Study of a new impregnated diamond bit for drilling in complex, highly abrasive formation

The failure of an impregnated bit used in the Xujiahe formation was analyzed, and the major factors determining bit failure were diamond granularity and concentration. Micro-drilling tests with impregnated cutters of different diamond granularities and concentrations were conducted. The results show that the cutting efficiency of cutting elements decreases with increasing diamond granularity increases with increasing diamond concentration; the wear resistance of cutting elements increases with increasing diamond granularity with increasing diamond concentration. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the test results, the optimum formulation parameters of diamond granularity and concentration were determined to achieve the best cutting efficiency and wear resistance, and a new impregnated bit was designed and tested in the Xujiahe formation, which has a footage of 88.46 m, rate of penetration (ROP) of 1.38/h, and drilling time of 64.19 h, which were 74.3%, 30%, and 35.1% higher, respectively. Compared with conventional impregnated bits, the cutting efficiency and working life of the new impregnated bit are significantly increased, providing technical support to efforts to increase the ROP of impregnated bits in complex and highly abrasive formations in west Sichuan and Xinjiang.