ROTARY DRILLING
I
BITS
10,000 INDIANA
STATIC LIMESTONE
.CD
8000
(.)
w
0
5
Ic
-
t
: 0
0
0 .04 . . .1 .2
TOOTH PENETRATION ( IN)
Fig. 5.18-Typical force displacement curves as a function
of differential mud pressure,? (!lp = p bh - p, ).
predicted by the Mohr failure criteria. The force at
which fracturing begins beneath the tooth is called the
threshold force. As the force on the tooth
increases above the
threshold value, subsequent fracturing occurs in
the region above the initial fracture, forming a zone
of broken rock (D). At low differential pressure, the
cutD tings formed in the zone of broken rock are ejected
easily from the crater (E). The bit tooth then moves
forward until it reaches the bottom of the crater, and
the process may be repeated (F,G). At high
differential pressures, the downward pressure and
frictional forces between the rock fragments prevent
ejection of the fragments (E'). As the force on the
tooth is increased, displacement takes place along
fracture planes parallel to the initial fracture (F' ,G').
This gives the appearance of plastic deformaD tion,
and craters formed in this manner are called
pseudoplastic craters. Typical force displacement
curves for increasing values of differential pressure
values of differential pressure2 are shown in Fig.
5.19. A 5-mm tungsten carbide penetrator was loaded
to proD duce failure in a sample of Rush Springs
sandstone. The sample was coated with plastic to
simulate the buildup of a mudcake that would prevent
the wellbore fluid from entering the pore space of
the rock and equalizing the pressure differential. The
two craters on the left were made with the
formation at atmospheric pressure and with bit tooth
loads of 1,600 and 2,200 lbf. The chips formed
were removed easily. The two craters on the right
were made at a pressure differential of 5,000 psi and
bit tooth loads of 3,500 and 4,000 lbf. The material
extruded from the craters that is characteristic
of pseudoplastic crater formation was not removed
easily, although it was weaker than the undisturbed
formation. High-speed movies 8 of full-scale bits
drilling at atD mospheric conditions with air as the
circulating fluid have verified that the mechanisms of
failure for rolling cutter bits with little or no offset is
not too different from that observed in single bit-
2
Courtesy of Hughes Tool
Fig. 5.19-Example of craters formed in single-tooth
impact apparatus.
5.20a and 5.20b. Starting in Photograph I, a tooth
starts to apply pressure to the rock as the cone rolls
forward. In
Photograph 4, the threshold force has been transmitted
to the rock and fracture is initiated. In Photograph 5,
which is shown in more detail in Fig. 5.20b,
ejection of the rock fragments from the crater
proceeds in an explosive manner. Chips continue to
be ejected in Photographs 6 through 9 as the tooth
sinks further into the rock. FinalD ly, in Photograph
10, particle discharge diminishes and the next tooth
begins to apply force to the rock.
The drilling action of rolling cutter bits designed
with
a large offset for drilling soft, plastic formations is
conD siderably more complex than the simple crushing
action that results when no offset is used. Since each
cone alterD nately rolls and drags, considerable
wedging and twisting action is present. Shown in
Fig. 5.21 is a comD parison of the bottomhole
patterns generated by a bit with no offset and a bit
5.3 Bit Selection and
Evaluation
Unfortunately, the selection of the best available bit
for the job, like the selection of the best drilling
fluid or drilling cement composition, can be
determined only by trial and error. The most valid
criterion for comparing the performance of various
bits is the drilling cost per unit interval drilled. The
cost-per-foot formula presented in Chap. I (Eq. 1.16)
can be used for this purpose. Since no amount of
arithmetic allows us to drill the same secD tion of hole
more than once, comparisons must be made between
succeeding bits in a given well or between bits used
to drill the same formations in different wells. The
formations drilled with a given bit on a previous
nearby well can be correlated to the well in progress
using well logs and mud logging records.
The initial selection of bit type in a wildcat area can
2 APPLIED DRILLING
I
usually used by drilling engineers to describe the forma-
tion characteristics are drillability and abrasiveness.
The
6 drillability of the formation is a measure of how easy
the formation is to drill. It is inversely related to the
com- pressive strength of the rock, although other
factors are also important. Drillability generally tends
to decrease with depth in a given area. The
abrasiveness of the for- mation is a measure of how
rapidly the teeth of a milled tooth bit will wear when
7 drilling the formation. Although there are some
exceptions, the abrasiveness tends to in- crease as the
drillability decreases. Shown in Table 5.5 is a listing of
bit types often used to drill various formation types.
The formation types are listed approximately in order
of the decreasing drillability and increasing
abrasiveness.
8 In the absence of prior bit records, several rules
of thumb often are used for initial bit selection.
General rules for bit selection, like rules of grammar,
are famous for the exception to the rules. Thus, the
drilling cost per foot must eventually be the final
criterion applied. However, the rules indicate certain
tendencies shown to be common on the basis of past
experience. Some of the rules of thumb used by
many drilling engineers are as follows.
I. The IADC classification charts (Tables 5.1
through
5.3) provide an approximate listing of the bit types
ap- plicable in a given formation hardness.
1 2. The initial bit type and features selected should be
governed by bit cost considerations. Premium
rolling- cutter design features and high-cost diamond
( and PCD drag bits tend to be more applicable when
the daily cost of the drilling operation is high. The cost
of the bit prob- ably should not exceed the rig cost
per day.
3. Three-cone rolling-cutter bits are the most
versatile bit type available and are a good initial
choice for the shallow portion of the well.
4. When using a rolling-cutter bit:
a. Use the longest tooth size possible.
b. A small amount of tooth breakage should
be
tolerated rather than selecting a shorter tooth
size.
c. When enough weight cannot be
applied economically to a milled tooth bit to
cause self-
sharpening tooth wear, a longer tooth size should
be used.
( d. When the rate of tooth wear is much less than
the rate of bearing wear, select a longer tooth size, a
better bearing design, or apply more bit weight.
Fig. 5.20-Elastic rock failure beneath a rolling cutter : ( e. When the rate of bearing wear is much less
high-speed sequences and than
photographic (b) the rate of tooth wear, select a shorter tooth size, a
enlargement of more economical bearing design, or apply less bit
weight.
5. Diamond drag bits perform best in nonbrittle
forma- tions having a plastic mode of failure,
especially in the bottom portion of a deep well,
where the high cost of tripping operations favors a
long bit life, and a small hole size favors the simplicity
of a drag bit design.
ROTARY DRILLING 2
I
TABLE 5.5-BIT TYPES OFTEN
USED IN VARIOUS FORMATION

IADC
Bit Formati
Classificati on
on Soft formations having low compressive strength and
1 high drillability (soft shales, clays, red beds, salt, soft
-

1 Soft to medium formations or soft interspersed with

- harder streaks (firm, unconsolidated or sandy shales, red
beds, salt, anhydrite, soft limestones.etc.)

2 Medium to medium hard formations (harder shales,

- sandy shales, shales alternating with streaks of
sand and limestone, etc.)

2 Medium hard abrasive to hard formations (high

- compressive strength rock, dolomite, hard limestone,
hard slaty shale, etc.)

3 Hard semiabrasive formations (hard sandy or chert

- bearing limestone, dolomite, granite, chert, etc.)

3 Hard abrasive formations (chert, quartzite, pyrite,

- granite, hard sand rock, etc.)
2

also important to maintain careful written records of
the performance of each bit for future references. The
IADC
has adopted a numerical code for reporting the degree
of bit wear relative to the (1) teeth, (2) bearings, and
(3) bit diameter (gauge wear) structure. This code
allows some of the more important aspects of bit wear
to be quantified and logged quickly in the bit reports.
5.3.1 Grading Tooth
Wear
The tooth wear of milled tooth bits is graded in terms
of the fractional tooth height that has been worn away
and is reported to the nearest eighth. For example, if
half the original tooth height has been worn away, the
bit will be graded as a T-4-i.e., the teeth are% worn.
worn more than others, and some may be
broken.
Generally, the broken teeth are indicated by
recording "BT" in a "remarks" column, and the
average wear of the row of teeth with the most
severe wear is reported. The best way to obtain the
tooth wear is to measure the tooth height before and
after the bit run. However, with experience, more
rapid visual estimates of tooth condi- tion can be made
using a profile chart guide like the one shown in Fig.
5.22. Visual estimates are usually satisfactory
when a single bit type is used in the well. Changes
in the original tooth heights due to changing bit types
can cause inaccurate visual estimates of tooth wear.
In some areas, unacceptably low penetration rates
may

( (

Fig. 5.21-Comparison of bottomhole patterns of hard and soft formation rolllnq cutter bits: (a) hard formation bit (zero cone
offset)
2 APPLIED DRILLING
Fig. 5.22-Tooth wear guide chart for milled-tooth
ing the bit should not influence the tooth wear
evalua-
tion. There are times when a T-3 will not drill, but
this does not mean it should be reported as a T-8.
The cutting structures of insert bits generally are
too hard to abrade as significantly as a milled steel
tooth. The tooth inserts become broken or lost
rather than worn. Thus, the tooth wear usually is
reported as the fraction of the total number of
inserts that have been broken or lost to the nearest
eighth. Thus, an insert bit with half the inserts
5.3.2 Grading Bearing Wear
The field evaluation of bearing wear is difficu
The bit would have to be disassembled to examine
the
condition of the bearings and journals. An
examination of the dull bit will reveal only whether
the bearings have failed or are still intact. Bearing
failure usually results in (1) one or more "locked"
cones so that they will no longer rotate or (2) one or
more extremely loose cones so that the bearings have
become exposed (Fig. 5.23).
A bearing failure is reported using the code B-8-
i.e., the bearings are% worn. A slightly loose cone
usually is reported as a B-7. When bearing wear
cannot be detected, it usually is estimated based on
the number of hours of bearing life that the drilling
engineer thought the
bearings would last. Linear bearing wear with time is
assumed in this estimate of bearing life. Thus, if a
bit was pulled after 10 hours of operation and the
Courtesy of Smith
Fig. 5.23-Example of severe bearing
I
Fig. 5.24 frequently is used in determining the
proper
5.3.3 Grading Gauge
Wear
When the bit wears excessively in the base area of the
rolling cones, the bit will drill an undersized hole.
This can cause damage of the next bit run in the
undersized hole. A ring gauge and a ruler must be
used as shown in Fig. 5.25 to measure the amount of
gauge wear. The loss of diameter is reported to the
nearest eighth. Thus, a bit that has lost 0.5 in. of
diameter is graded a G-0-4. The "O" indicates the bit
is "out of gauge" and the "4" in- dicates the
diameter has worn% in. An "I" is used to in- dicate an
"in-gauge" bit.
In addition to grading the bearings, teeth, and gauge
of the bit, additional comments about the bit condition
may
be necessary. These remarks about the bit
condition should enable those who subsequently will
use the bit records to visualize readily the actual
condition of the bit. Listed alphabetically in Table 5.6
Example 5.2. Describe the dull bit shown in Fig.
5.26. The use of a ring gauge indicated that the bit
diameter has worn 1 in. from its initial value. The
roller bearings have fallen out of the bit, and all the
cones are very loose.
4 6 8 I() 14 16 18
ACTUAL ROTATING
Fig. 5.24-Bearing grading guide for rolling cutter
ROTARY DRILLING 2 I
Solution. This bit should be graded using the code T-
8,
B-8, G-0-8 since the cutting structure is
completely worn, the cones are very loose, and the bit
is% in. out of gauge. In addition, "SD" should
be placed in the remarks column to indicate that the
shirttail is damaged. The excessive tooth wear and
gauge wear on this bit indicates a poor choice of
drilling practices. The cost per foot for this bit run is
probably unnecessarily high due to extremely low
penetration rates of the end of the bit run. In addition,
the undergauge hole drilled by this bit will reduce the
efficiency of the next bit run by wasting bit life on

5.3.4 Abnormal Bit

Wear
The ability to recognize the probable cause of the
bit wear observed generally increases as
experience is gained in evaluating dull bits run
under various condi- tions. To provide at least a
little of this experience, several bits that illustrate
several types of abnormal bit wear or failure are
shown in Figs. 5.27 through 5.30. Study each
picture and attempt to identify the possible factors
causing the type of wear shown before reading the
discussion that follows.
The type of wear shown in Fig. 5.27 occurs when
the CONOtTION: 0 *--111 OUT OF GAUGI
cones are not free to rotate. This frequently is caused by
bearing failure. However, in this case the bearings *"
were in good condition and cone drag was caused by Fig. 5.25-Determination of gauge

TABLE 5.6-COMMON ABBREVIATIONS

USED IN
DESCRIBING BIT CONDITION IN DULL BIT
EVALUATION (Courtesy of Hughes Tool Co.)

Location of Conditions
Hard sandy shale HSSH Broken circumferentially BC
Spearpo
Sticky
BS N shale STSH Broken
CHE spearpoint
No s Chert Cracked
int cc
H
Chat CHA Eroded cone shell
Middle MEC H Granite GRA
Cone or head Quartzite
G Ch CQ
p Bearing
Bearing Conditions B
row Pyrite
1,2,3
Bit Body Broken B
Very good Good Broken bearing pin
Good run
Above BP Bent legs BL Compensator plug damaged
Average Good
Below CPD
run Poor Damaged bit DB Cone locked CL
Very poor Avg+ Lost cone LC
Eroded nozzle EN
Avg Seals S
run Lost nozzle LN Lost rollers
LRAvg- Plugged nozzle PN Seal failure
Poor
Sand SF Poor- Shirttail damaged SD Seals questionable
Formations SQ
Sandy
Cone Teeth Conditions
Lime
Sandy Broken teeth BT
s Balled up BU Journal Bearing Bits
Dolomi L
Gyps Cone dragged CD
SL Seals effective
Cored CR
te SE D Seals questionable
Red SQ Lost/loose compacts LT
SD Seal failure
Anhydr
Hard SF
A
Off-center wear oc Bit rerunable RR
ite Salt
2 APPLIED DRILLING
Courtesy of Hughes Tool Co.
Fig. 5.26-Example of a dull
balling can be reduced by applying less weight or by
in-
creasing the jet hydraulic cleaning action. A bit with
a central nozzle often reduces the tendency for bit
balling. The type of wear shown in Fig. 5.28 occurs
when the nose areas of the cones are worn away or
lost. This fre- quently occurs because of excessive
loads being applied to the cone tips. The cone tips
break, allowing a "core" of rock to be cut in the
center of the bottomhole pattern. The rock core causes
subsequent abrading of inner cone metal. When this
condition is detected, care must be taken on the next
bit run to eliminate the formation core on bottom
without breaking the cone tips of the new bit. This can
be accomplished by breaking in the new bit us-
ing low bit weights and high rotary
speeds.
The type of wear shown in Fig. 5.29 occurs when
(1) the drilling fluid contains a high
concentration of abrasive solids or (2) the
circulation rate is extremely
high. This problem is worse for regular bits than for
jet bits since the fluid strikes directly on the cones
of a regular bit. This problem usually can be
eliminated through the operation of the drilling fluid
desanders.
Off-center bit wear occurs (Fig. 5.30) when the bit
does not rotate about the true center of the hole.
This causes an oversized hole to be cut and circular
ridges to develop on the bottom of the hole. These
circular rings of rock wear away the cone shell area
between the teeth as well as the front and back faces
of the bit teeth. This problem usually indicates the
need for a higher penetra- tion rate, which could be
achieved by using a bit with a longer tooth or perhaps
by increasing the bit weight. Also, the bottomhole
assembly could be altered to ensure that the bit is
properly stabilized and centered in the borehole.
5.4 Factors Affecting Tooth
I
Courtesy of Smith Tool Co.
Fig. 5.27-Example of "cone dragged" bit
have been wasted on unnecessary trip time. However,
if
the time interval of bit use is increased too much, the
bit may break apart leaving junk in the hole. This
will re- quire an additional trip to fish the junk from
the hole or may reduce greatly the efficiency of the
next bit if an at- tempt is made to drill past the junk.
Thus, a knowledge of the instantaneous rate of bit
wear is needed to deter- mine how much the time
interval of bit use can be in- creased safely. Since
drilling practices are not always the same for the new
and old bit runs, a knowledge of how the various
drilling parameters affect the instantaneous rate of bit
wear also is needed. The rate of tooth wear depends
primarily on (1) formation abrasiveness, (2) tooth
5.4.1 Effect of Tooth
Height on Rate of Tooth
Wear
Campbell and Mitchell 9 showed experimentally that
the rate at which the height of a steel tooth can be
abraded away by a grinding wheel is directly
proportional to the area of the tooth in contact with the
grinding wheel. The shape of steel bit teeth is
generally triangular in cross section when viewed
from either a front or side view. Thus, almost all
milled tooth bits have teeth that can be described
A; = Wxl
After removal of tooth height, Lr, of the original
tooth height, L;, the bit tooth has a contact area given
ROTARY DRILLING 2 I

Courtesy of Security Bit and Drill Tools Courtesy of Hughes Tool Co.
Fig. 5.28-Example of "cored" bit Fig. 5.29-Example of "eroded teeth" bit

The ratio L,IL; is defined as the fractional tooth wear If we define the geometry constants GI and G2

. h=L,IL;. (5.

Expressing the contact area A in terms of fractional a

tooth wear h yields

the contact area A can be expressed

= (wxl Wyl) + [ Wyl (wx2 -
+w.rl(w_v2- h
Since the instantaneous wear rate dhldt is proportional
to the inverse of the contact area A ,

d
ex
dt A; (l +Gl h+G2 h

h =-

.
. f
_l
Courtesy of Hughes

Fig. 5.30-Example "off-center" bit Fig. 5.31-Typical shape of a milled-tooth as a function of

frac- tional tooth wear, h.
2 APPLIED DRILLING
Fig. 5.32-Example cutter wear on a PCD drag
Fig. 5.33-PCD blank geometry as a function of
fractional cut- ter wear, h, for a zero-back-rake
I
The initial wear rate, when h = 0, is proportional to
A;.
Thus, expressing dhldt in terms of a standard initial
For most bit types, the dimension (wx2 -wxl) will
be small compared with (wy2 -wy1 ). This allows a
H2 to be chosen such that the wear rate can be
imated
: ex (:)s ·<5·5
The use of Eq. 5.5b in place of Eq. 5.5a
greatly
simplifies the calculation of tooth wear as a function
of rotating time. A case-hardened bit tooth or a tooth
with hard facing on one side often will have a self-
sharpening type of tooth wear. Even though the
mechanism of self- sharpening tooth wear is somewhat
different than in the abrasive wear experiments of
Campbell and Mitchell, a constant H2 usually can be
selected such that the instan- taneous wear rate can be
predicted using Eq. 5.5b.
Insert teeth used in rolling-cutter bits usually fail
by
fracturing of the brittle tungsten carbide. For this
tional tooth h. To the contrary, there is
wear, evidence some tooth breakage accelerates
number of broken teeth beneath the bit increases.
This
type of behavior could be modeled with a negative
value for H2 in
been studied in detail
Eq. 5.5b.
and However,
in practice this phenomenon
a value of zero
has not
Diamond bits also wear by breakage or loss of the
recommended for H2 when using insert
bits.
mond cutter elements. The wear rate of diamond bits
is thus not sensitive to the fractional cutter wear. The
wear rate of diamond bits is far more sensitive to the
amount of cooling provided by the flow of drilling
tion of the individual diamond crystals (Fig. 5.32).
10
However, the circular shape of the PCD blank provides
a
different relationship between fractional tooth wear,
h, and cutter contact area. For a zero back-rake angle,
the cutter contact area is proportional to the length
of the chord, defined by the lower surface of the cutter
L
h =-
de
and the dimension y shown in Fig. 5 .33
ROTARY DRILLING

Th
(3
1-
Note that dhldt becomes infinite for Wldh = 10.
Thus, this equation predicts the teeth would fail
instantaneous• ly if 10,000 lbf/in. of bit diameter
2
•
cos- were applied.
11 Later
2 authors
- used a simpler relation between the
weight and tooth wear rate. Perhaps the most
Solvi this f t subtend angle,
ng d
h e
w ' ...... (5.7
(3
cos-= I -2h. (5.5
.
where (Wldh)m is the maximum bit weight per inch
Since the contact area is directly t t of bit diameter at which the bit teeth would fail
proportional taneously and Wld1, < (Wldh),11• Expressing this
chord length subtended by the angle (3, then rela•
tion in terms of a standard wear rate at 4,000 !bf/in.

(de)
A
2 sin2(3 ,
i:
2

and the wear rate ( dhldt) is inversely proportional to d ex th) [ ( )m -4 (5.7

this contact area. h dt s ( �) -
�
dh ex ............... Shown in Table 5. 7 is a comparison of the relative
d d I
d; wear rates predicted by Eqs. 5.6b and 5.7b assuming
a max•
The wear rate (dh/dt) decreases with increasing imum bit weight of 10,000 !bf/in. Since
frac• somewhat similar results are obtained over the range
tional tooth wear, h, between O and 0.5. Above of conditions usually encountered in the field, the
this range, the wear rate increases with increasing h. simpler relation given by Eq. 5.7b is more widely
For nonzero rake angles, the total contact area of used. However, neither Eq. 5.6b nor Eq. 5.7b has been
both the PCD layer and the tungsten carbide
substrate becomes more complex. However, the above 5.4.3 Effect of Rotary
analysis remains representative of the geometry of the Speed on Rate of Tooth
thin PCD layer, which is believed to be the Wear
The first published relation between the
5.4.2 Effect of Bit Weight on Rate of Tooth instantaneous rate of tooth wear and the rotary
Wear Galle and Woods 11 published one of the first speed also was presented by Galle and Woods for
equations for predicting the effect of bit weight on milled-tooth bits. 11
the instan• - ex N+4.34xl0- (5.
d
However, several more recent authors 11-15 have
d shown that essentially the same results can be obtained
h e .................... using the simpler relation:
w
d H
' h ex (N) 1 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••

whe -

W = bit weight 1,000-lbm where HI is a constant. Also, HI was found to vary

d i; = bit diameter in inches, with the bit type used. The Galle and Woods relation
and applied only to milled-tooth bit types designed for use
in soft for• mations. Expressing the tooth wear rate
in terms of a standard wear rate that would occur at
The wear rate at various bit weights can be expressed
in terms of a standard wear rate that would occur for a
bit weight of 4,000 !bf/in. Thus, the wear rate
dh ex (dh)(!! (5_9
d dr I
relative to this standard wear rate is given by
5.4.4 Effect of Hydraulics on Rate of Tooth
0.3979(dh) Wear
d dt
h e ------- . (5.6 The effect of the cooling and cleaning action of the
. drill• ing fluid on the cutter wear rate ( dh/dt) is
much more important for diamond and PCD drag
I-log(�) bits than for rolling-cutter bits. Each diamond cutter
 2 APPLIED DRILLING
I
TABLE 5.7-COMPARISON OF EQUATIONS FOR TABLE 5.8-RECOMMENDED TOOTH-
MODELING THE EFFECT OF TOOTH HEIGHT ON WEAR PARAMETERS FOR ROLLING-

Relative Wear Bit lil .! (W/

[::1(::)J
Rate
Class _ d)max
Bit Weight !
1-1 to 1. 7
(lbf) per 1-2 9 2 .
Inch (W/db) Eq. 5.6b Eq. 0 7 0
1-3 to
1 0.4 1-4 1. 6 8
0.7 2-1 to 8 5 .
2 0.6 2-2 4 4 0
0.8
3 0.8

temperatures. The flow velocities must also be The tooth wear rate formula given by Eq. 5.10
maintain- has been normalized so that the abrasiveness constant
ed high enough to prevent clogging of fluid TH is
passages with rock cuttings. The design of the fluid numerically equal to the time in hours required to
distribution passages in a diamond or PCD drag bit is com-
extremely im- portant and varies considerably among pletely dull the bit teeth of the given bit type
the various bits available. However, the when operated at a constant bit weight of 4,000
manufacturer will generally specify the total flow lbf/in. and a constant rotary speed of 60 rpm. The
area (TFA) of the fluid distribution system for each bit. average formation abrasiveness encountered during
In addition, the bit manufacturer will specify a a bit run can be evaluated using Eq. 5.10 and
recommended drilling-fluid flow rate or pressure
drop across the bit face.
Mathematical models for estimating the effect of
hydraulics on the rate of cutter wear have not yet
been employed. The development of such models
would be extremely difficult because of the wide
variety of bit designs available. It is generally

5.4.5 Tooth Wear . (5.1

Equation
A composite tooth wear equation can be obtained by Eq. 5. 10 can be expressed
combining the relations approximating the effect of
tooth geometry, bit weight, and rotary speed on the r f
J dt=hTHJ (5.12

is ::,n �y H, [ (:)m -4
( (

Integration of this equation

dt� '" (�) -
db m
db Solving for the abrasiveness constant TH

whe
h
-c::: 1
:) •....................

fractional tooth height that has been

=
worn Although Eqs. 5.10 through 5.15 were developed
t awa for
use in modeling the loss of tooth height of a milled
H1
tooth bit, they have also been applied with some degree
R2, = constants,
of suc- cess to describe the loss of insert teeth by
( W/ = bit weight, 1,000-lbf breakage. In- sert bits are generally operated at
N = rotary speed, rpm, and lower rotary speeds than milled-tooth bits to reduce
TH = formation abrasiveness hour impact loading on the brittle tungsten carbide
The rock bit classification scheme shown in Table inserts. In hard formations, rotary speeds above
5.3 can be used to characterize the many bit types
available from the four major bit manufacturing
companies.
shown in Table 5.8 for the various rolling-cutter rock Example 5.3. An 8.5-in. Class 1-3-1 bit drilled from
bit a depth of 8, 179 to 8,404 ft in 10.5 hours. The
ROTARY DRILLING 2
I
weight and rotary speed used for the bit run was TABLE 5.9-RECOMMENDED BEARING
45,000 lbf and 90 rpm, respectively. When the bit was EXPONE F ROLLING-CUTTER
pulled, it
was graded T-5, B-4, G-1. Compute the average Beari Drilling Fluid
ng T""pI e _ �
forma- tion abrasiveness for this depth interval. Also
Nonseal barite 1 1
estimate the time required to dull the teeth completely mud . .
sulfide 0 0
Solution. Using Table 5.8 we obtain = 1.84, mud 1 1
water . .
H1 1 H2
8 Sealed 0. 0.
8.0-45/8.5 roller
60
Sealed 1 1.
journal

I
--
=0.08.
Lummus 17 has indicated that too high a jet velocity
can be detrimental to bearing life. Erosion of bit
Solving Eq. 5.13 for the abrasiveness constant using metal can occur, which leads to failure of the bearing
a final fractional tooth dullness of Ys or 0.625( T-5) grease seals. In the example discussed by Lummus,
this phenomenon was important for bit hydraulic
10.5 horsepower values above
hours 4.5 hp/sq in. of hole bottom. However, a general
model
for predicting the effect of hydraulics on bearing
= 73.0 wear was not presented.

The time required to dull the teeth completely (hf=

1.0)
d = _ (!!_)81 .............
b TB 4

whe
re
=fractional bearing life that has
been consumed,
5.5 Factors Affecting We t = time, hours,
The prediction of bearing wear is much more N = rotary speed, rpm,
difficult than the prediction of tooth wear. Like tooth W = bit weight, 1,000 lbf,
wear, the d1, = bit diameter, inches,
instantaneous rate of bearing wear depends on the B ,B 2 = bearing wear exponents,
1
cur- rent condition of the bit. After the bearing and
surfaces become damaged, the rate of bearing wear T8 = bearing constant, hours.
increases greatly. However, since the bearing surfaces
cannot be examined readily during the dull bit Recommended values of the bearing wear exponent
evaluation, a linear rate of bearing wear usually is are given in Table 5.9. Note that the bearing wear
assumed. Also, bearing manufacturers have found that formula given by Eq. 5.14 is normalized so that the
for a given applied force, the bearing life can be bearing con- stant, TB, is numerically equal to the
expressed in terms of total revolu- tions as long as the life of bearings if the bit is operated at 4,000 lbf/in.
rotary speed is low enough to prevent an excessive and 60 rpm. The bear- ing constant can be evaluated
temperature increase. Thus, bit bearing life usually is using Eq. 5.14 and the results of a dull bit
assumed to vary linearly with rotary speed.
The three main types of bearing assemblies used
in rolling cutter bits are (I) nonsealed roller, (2) J_
, = (6N0)81 (4W1, (5.1
sealed roller, and (3) sealed journal. The price of
the bit is lowest for the nonsealed roller and highest for
the sealed journal. Eq. 5.14 can be expressed
The effect of bit weight on bearing life depends on
the number and type of bearings used and whether or
not the bearings are sealed. When the bearings are
not sealed, bearing lubrication is accomplished with (
(

the drilling fluid, and the mud properties also affect

bearing life. where bf is the final bearing wear observed after
The hydraulic action of the drilling fluid at the bit pulling the bit -, Integration of this equation yields
is also thought to have some effect on bearing life. As
flow rate increases, the ability of the fluid to cool the f1,=J3Tsbf , .