Experimental study on new structure teeth in a high-temperature environment

Abstract

In high-temperature drilling, especially in high-temperature geothermal drilling, cone bits often experience common and severe tooth loss. This issue significantly reduces the cone bit's service life and has a detrimental impact on drilling efficiency. The quality of the fixed teeth plays a crucial role in the performance of the cone bit. In high-temperature environments, conventional methods fail to meet the requirements for securing the cone bit's teeth. Therefore, to address the tooth loss problem in high-temperature drilling, a new tapered tooth structure is proposed. Laboratory experiments were conducted to secure teeth with varying tapers at both normal and high temperatures. The results revealed that the maximum fastening force increased progressively with the degree of taper, reaching its peak at C50. Compared to conventional cylindrical teeth, the maximum fastening force increased by approximately 88.6%–271.1% at different temperatures. The tapered structure demonstrated superior tooth-fixing strength. The maximum fastening force is the smallest at 300 °C, approximately 23.7%–61.2% lower than at normal temperature. Under the same interference conditions, the maximum fastening force increased with greater taper. With interference values of 0.075, 0.095, and 0.115, the maximum fastening force increased by 48.9%–175.1%, 14%–141.6%, and 53%–271.1%, respectively, when compared to cylindrical teeth with C300, C200, C100, and C50 tapers. The tapered structure exhibited superior tooth-fixing strength and significantly enhanced tooth retention strength at high temperatures.