Extreme operating and environmental conditions, such as high and varying load, high temperature, high or varying speed, and less than ideal lubricating fluids can cause excessive wear, damage, and even failure in conventional thrust bearings. This paper discusses the advantages of polycrystalline diamond (PCD) bearings operating in boundary, mixed-mode and hydrodynamic lubrication regimes.
Analysis of diamond segmented pads on rotating and stationary bearings in contact sliding
Polycrystalline diamond (PCD) bearings are designed for severe conditions where contaminated fluids, high and varying loads and speeds, and elevated temperatures cause failure in machine components.
Polycrystalline diamond thrust bearings for down-hole oil and gas drilling tools
Down-hole tools used for drilling oil and gas wells are subjected to harsh environments where abrasive fluids, high loads and speeds, and high temperatures can cause tool components, including thrust bearings, to quickly fail. This paper discusses the advantages that polycrystalline diamond can provide when used as a bearing material in down-hole tools.
Wear-in behavior of polycrystalline diamond thrust bearings
Polycrystalline diamond (PCD) bearings are designed for use in harsh environments, including process-fluid-lubricated applications such as those in oil and gas drilling turbines.
The development of open water-lubricated PCD thrust bearings for marine hydrokinetic energy machines
The Development of Open Water-lubricated Polycrystalline Diamond (PCD) Thrust Bearings for Use in Marine Hydrokinetic (MHK) Energy MachinesA polycrystalline diamond (PCD) bearing has been developed that will operate successfully in Marine Hydrokinetic (MHK) machine applications. PCD bearings represent a new class of bearings that have, heretofore, not been extensively studied. This work makes significant contributions to understanding the performance of these bearings.
The manufacturing team was looking for a way to reduce the time required to make the cutters. The reason for the cutter failures needed to be determined of frequency and manufacturing time were to be reduced.
High pressure/high-temperature sintering of polycrystalline diamond compacts (PDC) is sensitive to impurities in the diamond feedstock, both surface and intrinsic.
Sandia National Laboratories and U S Synthetic Corporation have jointly conducted a multifaceted, baseline experimental study to support the development of improved drag cutters for advanced drill bits.
PDC bits have had limited success at drilling high compressive strength and abrasive rock formations. One of the limitations to hard rock drilling is the propensity of the cutters to fracture.
Residual stresses in PDC cutters arise from the difference in thermal expansion between the polycrystalline diamond layer and the supporting tungsten carbide substrate after sintering at high pressure and temperature. If not managed correctly, these stresses can significantly reduce the toughness of the cutters, especially as the diamond-layer thickness increases.