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ABSTRACT
The power section of a positive displacement drill
motor (PDM) consists of a steel rotor and a tube
with a molded elastomeric lining (stator). Power
section failures are typically due to the failure of the
stator elastomer. Stator life depends on many
factors such as design, materials of construction,
and down hole operating conditions. This paper
focuses on the stator failure mechanisms and factors
affecting stator life. An analytical method for
predicting the effect of various design and operating
parameters on the strain state and heat build-up
within elastomers is discussed.
Q
SP
T
Vc
W
tan
BACKGROUND
Mud Motor Power Section
The power section of a positive displacement drill
motor (PDM) converts the hydraulic energy of high
pressure drilling fluid to mechanical energy in the
form of torque output for the drill bit. A power
section consists of a helical-shaped rotor and stator.
The rotor is typically made of steel and is either
chrome plated or coated for wear resistance. The
NOMENCLATURE
LOBE
CAVITIES
Figure 1.
Figure 3.
Figure 4.
STATORS
Figure 2.
W = [231*Q/ (N * Vc)]*SP
(1)
T = (N*Vc*P)/24
(2)
4:5 LOBE
NORMALIZED
ROTOR SPEED
0.8
0.6
0.4
Parameter
Pressure differential increase
Compression fit increase
Rubber modulus increase
Flow rate increase
Rotor/Stator wear
Stator expansion due to
temperature or chemical swell
0.2
0
1
Figure 5.
Effect on Slip
Increase
Decrease
Decrease
No change
Increase
Decrease
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.7
0.6
0.6
0.5
0.5
0.4
0.4
0.3
0.3
TORQUE
0.2
0.1
TIGHT
0.2
LOOSE
0.1
TORQUE (FT-LB)
SPEED
0.8
NORMALIZED TORQUE
1
0.9
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
INCREASING
FLOWRATE
0
0
0
EFFECTIVE P
OFF-BOTTOM
PRESSURE
LOSSES
100
200
300
400
500
Figure 6.
Figure 8.
ROTOR SPEED
(RPM)
250
200
MAX P
LINE
INCREASING
FLOWRATE
150
100
50
FAILURE MECHANISMS
One of the most challenging aspects of utilizing
power sections for drilling operations is
understanding and predicting failure. Power section
failures are primarily due to destruction of the stator
elastomer. Rotor failures due to wear or chemical
attack are rare compared to stator failures and are
not discussed in this paper. Elastomer failures may
be classified as those which result in a reduction in
performance and those which are catastrophic. In
0
0
100
200
300
400
500
Figure 7.
FATIGUE
CRACKS AT
BOTTOM
OF LOBES
Figure 10.
Figure 9.
(3)
(4)
Figure 11.
NORMALIZED
STATOR LIFE
% LOSS IN PHYSICAL
PROPERTIES
Nitrile
0.6
0.4
0.2
HNBR
0
0
0.5
1.5
Drilling
Fluid 1
Figure 12.
0.8
Drilling
Fluid 2
Figure 13.
Operating Conditions
Running a power section at or below maximum
recommended pressure is the primary operational
consideration that must be made to maximize stator
life. Excessive differential pressure during drilling
causes extreme deformation of the stator lobes
resulting in premature mechanical failures.
Consideration must also be made during drilling
operations for rotor speed. As shown in Figure 7,
the differential pressure rating for a power section
decreases as rotor speed (flow rate) increases. The
reason power section pressure differential is
derated with increasing rotor speed is to offset the
effect of increased rubber strain rates. If the
maximum pressure rating is not derated at high
rotor speed, stator life will be reduced.
Elastomers
Power section stators are commonly made with
nitriles (NBR) because of their excellent physical
properties and oil resistance. Nitrile rubbers (NBR)
are manufactured by copolymerization of butadiene
with acrylonitrile (ACN). Typical stator rubber
compound consists of a nitrile base polymer,
reinforcing materials, curatives, accelerators, and
ANALYTICAL MODELLING
The following section describes a method for
predicting stator life under various operational
conditions. The results may be used as a guideline
to maximize stator life.
Analytical technique for stator life prediction
Iterations
Design
Parameters
Elastomer
Strain and
Strain Rate
Hysteresis
Heat Buildup
Results
The following section provides an example of the
stator life prediction method described above.
Table II lists the selected operating conditions for
the analysis.
Iterations
Mechanical
Strain and
Stress
PARAMETER
Elastomer
Ambient Compression Fit [in]
Circulating Temp [degrees F]
Rotor Speed [rpm]
Differential Pressure per
Stage [psi]
Laboratory
Data
Empirical
Life
Prediction
Figure 14.
Typical Nitrile
0.010
150
250
125
High strain
region where
fatigue cracks
typically form.
Figure 15.
500
Nitrile
400
HNBR
300
200
100
0
150
200
250
300
TEMPERATURE (F)
Figure 17.
Elastomer
deflection due
to compression.
Figure 16.
10
Rotor
Speed
(RPM)
400
400
600
400
Maximum Normalized
Stator
Rubber
Temp (F)
Strain
238
1
344
2.3
332
1.2
338
1.3
Rubber
Strain
Energy
(KPSI)
125
49
52
51
Stator Life
Normalized Estimates
(hours)
Stator Life
1
500
0.17
87
0.33
167
0.31
154
ELASTOMER
TEMP (F)
120
4:5 LOBE
110
200 psi
100
100 psi
50 psi
90
80
70
0 psi
60
0
200
400
600
800
ROTOR SPEED (RPM)
1000
STATOR TEMP
INCREASE (F)
120
100
80
60
40
20
TEST DATA
REFERENCES
Delpassand, Majid, 1995, Mud Motor Stator
Temperature Analysis Technique, ASME Drilling
Technology, Book No. H00920.
0
0
Figure 19.
CONCLUSIONS
Power section stators typically fail due to high
mechanical loading, fatigue, drilling fluid
11