Journal of Materials Processing Technology 84 (1998) 159 – 161

Design of a non-homogeneous diamond bit matrix

Huadong Ding a,*, Yawen Li b, Xiaohua Yang c, Hongqi Hao c, Zhihao Jin c
a
Surface Engineering Research Institute of CMES, 21 Dujiakan, Beijing 100072, People’s Republic of China
b
Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, CAS, Shanghai 200050, People’s Republic of China
c
State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Beha6iour of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong Uni6ersity, Xi’an 710049, People’s Republic of China

Received 3 June 1997

Abstract

The design method for a non-homogeneous diamond bit matrix is given according to the rule that the matrix must be suited
to the rock formation to be drilled. The non-homogeneous matrix can extend the bit to suit the objects to be drilled and self-adjust
the exposure of the diamond in the bit during the drilling process. © 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Matrix; Diamond drilling; Diamond bit; Powder metallurgy; Exploration engineering

1. Introduction 2. Present matrix design method

Used to enclose the diamond and connect with the
blank, the diamond bit matrix is the key to bit quality.
With impregnated bits, during the drilling process the
cutting and the drilling fluid produce an erosive action
on the matrix, exposing the diamond accordingly to cut
the rock. To obtain a satisfactory drilling effect, the
matrix must be suited to the rock formation to be
drilled. Thus the drillability of the rock must be known
to provide the basis for the design of the bit matrix.
As is known, different rocks have different drillabili-
ties. The drillabilities of the same kind of rock, but of
different origins, are not necessarily the same, and can
even differ greatly. Most matrix materials currently in
use are designed for rocks of specific origin, thus result-
ing in poor suitability.
In this paper, considering the characteristics of dia-
mond bit manufacture and following the principle that
the matrix must be suited to the rock formation to be
drilled, a new concept, a non-homogeneous bit matrix,
is proposed. This will not only extend the range of
application of the bit for the rock to be drilled, but will
also give self-adjustment of the extent of exposure of
the diamond during drilling.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 010 66719299; fax: + 86 010
66717145; e-mail: Zhang Weil8@hotmail.com
The matrix material is a multi-phase alloy or psedo-
alloy composed of a skeleton such as WC and bonding
metals such as Cu, Ni, Co, etc. The wear resistance of
the matrix depends mainly on the properties and con-
tent of the skeleton material and the sintering process.
The bonding metals have the effect of bonding the
skeleton to the matrix, holding the diamond within the
skeleton, and connecting it with the blank.
Up to now the determination of the wear resistance
of the matrix still follows the method as described in
[1], which was promulgated as the ‘‘Preliminary Stan-
dard for Testing and Classifying the Abrasive Resis-
tance of Bit Matrix’’ within the Ministry of Geology
and Mineral Resources. The Amsler abrasiveness test-
ing machine is used to simulate the abrading process of
the rock on the matrix during drilling. The weighted
mean wearing rate with the measurement precision
exponent n being the weight, MGP, indicates the abra-
sive resistance of the matrix [1,2]. The lower is MGP, the
greater is the abrasive resistance. The experimental
result was verified in exploration practice. Table 1 lists
the MGP values of 6 representative matrixes.
Fig. 1 illustrates the suitability of the matrix for the
drilled rock [2]. In Fig. 1a, with a proper wearing rate
of the matrix, the diamond is exposed normally. In Fig.
1b, the matrix wears faster, so that the bit loses its
drilling ability earlier and the diamond drops off: al-

0924-0136/98/$ - see front matter © 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.
PII S0924-0136(98)00092-2
160 H. Ding et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 84 (1998) 159–161
though it can still cut the rock, the drilling ability of the
bit is not brought into full play. Further, the broken
diamond and the cutting wear the matrix, forming a
vicious circle and shortening the service life of the bit.
Contrarily, if the matrix wears too slowly to expose the
diamond, the micro-cutting action loses effect, thus
resulting in low drilling efficiency and a belly-mouthed
tendency for the bit, as shown in Fig. 1c: in extreme
cases, the bit will ‘slip’.
From the above analysis, in the design of the bit
matrix, the drillability of the rock should be known
prior to the determination of MGP of the matrix accord-
ing to the principle that the matrix must be suited to
the rock formation to be drilled. The MGP value of the
matrix can meet the requirements by selecting the skele-
ton material, the proportion of the skeleton to the
bonding metals, and the corresponding manufacture
process. Due to measurement error, it is impossible to
obtain an exact MGP for the rock to be drilled. From
the analysis of the drilling principle of the bit, deviation
of the matrix MGP from the value for the rock will
result in problems as shown in Fig. 1b and c. In other
words, the above phenomena always exist to some
extent in practice.
For a masonry diamond bit, because of its ever-
changing drilling, even the corresponding MGP values
cannot be determined. For example, in construction
engineering, it is very probable that the same bit has to
drill brick, reinforced concrete, marble, and granite.
This poses a challenge in the present method of design
of the matrix.
3. New design method: a non-homogeneous matrix
To extend the range of applications of the bit to the
drilled objects, a new concept, a non-homogeneous bit
Table 1
The MGP values of six representative matrixes
Matrix No. 204 807 63 804 8106 35
MGP 0.11 0.36 0.62 0.88 1.02 2.03
Fig. 1. Relationship between the diamond exposure and the matrix
properties: (a) the matrix wears properly, the diamonds are exposed
normally; (b) the matrix wears quickly, the diamonds easily break or
drop off; and (c) the matrix wears slowly, the diamonds are not
exposed.
Fig. 2. A non-homogeneous bit crown.
matrix, was advanced to improve the present design
method, i.e. fan-shaped matrixes with different wear
resistance are used on the one bit. As seen in Fig. 2,
there are six fan-shaped matrixes in the bit crown,
which are divided into group A, group B, and group C
from the symmetry principle. The corresponding MGP
values are MGPA, MGPS, MGPC, with MGPA B MGPB B
MGPC.
Suppose that the group B matrixes suit the rock
formation to be drilled, then the wear resistance of the
group A matrixes seems lower, whilst that of the group
C matrixes seems higher. The drilling principle is as
follows: when the group B matrixes achieve the ideal
drilling effect, the group A matrixes wear faster because
of their lower wear resistance; but the existence of the
group C matrixes prevents the group A matrixes from
following the vicious cycle in Fig. 1, and the whole bit
can drill properly. If the group A matrixes suit the
rock, the groups B and C matrixes have a higher wear
resistance. The group A matrixes drill normally and
produce cuttings to wear the groups B and C matrixes,
thus avoiding the problem in Fig. 1c: in this case, the
bit can still perform normally except that the drilling
efficiency is slightly lower compared with a bit com-
posed entirely of group A matrixes. If the group C
matrixes suit the rock and achieve the ideal drilling
effect, the groups A and B matrixes will wear faster, but
the existence of the group C matrixes prevents the
groups A and B matrixes from following the phe-
nomenon in Fig. 1b: the service life of the bit is
nevertheless influenced to some extent. It should be
noted that the differences amongst MGPA, MGPB, and
MGPC should not be too large: their exact values can be
determined from the application requirement and prac-
tical experience.
Under a fixed load capacity when drilling, the above
design method shows clear superiority. Assume the
exerted drilling force to be 3P, when the group A
matrixes suit the rock, they wear faster than the groups
 H. Ding et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 84 (1998) 159–161
B and C matrixes. Thus the force exerted on A is lower
than P and the force exerted on B or C is higher than
P. This makes B and C increase their drilling efficiency
and speeds up to their abrasion. As soon as the worn
height of B reaches the same as that of A, the force
exerted on A, B, and C returns to P. During the drilling
process, frequently changing the forces exerted on the
three groups will avoid the decrease of drilling effi-
ciency mentioned above.
For masonry bits, their range of application and
drilling efficiency are greater, thus it is necessary to
increase the difference between MGPB and MGPC.
The following measures can be taken in the non-ho-
mogeneous matrix design: (i) adjust the skeleton materi-
als of the different matrixes, for example, with the same
content, WC has much lower wear resistance than
W2C; (ii) adjust the relative content between the skele-
ton and the bonding metals of the matrix; and (iii)
choose diamonds with different grain sizes or with
different compositions for the different matrixes.
On a particular site, a comparative test was carried
out for drilling high-grade reinforced concrete. Using
conventional bits with a homogeneous matrix, they
either wore quickly and were thus short-lived for a
higher MGP matrix; or for a lower MGP matrix the
drilling efficiency was low and the bit did not even drill
161
at all, the belly-mouthed bit not performing normally
under the drilling force. Using bits made by the new
design method, normal drilling could be maintained,
the average drilling efficiency was more than twice that
of the other bits and the service life showed an increase
of 50%. A better effect has also been achieved for
geological core bits designed by the new method.
4. Conclusions
From the point of exploration engineering and metal
materials, and from practical experience, a new method
of matrix design was proposed to extend the range of
applications of the bit to the material to be drilled.
Better drilling effects were achieved when this new
design was used in masonry diamond bits as well as in
geological core bits. Nevertheless, the new method
needs gradual adjustment and modification in practice
to achieve the ideal effect.
References
[1] H. Ding, Wear resistance test of powder metallurgy matrix
materials, Hunan Metall. 5 (1989) 21 (in Chinese).
[2] G. Liu, Diamond Drilling Handbook, Geological Publishing
House, Beijing, 1991.