rolling-element bearing, the strain gauge including at least one circuit formed by (1) a first substrate and a second substrate defining a gap therebetween and having first conductive fibers and second conductive fibers, respectively, extending therefrom into the gap in an intermingling configuration, (2) an electrical connection between the first and second substrates, and (3) an electrical resistance sensor arranged within the electrical connection.

14. The drilling system of claim 13 , wherein the downhole drilling tool is a roller cone drill bit and the rolling-element bearing is positioned within a cone assembly and a spindle of a roller cone drill bit.

15. The drilling system of claim 13 , wherein the rolling-element bearing is a first rolling-element bearing, wherein the downhole tool is a bottom hole assembly with a bearing package assembly having a plurality of rolling-element bearings that include thrust bearings and radial bearings, and wherein one of the plurality of rolling-element bearings is the first rolling-element bearing.

16. The drilling system of claim 15 , wherein the strain gauge is a first strain gauge, wherein the first rolling-element bearing is one of the thrust bearings having the first strain gauge disposed therein, and wherein a second rolling-element bearing is one of the radial bearings having a second strain gauge disposed on an interior surface of the second rolling-element bearing.

17. A method comprising:
drilling a wellbore penetrating a subterranean formation with a drilling system that includes a drill string extending into a wellbore penetrating a subterranean formation and a downhole tool positioned on the drill string, the downhole tool having a rolling-element bearing and a strain gauge, the rolling-element bearing having an inner race, an outer race, and one or more bearings disposed between the inner and outer races, and the strain gauge being disposed on an interior surface of the outer race or the inner race of the rolling-element bearing, the strain gauge including at least one circuit formed by (1) a first substrate and a second substrate defining a gap therebetween and having first conductive fibers and second conductive fibers, respectively, extending therefrom into the gap in an intermingling configuration, (2) an electrical connection between the first and second substrates, and (3) an electrical resistance sensor arranged within the electrical connection;
measuring a resistance or resistance change to the at least one circuit as a load is applied to the strain gauge; and
changing a parameter of the drilling based on a measured resistance or resistance change.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the rolling-element bearing is a first rolling-element bearing and the strain gauge is a first strain gauge, wherein the downhole tool is a roller cone drill bit with three rolling-element bearings including the first rolling-element bearing that are each positioned within a cone assembly and a spindle of a roller cone drill bit, wherein a second and a third rolling-element bearings have a second and a third strain gauge, respectively, disposed on an interior surface of the second and the third rolling-element bearings, the method further including balancing and equalizing the load among the cone assemblies by comparing the measured resistance or resistance change of the first, the second, and the third strain gauges.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the parameter of the drilling is selected from the group consisting of weight-on-bit, revolutions per minute of the drill bit, torque, angle of drilling, and any combination thereof.

20. The method of claim 1

Assignees

• Halliburton Energy Services Inc

Inventors

• Chen Hau Jiun

Classifications

• E21B17/1078

  Stabilisers or centralisers for casing, tubing or drill pipes (E21B17/1007 - E21B17/1064 take precedence) · CPC title

• E21B17/1057

  Centralising devices with rollers or with a relatively rotating sleeve (E21B17/1014 takes precedence) · CPC title

• E21B17/05

  Swivel joints · CPC title

• E21B17/021

  Devices for subsurface connecting or disconnecting by rotation · CPC title

• E21B10/00 Primary

  Drill bits (specially adapted for deflecting the direction of boring {E21B7/064}; with means for collecting substances E21B27/00) · CPC title