Sand Removal Mechanism of a High-Speed Roller Bit with Helical Sealing

Abstract

A roller bit is a drilling tool widely used in oil and gas exploitation. The roller bit is applied to cutting the rock stratum, and its working life and rotational speed are important factors affecting the drilling efficiency. Moreover, a bearing sealing affects the working life and rotational speed of a bit. This paper proposes a helical sealing structure that addresses the problems of severe sealing wear and a short working life. This structure has been used in many engineering fields but was first applied to the roller bit. This paper investigates the sand removal mechanism of helical sealing through simulation and experiment. Additionally, helical sealing parameters were optimized. The optimum structural parameters of helical sealing in a high-speed roller bit were obtained. It was shown that the helical sealing structure can be applied to a roller bit with good effects of sealing and sand removal.

Keywords

• high-speed cone bit
• spiral seal
• sand removal mechanism
• simulation and test