DRILL

BITS

Drill Bits
A drilling bit is the cutting or boring tool which
is made up on the end of the drillstring
The bit drills through the rock by scraping,
chipping, gouging or grinding the rock at the
bottom of the hole
Drilling fluid is circulated through passageways
in the bit to remove the drilled cuttings
There are however many variations in the
design of drill bits and the bit selected for a
particular application will depend on the type of
formation to be drilled

Drill Bits
Drillers want bits that drill holes as fast as
possible
They want bits that give a good rate of
penetration (ROP)
They also want bits that last a long time
A bit should be able to drill a full-size or fullgauge hole during the entire time it is on bottom
and drilling
If the sides of the bit wear down, it will drill an
undersize or under-gauge hole

Drill Bits
This presentation will present the different types
of drill bit used in drilling operations and the
way in which these bits have been designed to
cope with the conditions which they will be
exposed to
An understanding of the design features of
these bits will be essential when selecting a drill
bit for a particular operation
Since there are a massive range of individual bit
designs the drill bit manufacturers have
collaborated in the classification of all of the
available bits into a Bit Comparison Chart

Drill Bits
When a section of hole has been drilled and the
bit is pulled from the wellbore the nature and
degree of damage to the bit must be carefully
recorded
A system, known as the Dull Bit Grading
System, has been devised
It was devised by the Association of Drilling
Contractors - IADC to facilitate this grading
process
This system will also be described in detail

Drill Bits
The choice of which bit to use depends on
several things
One is the type of formation to be drilled
Is the formation:
Hard?
Soft?
Or is it medium-hard or medium-soft?
Another item that bears on which bit to use is
its cost

Drill Bits
There are basically three types of drilling bit
Drag Bits
(no longer in use)
Roller Cone Bits
(Rock Bits)
Diamond Bits

Roller Cone Bits (Rock Bits)

Roller cone bits (or rock bits) are still the most
common type of bit used world wide
The cutting action is provided by cones which
have either steel teeth or tungsten carbide
inserts
These cones rotate on the bottom of the hole
and drill hole predominantly with a grinding
and chipping action
Rock bits are classified as milled tooth bits or
insert bits depending on the cutting surface on
the cones

Roller Cone Bits (Rock Bits)

The roller-cone bit has conical cutters or cones
that have spiked teeth around them
As the drillstring is rotated, the bit cones roll along
the bottom of the hole in a circle
As they roll, new teeth come in contact with the
bottom of the hole, crushing the rock immediately
below and around the bit tooth
A high-velocity fluid jet strikes the crushed rock
chips to remove them from the bottom of the hole
and up the annulus
As this occurs, another tooth makes contact with
the bottom of the hole and creates new rock chips

Roller Cone Bits (Rock Bits)

Roller Cone Bits (Rock Bits)

The cones of the 3 cone bit are mounted on
bearing pins, or arm journals, which extend
from the bit body
The bearings allow each cone to turn about its
own axis as the bit is rotated
The use of 3 cones allows an even distribution
of weight
It also gives a balanced cutting structure
And drills a better gauge hole than the 2 cone
design

Roller Cone Bits (Rock Bits)

Milled Tooth Bit

Roller Cone Bits (Rock Bits)

Soft Formation Milled Tooth Bit
Soft-formation rock bits
have their cones offset
The teeth scrape and gouge
the formation as the cone
rolls on the bottom of the
hole
The amount of scraping
depending on the amount of
cone offset

Roller Cone Bits (Rock Bits)

Hard Formation Milled Tooth Bit

More closely spaced,

shorter, stronger teeth are
used for harder rocks

Roller Cone Bits (Rock Bits)

Insert Bit
Run at high rotary
speeds, up to 180
revolutions per minute
(rpm) or more
Compared to the 45 rpm
used with older ones
New high-speed carbide
insert bits also run with
much higher weight on
bit (WOB)

Roller Cone Bits (Rock Bits)

Insert Bit

Roller Cone Bits (Rock Bits)

The advantages of the carbide insert bit are:
Great durability
Good insert burial into the formation - up to
80 percent of the insert per revolution in soft
formations
The ability to drill different types of
formations with the same bit

Roller Cone Bits (Rock Bits)

The disadvantages of the carbide insert bit
are:
Erosion around the base of inserts can
result in their loss
The possibility that with complete insert
burial an area of the cone shell can come
into contact with the formation and transmit
shock loads from the drill string directly to
the bearing

Roller Cone Bits (Rock Bits)

Roller Cone Bits (Rock Bits)

The major advances in rock bit design since
the introduction of the Hughes rock bit
include:
Improved cleaning action by using jet
nozzles
Using tungsten carbide for hard-facing and
gauge protection
Introduction of sealed bearings to prevent
the mud causing premature failure due to
abrasion and corrosion of the bearings

Roller Cone Bits (Rock Bits)

Many general types of
milled tooth and insert bits
are now available:

Manufacture of Roller Cone Bits

Care and Maintenance of Roller Cone Bits

Pointers for making up the bit include the
following:
If the box containing the bits has been
opened previously, check the threads on the
bit shank, and clean them if necessary
Dope the threads with a good-quality, clean
thread lubricant of the type recommended
for tool joint threads
Be sure to use the correct breaker plate for
the size and type of bit being run (see next
slide)

Care and Maintenance of Roller Cone Bits

Making up the bit:

Care and Maintenance of Roller Cone Bits

Pointers for making up the bit include the
following:
Cover the hole, place the bit breaker in the
locked rotary table, place the bit in the
breaker, and lower the collar over the shank
then rotate the collar by hand until it
shoulders onto the bit
Place the makeup tongs on the collar just
above the bit and make up to the proper
torque, never use a sledgehammer on a bit
or on the tongs in an effort to tighten the bit

Care and Maintenance of Roller Cone Bits

Running the bit to bottom:
If there are ledges or boulders encroaching
on the hole, work the bit past them
If the hole is under-gauge, especially near
bottom, ream down to bottom with due
care
If there is likely to be a fill of cuttings
settled on bottom while the pipe is out of
the hole, run the bit in carefully, with full
circulation to clean out

ROLLER CONE
BIT
DESIGN

Roller Cone Bit Design

The design of roller cone bits can be described
in terms of the four principle elements of their
design
We will be looking at the following aspects of
the design:
Bearing assemblies
Cones
Cutting elements
Fluid circulation

Roller Cone Bit Design - Bearing Assemblies

The cones of a roller cone bit are mounted on
journals as shown below

Roller Cone Bit Design - Bearing Assemblies

There are three types of bearings used in these
bits:
Roller bearings
Which form the outer assembly and help to
support the radial loading (or WOB)
Ball bearings
Which resist longitudinal or thrust loads
and also help to secure the cones on the
journals

Roller Cone Bit Design - Bearing Assemblies

There are three types of bearings used in these
bits:
A friction bearing
In the nose assembly which helps to
support the radial loading
The friction bearing consists of a special
bushing pressed into the nose of the cone
This combines with the pilot pin on the
journal to produce a low coefficient of
friction to resist seizure and wear

Roller Cone Bit Design - Bearing Assemblies

All bearing materials must be made of
toughened steel
The most important factor in the design of the
bearing assembly is the space availability
The bearings should be large enough to support
the applied loading
The bearings should not wear out before the
cutting structure
i.e. all bit components should wear out evenly

Roller Cone Bit Design - Bearing Assemblies

There have been a number of developments in
bearing technology used in rock bits
The bearing assemblies of the first roller cone
bits were open to the drilling fluid
Two new bits were developed in the late 1950s
to combat this:
Sealed bearing bits
Journal bearing bits

Roller Cone Bit Design - Bearing Assemblies

Sealed bearing bits:
Were introduced in the late 1950s, to extend
the bearing life of insert bits
The sealing mechanism prevents abrasive
solids in the mud from entering and causing
excess frictional resistance in the bearings
The bearings are lubricated by grease which
is fed in from a reservoir as required
Some manufacturers claim a 25% increase in
bearing life by using this arrangement

Roller Cone Bit Design - Bearing Assemblies

Sealed bearing bits:

Roller Cone Bit Design - Bearing Assemblies

Journal bearing bits:
The cones are mounted directly onto the
journal
This offers the advantage of a larger contact
area over which the load is transmitted from
the cone to the journal
The contact area is specially treated and
inlaid with alloys to increase wear resistance
Only a small amount of lubrication is
required as part of the sealing system

Roller Cone Bit Design - Bearing Assemblies

Journal bearing bits:

Roller Cone Bit Design Cone Design

All three cones have the same shape except that
the No. 1 cone has a spear point

Roller Cone Bit Design Cone Design

One important factor which affects journal angle

is the degree of meshing or interfit
i.e. the distance that the crests of the teeth of
one cone extend into the grooves of the other
The amount of interfit affects several aspects of
bit design

Roller Cone Bit Design Cone Design

Interfit affects several aspects of bit design:
It allows increased space for tooth depth,
more space for bearings and greater cone
thickness
It allows mechanical cleaning of the grooves,
thus helping to prevent bit balling
It provides space for one cone to extend
across the centre of the hole to prevent
coring effects
It helps the cutting action of the cones by
increasing cone slippage

Roller Cone Bit Design Cone Design

Cone slippage:
In some formations, it is advantageous to
design the cones so that they do not rotate
evenly but that they slip during rotation
This allows a rock bit to drill using a scraping
action, as well as the normal grinding or
crushing action

Roller Cone Bit Design Cone Design

Cone slippage:
Cone slippage
can also be
attained by
offsetting the
axes of the cones
This is often used
in soft formation
bits

Roller Cone Bit Design Cutting Structure

The selection of a milled tooth or insert bit is
largely based on the hardness of the formation
to be drilled
The design of the cutting structure will therefore
be based on the hardness of the formation for
which it will be used
The main considerations in the design of the
cutting structure is the height and spacing of
teeth or inserts

Roller Cone Bit Design Cutting Structure

Soft formation bits:
These require deep penetration into the
rock so the teeth are long, thin and widely
spaced to prevent bit balling
Bit balling occurs when soft formations are
drilled and the soft material accumulates
on the surface of the bit preventing the
teeth from penetrating the rock
The long teeth take up space, so the
bearing size must be reduced

Roller Cone Bit Design Cutting Structure

Moderately hard formation bits:
These are required to withstand heavier
loads so tooth height is decreased
Tooth width increased
Such bits rely on scraping/gouging action
with only limited penetration
The spacing of teeth must still be sufficient
to allow good cleaning

Roller Cone Bit Design Cutting Structure

Hard formation bits:
These rely on a chipping action and not on
tooth penetration to drill
So the teeth are short and stubbier than
those used for softer formations
The teeth must be strong enough to
withstand the crushing/chipping action and
sufficient numbers of teeth should be used
to reduce the unit load

Roller Cone Bit Design Fluid Circulation

The original design for rock bits only allowed the
drilling mud to be ejected from the middle of the
bit
This was not very efficient and led to a build up
of cuttings on the face of the bit (bit balling) and
cone erosion
The fluid is now generally ejected through three
jet nozzles around the outside of the bit body
The turbulence created by the jet streams is
enough to clean the cutters and allow efficient
drilling to continue

Roller Cone Bit Design Fluid Circulation

Fluid circulating through jet nozzles

Roller Cone Bit Design Fluid Circulation

The original design for rock bits only allowed the
drilling mud to be ejected from the middle of the
bit
This was not very efficient and led to a build up
of cuttings on the face of the bit (bit balling) and
cone erosion
The fluid is now generally ejected through three
jet nozzles around the outside of the bit body
The turbulence created by the jet streams is
enough to clean the cutters and allow efficient
drilling to continue

Roller Cone Bit Design Fluid Circulation

Jet nozzles
Available in many sizes
The size of the nozzle refers to the inner
diameter of the ring
The nozzles are easily replaced
Extended nozzles may also be used to
improve the cleaning action
The nozzles are made of tungsten carbide
to prevent fluid erosion

Roller Cone Bit Design Fluid Circulation

Jet nozzles

DIAMOND
BITS

Diamond Bits
Diamond has been used as a material for
cutting rock for many years
Since it was first used however, the type of
diamond and the way in which it is set in the
drill bit have changed
There are three types:
Natural diamond bits
PDC bits
TSP bits

Natural Diamond Bits

The diamond bit has no moving cones and
operates as a single unit
The cutting action of a diamond bit is achieved
by scraping or plowing away the rock
The diamonds are set in a specially designed
pattern and bonded into a matrix material set
on a steel body
Diamond is sensitive to shock and vibration
and therefore great care must be taken when
running a diamond bit

Natural Diamond Bits

Natural-diamond bits drill slowly by plowing
which requires high bit weight and torque

Natural Diamond Bits

Natural diamond drill medium-hard and
extremely hard formations that are moderately
to extremely abrasive
Diamond bits and diamond sizes are matched
to formation hardness
Bits for softer formations use large diamonds
to produce a plowing action
Small diamonds produce more of a grinding
action and are used to drill hard formations

Diamond Impregnated Bits

Diamond impregnated bits grind formations
like a grinding wheel or sandpaper

PDC (Polycrystalline Diamond Compact) Bits

Uses polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC)
cutters to shear rock with a continuous
scraping motion
These cutters are synthetic diamond disks
about 1/8-in. thick and about 1/2 to 1 in. in
diameter
The small discs may be manufactured in any
size and shape and are not sensitive to failure
along cleavage planes as with natural diamonds
PDC bits are effective at drilling shale
formations, especially when used in
combination with oil-base muds

PDC (Polycrystalline Diamond Compact) Bits

PDC (Polycrystalline Diamond Compact) Bits

PDC bits drill fast by shearing formations much
like a lathe
As a general rule, it is easier to remove rock by
shear

PDC (Polycrystalline Diamond Compact) Bits

Back-rake and side-rake angles and cutter
exposure define how aggressively PDC cutters
will contact formations

Thermally Stable Polycrystalline (TSP)

Diamond Bits
A further development of the PDC bit concept
was the introduction in the later 1980s of
Thermally Stable Polycrystalline (TSP) diamond
bits
These bits are manufactured in a similar fashion
to PDC bits but are tolerant of much higher
temperatures than PDC bits

Natural Diamond Bits

Disadvantages of a diamond bit:
The major disadvantage of diamond bits is
their cost
Sometimes 10 times more expensive than
a similar sized rock bit
There is also no guarantee that these bits
will achieve a higher ROP than a correctly
selected roller cone bit in the same
formation

Natural Diamond Bits

Advantages of a diamond bit:
They are cost effective when drilling
formations where long rotating hours (200300 hours per bit) are required
They have no moving parts and so, tend to
last longer than roller cone bits and can be
used for extremely long bit runs
In addition, the diamonds of a diamond bit
can be extracted, so that a used bit does
have some salvage value

PDC
BIT
DESIGN

PDC Bit Design

Cutter Material
The material used to manufacture the
cutting surface on PDC bits is called
Polycrystalline Diamond PCD
This synthetic material is 90-95% pure
diamond
It is manufactured into compacts which
are set into the body of the bit
Hence the name of these bits

PDC Bit Design

The cutters can be manufactured as disc
shaped cutters or as stud cutters

PDC Bit Design

Steel Body Bit
The cutters on a steel body bit are studs
Tungsten carbide button inserts can also
be set into the gauge of the bit to provide
gauge protection
An advantage of using a stud is that it may
be removed and replaced if the cutter is
damaged and the body of the bit is not
damaged
Steel body bits tend to suffer from broken
cutters

PDC Bit Design

Matrix Body Bit
The cutters on a matrix body bit are
cylindrical cutters
The advantage of this type of bit is that it
is both erosion and abrasion resistant and
the matrix pocket provides impact
resistance for the cutter
Matrix body bits have an economic
disadvantage because the raw materials
used in their manufacture are more
expensive

PDC Bit Design

Setting of Cutters

PDC Bit Design

Cutter Rake
The PDC cutters can be set at various rake
angles
These rake angles include back rake and
side rake
The back rake angle determines the size of
cutting that is produced
Side rake is used to direct the formation
cuttings towards the flank of the bit and
into the annulus

PDC Bit Design

Profile:
There are three basic types of PDC bit crown
profile:
Flat or Shallow Cone
Tapered or Double cone
Parabolic
There are variations on these themes but most
bits can be classified into these categories

PDC Bit Design

Cutter Density
The cutter density is the number of cutters
per unit area on the face of the bit
The cutter density can be increased or
decreased to control the amount of load
per cutter
If a high density is used the cutters must
be small enough to allow efficient cleaning
of the face of the bit

PDC Bit Design

Cutter Exposure
Cutter exposure is the amount by which
the cutters protrude from the bit body
High exposure of the cutter provides more
space between the bit body and the
formation face
Low exposure provides good backup and
therefore support to the cutters

PDC Bit Design

Fluid Circulation
The fluid circulation across the bit face
must remove the cuttings efficiently
This may be satisfied by increasing the
fluid flowrate and/or the design of the water
courses that run across the face of the bit
This increased fluid flow can cause erosion
of the face and bit failure
More than three jets are generally used on
a PDC bit

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