US 12,421,810 B2
Damping drill string vibrations
Eric Cayeux, Sandnes (NO)
Assigned to Norce Innovation AS, Stavanger (NO)
Appl. No. 18/716,817
Filed by Norce Innovation AS, Stavanger (NO)
PCT Filed Dec. 5, 2022, PCT No. PCT/NO2022/050279
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 5, 2024,
PCT Pub. No. WO2023/106926, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 15, 2023.
Claims priority of application No. 20211466 (NO), filed on Dec. 7, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2025/0034957 A1, Jan. 30, 2025
Int. Cl. E21B 17/07 (2006.01); E21B 17/02 (2006.01)
CPC E21B 17/073 (2013.01) [E21B 17/028 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A device for damping vibrations of a rotary drill string in motion in a wellbore, the device comprising:
brake means to counter the vibrations, by way of resisting the motion in dependence upon the speed of motion, wherein the brake means comprises at least one pair of brake parts;
an inner, tubular body extending longitudinally between first and second ends, the first end being configured with a threaded section to screw connect the tubular body to a first adjacent section of a drill string, and the second end being configured with a threaded section to screw connect to a second adjacent section of the drill string, the tubular body thus being configured to rotate with the drill string;
an outer sleeve supported on the inner, tubular body, the tubular body being arranged rotatably within the outer sleeve; and
at least one roller wheel for supporting the outer sleeve on a wall of the wellbore, the roller wheel being configured to facilitate longitudinal movement of the device along the wall and prevent rotational slipping of the outer sleeve relative to the wall upon rotation of the drill string;
wherein the outer sleeve is associated with a first brake part of the pair, and the inner, tubular body is associated with a second brake part of the pair, the second brake part being movable relative to the first brake part upon rotation of the tubular body relative to the outer sleeve;
wherein the pair of brake parts are operable, through the movement of the second brake part relative to the first brake part upon rotation of the tubular body relative to the outer sleeve with the drill string, to produce a braking force in dependence upon the speed of rotation of the inner, tubular body relative to the outer sleeve for braking or resisting rotational vibrations; and
one of the first brake part or the second brake part comprising at least one magnet to produce a magnetic field, and the other of the first brake part or second brake part comprising non-magnetic, conductive material to be subjected to the magnetic field, so that upon relative movement between the brake parts, eddy currents are obtained in the non-magnetic, conductive material of the other part for resisting the movement.