Improved Hardfacing for Drill Bits and Drilling Tools

New flame spray hardfacing, DSH (DuraShell(A (R)) Steel Hardfacing, US patent pending), was developed to improve thermal conductivity, abrasion wear, and erosion resistance for subterranean drilling application. The materials consisted of spherical cast WC/W2C and Ni-Si-B alloy powders. The hardfacing compositions were tailored for various processes such as flame spray and laser cladding. Typically, the hardfacing comprised hard tungsten carbide particles being uniformly distributed in a tough Ni-alloy matrix. The hardness of WC/W2C exceeded 2300 Hv(.3) and that of Ni-alloy matrix varied from about 400 to 700 Hv(.3.) High- and low-stress abrasion resistances of these hardfacing materials were characterized and compared to the conventional hard coatings of cast WC/W2C and Ni-Cr-Si-B-Fe. The increase in thermal, wear, and erosion resistances of the hardfacing improved the durability of PDC (polycrystalline diamond compact) steel body bit and drilling tools and their cost-effective performance. Several case studies of DSH hardfacings on drill bits were described.