Abstract: The invention provides a compact electromagnetic (EM) combo machine formed of a generator portion and a motor portion providing electrical power generation and actuation of a rotating or displacing shaft. The EM combo machine can be immersed in a flowing fluid. A turbine coupled to the generator portion can rotate a rotor on the generator portion. The generator portion that generates electrical power can be electrically directly coupled to the motor portion that actuates devices and can be within a single package. The speed of the motor portion can be controlled with a braking technique that includes a controlled electrical load. Any required relative rotational speed in revolutions per minute can be achieved by optimizing the number of poles of the motor portion compared to the generator portion. The possible combinations of radial flux and an axial flux designs for the EM combo machine provides added flexibility.

Abstract: The invention provides a generator suited for drilling equipment, such as oil and gas applications. A turbine can drive the permanent-magnet, synchronous generator. The generator uses axial flux topology for a stator and a rotor. The design permits a wide airgap between the stator and rotor, so fluid and debris from drilling operations can flow through the generator relatively unobstructed, and the fluid flow can provide a power source to rotate the turbine coupled to the rotor to generate electrical power. The airgap can accommodate non-magnetic sealing plates to provide additional protection to the generator components. The rotor includes a Halbach magnet array of permanent magnets, producing high-intensity magnetic flux in an axial direction. The Halbach magnet array avoids any necessity for the conventional rotor back-iron to return the flux. The proposed generator is intended to generate electric power for drilling equipment, permitting the elimination of costly batteries.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides a method and system for supplemental processing of recorded historical data in real time to fill in gaps of lost data. A user who may be monitoring the data from human interfaces can immediately recognize an issue, quickly change one or more settings for parameters (including changing one or more of the parameters), and replay for reprocessing the recorded data to provide a revised output that can catch up to the processing of later current data without needing to halt operations. In at least one field of use, the invention can eliminate the need for restarting a complete drilling process to resynchronize the surface system when the system is not able to demodulate a valid bitstream, saving time and maintaining high drilling efficiency.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides an electrical motor configured to operate with conductive fluids internal to the motor without short-circuiting. One embodiment is a telemetry modulator that can include the electric motor and a valve coupled with the electric motor. The valve has a valve stator and a valve rotor, and the electric motor can be used to control accurately the valve opening and closing with valve rotor rotation. The valve rotor can rotate continuously or in oscillations to generate a continuous pressure wave, such as for MWD/LWD communication. The electric motor is configured to allow drilling mud to flow into the electric motor without short-circuiting by the motor stator and/or motor rotor having an electric motor winding and a termination for the winding, the winding and termination having a nonconductive coating. The electric motor can be used in other applications inside and outside the oil field environment.

Abstract: The invention provides a generator suited for drilling equipment, such as oil and gas applications. A turbine can drive the permanent-magnet, synchronous generator. The generator uses axial flux topology for a stator and a rotor. The design permits a wide airgap between the stator and rotor, so fluid and debris from drilling operations can flow through the generator relatively unobstructed, and the fluid flow can provide a power source to rotate the turbine coupled to the rotor to generate electrical power. The airgap can accommodate non-magnetic sealing plates to provide additional protection to the generator components. The rotor includes a Halbach magnet array of permanent magnets, producing high-intensity magnetic flux in an axial direction. The Halbach magnet array avoids any necessity for the conventional rotor back-iron to return the flux. The proposed generator is intended to generate electric power for drilling equipment, permitting the elimination of costly batteries.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides a method and system for supplemental processing of recorded historical data in real time to fill in gaps of lost data. A user who may be monitoring the data from human interfaces can immediately recognize an issue, quickly change one or more settings for parameters (including changing one or more of the parameters), and replay for reprocessing the recorded data to provide a revised output that can catch up to the processing of later current data without needing to halt operations. In at least one field of use, the invention can eliminate the need for restarting a complete drilling process to resynchronize the surface system when the system is not able to demodulate a valid bitstream, saving time and maintaining high drilling efficiency.

Abstract: The disclosure provides a method and system to recover some or all of the data missing in types of gaps that occur in data streams received via telemetry. The gaps can be filled in real time to enhance operator understanding of current operations. For gaps created by special sequences sent via telemetry during a time interval that telemetry would be sending measurement blocks (MB) of data, the gaps can be filled using special MBs combined with MBs for a next time interval to create combined MBs, sent via telemetry, and extracted to backfill the gaps. For gaps caused by corrupted data, the gaps can be filled with data from overlapping MBs having overlapping data based on overlapping time intervals. For gaps caused by gap events, including different drilling rates of penetration, event MBs with sampling rates different than a predetermined sampling rate can be sent via telemetry.

Abstract: The disclosure provides a method and system to recover some or all of the data missing in types of gaps that occur in data streams received via telemetry. The gaps can be filled in real time to enhance operator understanding of current operations. For gaps created by special sequences sent via telemetry during a time interval that telemetry would be sending measurement blocks (MB) of data, the gaps can be filled using special MBs combined with MBs for a next time interval to create combined MBs, sent via telemetry, and extracted to backfill the gaps. For gaps caused by corrupted data, the gaps can be filled with data from overlapping MBs having overlapping data based on overlapping time intervals. For gaps caused by gap events, including different drilling rates of penetration, event MBs with sampling rates different than a predetermined sampling rate can be sent via telemetry.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides a bearing design that accommodates misalignment of a rotatable shaft in the bearing and is well suited to usage in a particulate-laden fluid. The bearing can be shaped with a curved surface along a longitudinal axis of the bearing, such as in a curved barrel shape or a ball shape, to provide a point contact instead of a line contact as is the case with conventional plain bearings. The point contact allows the bearing to adjust with a misalignment between ends of the shaft or between the external supports and facilitates the assembly and disassembly of the rotating shaft. Because the bearing compensates for misalignment, the bearing surfaces can have closer tolerances for a smaller gap between the bearing surfaces, which can result in improved performance.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides a bearing design that accommodates misalignment of a rotatable shaft in the bearing and is well suited to usage in a particulate-laden fluid. The bearing can be shaped with a curved surface along a longitudinal axis of the bearing, such as in a curved barrel shape or a ball shape, to provide a point contact instead of a line contact as is the case with conventional plain bearings. The point contact allows the bearing to adjust with a misalignment between ends of the shaft or between the external supports and facilitates the assembly and disassembly of the rotating shaft. Because the bearing compensates for misalignment, the bearing surfaces can have closer tolerances for a smaller gap between the bearing surfaces, which can result in improved performance.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides an electrical motor configured to operate with conductive fluids internal to the motor without short-circuiting. One embodiment is a telemetry modulator that can include the electric motor and a valve coupled with the electric motor. The valve has a valve stator and a valve rotor, and the electric motor can be used to control accurately the valve opening and closing with valve rotor rotation. The valve rotor can rotate continuously or in oscillations to generate a continuous pressure wave, such as for MWD/LWD communication. The electric motor is configured to allow drilling mud to flow into the electric motor without short-circuiting by the motor stator and/or motor rotor having an electric motor winding and a termination for the winding, the winding and termination having a nonconductive coating. The electric motor can be used in other applications inside and outside the oil field environment.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides a system and method for inspecting and analyzing a pump rotor, such as a progressive cavity pump rotor, by moving a laser that illuminates a surface of the pump rotor along a length of the pump rotor and determining distances from various surfaces of the pump rotor relative to a datum, such as a receiver of reflected radiation from the laser, along the length of the pump rotor. The pump rotor can be rotated relative to the laser, so that the laser can be used in determining multiple peripheral surfaces of the pump rotor to form a cross sectional shape, a longitudinal alignment of the pump rotor surfaces, or a combination thereof.

Abstract: The disclosure provides a lubricator system and method for entering the oil/gas wellhead or casing head with a wireline and tool while being able to safely shut or contain well pressure build up. The lubricator is coupled with a lubricator cutting flapper valve and can be attached to a wellhead on the oil/gas well, so that the lubricator extends below the wellhead. The wellhead can be opened, allowing the wireline and tool to enter into the bore. The tool is attached to a wireline cable that is controlled on the surface by means of a spooled drum attached to a portable or mobile machine or equipment. The lubricator cutting flapper valve includes structure that can sever the wireline and seal the lubricator to avoid allowing well gas or fluids to escape if necessary.

Abstract: The disclosure provides a lubricator system and method for entering the oil/gas wellhead or casing head with a wireline and tool while being able to safely shut or contain well pressure build up. The lubricator is coupled with a lubricator cutting flapper valve and can be attached to a wellhead on the oil/gas well, so that the lubricator extends below the wellhead. The wellhead can be opened, allowing the wireline and tool to enter into the bore. The tool is attached to a wireline cable that is controlled on the surface by means of a spooled drum attached to a portable or mobile machine or equipment. The lubricator cutting flapper valve includes structure that can sever the wireline and seal the lubricator to avoid allowing well gas or fluids to escape if necessary.