USMS

024398 Measurement o f F o r c e s , Temperatures, and Wear o f PDC

C u t t e r s i n Rock C u t t i n g
F. C. Appl, Kansas S t a t e U. ; C. C. Wilson, Kansas S t a t e
U.; Induvadan Lakshman, Kansas S t a t e U.

Copyright /fyZ Society of Petroleum Engineers

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 NOV 1 8 1991
SPE
Technical Publications

MEASUREMENT OF FORCES, TEMPERATURES ZllJD WEAR OF PDC CUTTERS

IN ROCK CUTTING

F. C. Appl
Professor
Mechanical Engineering
C. Carl Wilson
Associate Professor
Industrial Engineering
Induvadan Lakshman
Graduate Research Assistant

Kansas State University

Manhattan KS 66506
 SUMMARY

The introduction of PDC bits in the oil well industry by

General Electric in 1973 was a significant advancement in
drilling technology. To understand the potential of these bits,
cutting mechanics and heat transfer models were previously
developed. In the current work a series of cutting experiments
was made on granite rock in order to better understand the
effects of cutter temperatures and forces on PDC bit life,
especially the existence of a critical temperature. The
experiments consisted of cutting granite cylinders on a lathe
with a single PDC cutter. During the tests, cutter forces were
measured with a lathe dynamometer and cutter temperatures were
measured with thermocouples mounted on the cutter. The cutting
fluid used was either an air jet, air mist jet or a water jet.
The force and temperature data was recorded by a computer data
acquisition system, and wear profiles of the cutters were
determined by measurements with dial indicators.
A new cutter wear model has been developed from the cutting
experiments, and the theory agrees well with experimental data.
It has been learned that cutting of hard formations is possible
by controlling the temperature of PDC cutters, within the
critical limit, with an adequate amount of cooling. Another
significant result is that the contact stress on the carbide is
not negligible, which is contrary to what was previously
believed. This is a practical disadvantage for drilling because
it leads to higher forces on the cutters. This often results in
lower penetration rates because of bit weight limitations.
INTRODUCTION

PDC bits have proved successful in drilling soft to medium

rock formations because they achieve high rates of penetration
(ROP) while also maintaining long bit life [2]. Because of this
success it is desired to obtain these same benefits in drilling
harder formations, or soft formations with hard stringers.
In drilling harder formations, however, both ROP and bit
life may be substantially reduced due to the combined effects of
increased stresses on the cutters, increased abrasive wear rate
and larger scale fracture or chipping of the cutters.
Furthermore, it has recently been shown [5] that bit whirling
causes severe cutter impact which results in severe chipping,
especially when the cutters are new and unworn. This leads to
rapid formation of large wear flats, which means that bit weight
must be increased to maintain ROP. High cutter temperatures may
then result if hydraulic cleaning and cooling of the cutters is
marginal or inadequate. Recently developed low-friction gauge
bits [5] promise to greatly reduce or eliminate bit whirling, in
which case bit life will depend primarily on the abrasive wear
rate of the cutters.
The abrasive wear rate of PDC cutters not only depends on
the rock properties but also on the temperature developed at the
diamondlrock interface of the cutter wear flats. To help
clarifyDthe effect of temperature on wear rate, a series of
cutting tests was made by cutting granite cylinders on a
conventional lathe with single PDC cutters. The temperature at
three locations on the cutters was measured by means of
thermocouples, and cutting forces were measured by a strain gage
force dynamometer. Data was recorded simultaneously during the
cutting process by a computer data acquisistion system.
When cutting began with a new cutter, the forces and
temperatures were low. With continued cutting, a wear flat soon
began to develop - first on the diamond, then on both the
diamond and carbide. Both forces and temperatures increased as
the wear flat increased in size.
During the test program it was found that in most cases
when air or air-mist was used as the cutting fluid, PDC cutters
could cut granite for only a short time before the temperature
of the diamond became excessive (over 700 C). This resulted in
rapid wear and catastrophic failure of the cutter. In stark
contrast to this, however, it was found that when water was used
as the cutting fluid the PDC cutters successfully cut the
granite for extended periods of time and only moderate
temperatures were attained. It was then realized that the
cutter temperature could rather easily be maintained at a
desired level by adjusting the flow rate of water. This was
done manually during the test by watching the display of
temperature on the computer monitor and adjusting a flow control
valve for the water supply. Thus it was possible to maintain
nearly constant temperature during a series of cuts with one
cutter. It is believed that this is the first time this has
been achieved.
Diamond wear profiles were measured at frequent intervals
during the series of tests which made it possible to determine
the rate of diamond wear as a function of temperature. It was
expected that this would be constant at a given value of
temperature, but the experimental results show that it also
depends on the depth of cut and the size of the wear flat.
Based on this data, and the fundamentals of abrasive wear, a
theoretical model of diamond wear rate was formulated. An
empirical relation was then found by a least squares fit of the
data.
An unexpected result found from analysis of the cutting
force data was that the normal and tangential stresses on the
carbide portion of the wear flat were larger than expected. It
was anticipated that the normal stress on the carbide would be
only a few percent of that on the diamond, but results indicate
that it is nearly half as large.
Most of the cutting tests were done at cutting velocities
of 300 or 500 sfm and it was found that cutting forces and
diamond wear rate were not significantly different at these
speeds.
 EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES
The rock cutting experiments were carried out on granite
cylinders, which represents one of the hardest formations in oil
well drilling. The experiments involved cutting the granite
cylinders on a lathe using a single PDC cutter. Two types of
granite cylinders were used in the tests: Georgia granite and
Barre granite. The Georgia granite cylinders were 8 inch
diameter by 10 inch long and the Barre granite was 9 inch
diameter by 8.5 inch long. The experimental setup consisted of
a conventional lathe with electronic speed control, strain gage
dynamometer mounted on the lathe tool post, specially designed
tool holder to accommodate the PDC cutter and thermocouples,
dial indicators to measure the wear profile of the cutter, a
signal conditioning board and an A/D board feeding into a
personal computer to acquire running data for the forces and
temperatures.
Cutters Used for Rock Cuttinq Experiments
Commercial 0.524 inch diameter PDC cutters were used for
the cutting experiments. The cutter was clamped in the tool
holder at -lo0 rake angle as shown in Fig. 1. The cutter was
held in place by a bracket and two screws as shown in Fig. 2.
The bracket contained a slot into which a 112 inch square
ceramic cutting tool insert was placed, which pressed on the
diamond surface when the screws were tightened. Before
tightening the screws the ceramic was positioned so it covered
the diamond surface beyond 0.225 inch from the cutting tip. The
portion within 0.225 inch of the tip was open and exposed to
chips and the cutting fluid. The purpose of the ceramic was to
thermally isolate the diamond face (i.e. a metal clamp would act
as a heat sink).
Measurement of Cuttinq Forces
The tool holder containing the cutter was supported by a 3
axis strain gage type force dynamometer mounted on the lathe
cross slide. The dynamometer was custom built for this purpose
by Lebow. The X direction is the normal or radial direction of
the rock cylinder, the Y direction is the circumferential or
cutting direction and the Z direction is the side or feed
direction towards the tail stock. The dynamometer was designed
for force ranges 0-600 lbs for X, 0-400 lbs for Y, and 0-400 lbs
for Z with allowance of 50% overload. Cutting forces were
sampled at 1 second intervals, and since there was a
considerable amount of fluctuation, the forces were plotted
using a moving 10 second average. Moving averages of the force
data were calculated by a Lotus macro.
Measurement of Cutter Temperatures
Three type K thermocouples were located on the cutter at
positions as shown in Fig. 3. The most important temperature
measurement was TI because it was closest to the cutting tip.
It was desired to measure the temperature at the diamond carbide
interface close to the tip. To do this a 0.070 inch hole was
drilled into the carbide backup by EDM to within about 0.010
inch of the diamond layer. The center of the hole was 0.1 inch
from the cutting tip. Thermocouple wires (0.010 inch diameter)
were spark welded to the thin layer of carbide at the bottom of
the hole. After verifying that the wires were separated above
the welded junction and that they did not touch the sides of the
hole, the hole was filled with high temperature ceramic epoxy.
As a check on the temperature T1 a thermocouple junction was
located on the top surface of the diamond between the square
ceramic insert and the diamond surface. It was located
approximately 0.251 inch from the cutting tip. Since it was not
possible to weld it to the diamond a junction was formed by
clamping two crossed thermocouple wires between the ceramic and
the diamond. Since the diameter of the wires was only 0.005
inch the wires had sufficient ductility to be readily flattened
out, and in the process form a good junction which was in
intimate contact with the surface of the diamond. The measured
values of temperature at this junction, T2 followed the values
of TI. This was reassuring because T2 was located only about
0.151 inch further from the tip than TI. The third temperature
junction T3 was located on the center of the bottom surface of
the cutter on the carbide layer. The junction was formed by
spark welding directly to the carbide. As expected the values
of temperature T3 were lower than values of T2 because of the
greater distance from the cutting tip. The values did, however,
track T1 and T2 rather well.
CuttinffFluids; Effects on Forces, Temperature and Wear Rate
Experimental cutting tests were made using dry air, air
mist or tap water as the cutting fluid. The fluid was applied
during the test by a single jet mounted vertically 1.3 inches
above the tip of the cutter. It was found early in the test
program that the dry air and air mist removed the chips
satisfactorily but did not provide sufficient cooling. Forces
and temperatures were low when beginning a series of cuts with
a new cutter because the cutter has a sharp cutting edge. Soon
after cutting begins, however, the cutting edge begins to chip
and the diamond begins to wear, forming a wear flat. As the
flat grows larger it progresses into the carbide. During the
cutting process the diamond and carbide wear flats rub against
the rock surface and consequently there are normal and
tangential stresses on these areas. The tangential stresses are
caused by rubbing friction and hence there is a substantial
amount of heat generated at the interface of the wear flat and
the rock surface. Therefore the cutting forces and temperatures
increase as cutting continues. In turn the increased normal
force and temperature at the sliding interface cause the wear
rate of the cutter to increase and hence the cutter wear flat
area increases at an increasing rate. The wear rate of the
cutter is primarily controlled by the diamond wear rate because
the abrasive wear resistance of diamond is of the order of 100
times greater than that of carbide. Furthermore the wear rate
of diamond increases as temperature increases.
 As the area of the wear flat continues to increase more
rapidly the temperature of the diamond soon reaches the critical
level where the diamond looses its mechanical strength and the
wear rate becomes catastrophic resulting in cutter failure.
When using dry air or air mist the cutters usually failed during
the second or third cut of the series. At failure, the rapid
rise in forces and temperatures was quite dramatic (see Fig. 4 ) ;
The tests with air and air mist are not representative of
diamond bit drilling where the cutters are immersed in drilling
mud which is continually circulated between the bit face and the
rock surface. Water based muds are commonly used, so tap water
was used as the cutting fluid for most of the laboratory cutting
experiments. The water was applied by means of a 1/32 inch
diameter jet located 1.3 inches above the tip of the cutter.
This provided both chip removal and cooling of the cutter. In
fact the effect of water cooling was dramatic compared to that
of air or mist. With an ample supply of water the cutter
temperatures could be maintained at much lower levels during the
course of a considerable number of cuts. The water removed a
substantial part of the heat generated at the cutting tip. The
difference between using water or air was even greater than
expected.
Wear Measurements
Wear measurement is one of the important considerations in
the present study. The wear profile of the diamond cutting edge
was measured using a dial indicator with a wedge shaped stylus.
This dial indicator was mounted on a fixture attached to the
tail stock of the lathe.
Before the first cut, when the cutter was new, the profile
of the cutter was taken by moving the cutting edge (held by the
tool holder and mounted on the tool post) using the lathe
carriage. The variation of the profile of the cutting edge of
the cutter was recorded at 0.010 inch intervals of carriage
travel. These intervals were determined by an another dial
indicator mounted on the lathe bed which measured carriage
movement.
At the end of each run the cutting edge was observed under
good lighting and often, even if only slight wear was detected,
the profile was taken. The profiles taken after different runs
were plotted on large sheets of graph paper for better
understanding. As the tests were progressing the importance of
cutter wear profiles was recognized and profiles were then taken
more frequently.
To calculate the volume of diamond wear and the volume of
carbide wear the geometry of the cutter was carefully studied
and numerical integration was used to calculate these wear
volumes. A computer code was written to do this. The projected
length and projected area of the wear flats were also
calculated.
 DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIMENTS
The objective of the experiments was to determine how wear
rate depended on cutter temperature, cutting velocity and
cooling rate; also how temperature depends on cutting velocity,
cooling rate and wear flat area. A total of 24 series of
experiments were made, each series consisting of several cuts
with one cutting edge of the cutter. Table 1 is a summary of
these tests. By rotating the cutters in the tool holder, up to
three different cutting edges per cutter could be obtained;
these are labeled A, B, C.
The controlled or independent variables were: cutting speed
V(ft./min.); feed f (n./rev.); depth of cut d (in.); and
coolant (type and flow rate). Since coolant controls and the
effects of coolant were least known, it was felt that this
should be investigated first. As the tests progressed, it was
realized (after test series 5) that the cutting temperature (TI;
the thermocouple about 0.1" from the cutting edge) could be
controlled by the coolant. Thus after Series 5, in most cases,
the cutting temperature TI was a controlled variable. Test
series were stopped when the tool burned up, or when cutter
forces got too high for the dynamometer (F, over 600 lbs.), or
when wear had progressed enough that the depth of cut could not
be obtained. The cutting tool fed from right to left across the
granite cylinder, and it was noted that forces and temperature
dropped off during the last $Iv of the cut, perhaps due to the
rock not being confined at the left end. At the beginning of
each series of cuts, if there was sufficient taper on the rock,
a clean up cut was made with cutter No. 1.
The three types of coolant used were air jet (to blow away
the grit) , spray mist and water jet (0.03211 diameter nozzle) .
Air and spray mist were not very effective coolants, but the
water jet was so effective that, as previously noted, it was
decided to use it to control the temperature TI. When spray mist
or the water jet was used, the granite was wet down just prior
to cutting. During each controlled temperature test run, the
coolant flow rate was manually adjusted during the run to hold
TI near the desired value, as displayed on the computer screen.
Two types of granite rock (Georgia Elberton granite and
Barre granite) were used during the series of tests. In
comparing test results between granites, we believe that the
type of granite did not have a significant effect on the test
results.
Fig. 4 is a typical record of the test data for dry cutting
and Fig. 5 shows a typical controlled temperature test with
water jet cooling. Fig. 6 is a typical plot of cutter wear
profiles.
 ANALYSIS OF FORCES ON PDC CUTTERS

As expected, the forces acting on PDC cutters are the

smallest when the cutter is new, and then increase significantly
as the cutter wears and develops a wear flat. The forces can be
decomposed into two categories - those on the rake face due to
cutting and chip formation, and those on the flank or wear flat
of the cutter. The cutting forces can be theoretically
determined using the analytical cutting model of Prakash [4] and
are found to be a relatively small part of the total forces on
the cutter, even when the cutter is new and has a sharp cutting
edge.
New C u t t e r s
The normal and tangential cutting forces for new cutters
FNc and FTc were determined by first calculating the projected
area of the cut Ap. Then using the cutting model of Prakash the
values of normal and tangential force per unit area (projected)
were determined. These are (FNc/ ) and (FTc/AP). The values
of FNc and FTc were then obtained%y multiplying these by %.
The rock parameters used to represent the granite are as
follows:
Unconfined Compressive Strength o, = 38000 lb/in2
Angle of Internal Friction a! = 39O
Limiting Value of Shear Strength rinf = 100000 lb/in2
Additional input parameters are:
Friction Adhesion Coefficient m = 0.7
Rake Angle of Cutter a!, = -lo0

With these values the following results were obtained

Table 2 shows experimental values of the normal and

tangential cutter forces FN and FT at the beginning of the
initial cuts when the cutting edge was new and unworn. Also
shown are the theoretical values of the rake face cutting forces
FNc and FTc. The fact that FNc is small compared to FN indicates
that there was substantial normal force on the flank of the
cutter even though there was a flank clearance angle of 10,
(corresponding to -lo0 rake angle). The forces on the unworn
flank of the cutter are designated as llnosewforces FNn and FTn
which are

Evidently these forces arise in much the same manner as the

forces on an indenter, but there is no known theoretical model
of them. It is instructive, therefore, to consider the nature of
these nose forces for new cutters. Most likely they closely
depend on the area of the cutter flank that is in contact with
the rock. The contact area, in turn, should be closely related
to the length of the cutting edge of the cutter which engages
the rock. For practical purposes the projected (straight line)
length of the cutting edge W was used for analysis. This was
determined from the depth 08 cut d and the feed rate f. The
effective depth of cut t was also determined. Values of Wp and
t are shown in Table 1. Fig. 7 is a plot of the nose force FNn
vs Wp which appears to be a linear relation which does not pass
through the origin. A least squares fit of the data indicates
that

Fig. 8 is a plot of FTn vs Wp from which it appears that FTn is

essentially 0. This result was unexpected but can be explained
by further consideration of the flank forces on the cutter as
shown in Fig. 9.
With a, = -lo0 and pd = 0.18

This supports the experimental results that there is a

substantial normal nose force but negligible tangential nose
force on new cutters with -lo0 rake angle.
Worn Cutters
As cutters wear and develop a wear flat the normal and
tangential forces on the cutter increase. Again these were
separated into two parts - the cutting forces on the rake face
FNc and FTc and the forces on the wear flat FNw and FTw. The
cutting forces were determined using the cutting theory of
Prakash in the same manner as for newcutters. he forces FNw
and FT, are due to normal and friction stresses on the wear flat.
At first the wear flat occurs only on the diamond but then
increases in size and extends into the carbide backup. It is
of particular interest to consider the wear flat forces as wear
proceeds, to determine what proportions occur on the diamond and
carbide respectively. Values were determined for the
experimental forces FN and FT near the end of the cut, wear flat
areas of the diamond and carbide Ad and A, , the projected area
of the cut , the cutting forcesPNc andPTc and the forces on
the wear f l 2 FNw and FTw. The wear flat areas were calculated
using the experimental values of the projected width of the wear
flat, Wp. The projected area of the cut was assumed to be the
product of the depth of cut and the feed rate.
The nature of the stress distribution on the diamond wear
flat area and the carbide wear flat area has not been clearly
established and has been the subject of some disagreement. It
has been proposed by Barr [l] that the normal stress on the
carbide should be only about 1% of the stress on the diamond
because the two materials wear away simultaneously but the wear
resistance of the diamond is the order of 100 times that of the
carbide. It has also been proposed that the average normal
stress on the diamond is equal to the compressive strength of
the rock. Since the wear flat areas of diamond and carbide have
been determined for the cutting tests, these ideas were
investigated.
When the value of FNw was compared with the product of the
compressive strength a, and the projected diamond wear flat area
Ad it was found that there was good comparison for the lower
vafues of wear, when the wear flat had not progressed into the
carbide, but as the wear progressed into the carbide the values
of FNw increased more rapidly. It appears, therefore, that the
normal stress on the carbide is not negligible in granite
cutting. To determine the average normal stress on the carbide
an empirical relation for the normal force FNw was assumed in the
form

where oo = 38000 lb/in2 .

The value of oF was found by a least squares curve fit of the
data as shown In Fig. 10.

Thus the average normal stress on the carbide is nearly half

that on the diamond, which is much higher than expected.
The tangential force on the wear flat is due to sliding
friction on the diamond and carbide portions of the wear flat.
It was therefore assumed that FTw can be represented in the form

Where pd and p, are the coefficients of friction on the diamond

and carbide respectively. Fig. 5.5. is a plot of , F vs Adp. A
least squares curve fit of the data indicates that pd = 0.18 and
pc = 0.092.
Correlation of Norma1 Force, Diamond Wear Area and Diamond
Temperature
As has been shown, as the cutter wears and the wear flat
area increases there are proportionally larger normal and
tangential forces on the wear flat area due to the sliding
interaction with the rock surface. The increased tangential or
sliding force causes a similar increase in the amount of heat
generated at the interface which in turn leads to an increase in
diamond temperature. This is shown particularly well by test
series 2. Since wear measurements were not made for every cut,
several of the values of Ad were determined by interpolation as
shown in Fig. 12. The close correlation between F, and Ad is
shown in Fig. 1 3 .
 SPE

WEAR RATE OF PDC CUTTERS

Typically when cutting rock with a PDC cutter the cutter is
new with a sharp cutting edge when cutting begins and the
cutting forces are relatively small. Soon after cuttinq
begins, however, a wear flat starts to develop and the forces
begin to increase. The amount of heat generated also starts to
increase due to the increased rubbing friction of the wear flat
on the rock surface. The diamond wear rate is often considered
to be the ratio of the wear volume of the diamond to the rock
volume removed. The effective life of diamond drill bits and
diamond core bits is closely related to the wear rate of the
cutters and hence wear rate consideration is an important part
of economical bit design and operation.
As cutter wear progresses and the amount of heat generated
increases it is probable that the temperature of the cutter will
also increase, especially if the amount of cooling provided by
the cutting fluid is inadequate. This may result in increased
rate of diamond wear. Thus, one of the principal reasons for
conducting this series of rock cutting tests with PDC cutters
was to experimentally determine the effect of cutter temperature
on the wear rate of the diamond.
Since it has been shown [3] that the hardness of the PDC
diamond decreases with increasing temperature and that when the
temperature reaches about 700 C the hardness falls essentially
to zero, it was expected that the diamond wear rate would
gradually increase with increased temperature up to a critical
temperature where wear rate would increase catastrophically.
The wear rate should correlate most closely with the temperature
of the diamond wear flat, however, it was not possible to
measure this directly due to the intimate contact with the rock.
The best available experimental temperature is the temperature
T1 which was measured at the same location in each cutter (0.1
in from the unworn cutting tip). This should be closely related
to the temperature on the wear flat and hence values of T1 will
be used to analyze and model the effect of cutter temperature on
diamond wear rate.
It has been generally supposed that if the cutter
temperature remained constant as the cutter wore, the diamond
wear volume Vd would be directly proportional to the volume of
rock removed VR. Guided by this hypothesis it was found that the
temperature TI could be controlled and maintained reasonably
constant during each cut by varying the amount of cooling water
applied to the cutter. Then for each series of cuts the wear
volume of the diamond was determined as a function of the volume
of rock removed. The diamond wear volume was calculated from
the measured values of the wear profiles by numerical
integration and the volume of rock removed for each cut was
found by calculating the decrease in volume of the rock cylinder
using the values of the average rock diameter d , at the
beginning and end of the cut.
 The average values of cutter temperature for each cut ,
I
T
were found by averaging the values of T .
A typical plot of
T~~~~and incremental diamond wear rate (ivdldvR)vs cut number
is shown in Fig. 14. These graphs showed that in most of the
test series the average temperature was nearly constant butthat
the incremental wear rate was not constant. This same data can
be portrayed in a different manner by plotting the volume of
diamond wear Vd vs the volume of rock removed VR as shown in
Figs. 15 and 16. Again these graphs show that the wear rate is
not constant during the test series and in most cases it
increases as cutting proceeds. This was an unexpected result
because it does not agree with the supposition that wear rate
would be constant when temperature was constant. It was also
surprising that there was so much variation in the curves from
one
-- test series to another. It was clear that a new model of
diamond wear was needed to correlate the experimental data.
Analytical Model of Diamond Wear
In basic studies of sliding wear as shown in Fig. 17 it is
generally found that the time rate of volume of wear of the
slider is of the form

where V, Volume of wear of slider

F~~ Normal force on slider
L Distance of sliding
t Time
C Wear constant
It is often found that the wear mechanism is influenced by
temperature at the sliding junction and hence a more general
form for the wear rate is
dV,/dt = C FNS (dL/dt) f (T) (9)

where T Temperature at sliding junction

f(T) Function of temperature
To extend these concepts to the diamond wear rate of a PDC
cutter consider the diamond wear flat as the slider as shown in
Fig. 18. Then the time rate of diamond wear becomes

where FNwd Normal force on diamond wear flat

L Cutting distance
Vd Volume of diamond wear
Now it has been found that the normal force on the diamond wear
flat is

where a, Unconfined compressive strength of rock

 ad^ Projected area of diamond wear flat
Furthermore, the time rate of rock removed in cutting is

where VR Volume of rock removed

Ap Projected area of cut
Substituting the relation for FNwd and dividing leads to the
following relation for the diamond wear

This is a new and interesting relation for diamond wear

rate of PDC cutters, particularly because it contains the factor

In fact, according to this, the rate of wear depends on the

area of the wear flat Adp which in turn is closely related by
geometry to the volume of diamond wear Vd. Thus the greater the
amount of prior wear, the greater the wear rate. This behavior
is reflected by Vd vs VR curves which generally curve upward as
evidenced by many of the experimental curves. Formally the
initial wear rate is zero and would remain zero until some wear
occurred. The initial wear "eventw1might be the formation of a
small chip for which the time of occurrence and the size of the
chip are probablistic in nature. Since this initial wear event
influences the entiritv of the succeeding wear behavior of the
cutter it is to be expected that the wear curves will be varied
in nature and not necessarily repeatable.
This reasoning seems plausible as far as it goes but the
situation is actually more complex because the previous wear
rate relation may not be valid for new cutters. It has been
shown that before the diamond wear flat is formed there is a
normal nose force on the flank of the cutter FNn. Perhaps then
the wear rate relation for new cutters corresponds to
.
substituting this for (0, Adp) Then

This might better explain how wear gets started, after which
there is a gradual transition from this relation to (14) as the
wear flat enlarges. According to this, wear would always be
initiated but the initial events are likely to be somewhat
probablistic in nature and hence the former conclusions remain
valid.
Correlation of the Wear Rate Model with Experimental Data
Generally the proposed wear rate model agrees with the
observed behavior of the experiments. The data was therefore
analyzed to determine how well the model would correlate with
the data and to establish the dependance of wear rate on cutter
.
temperature i.e. F (TI) To obtain the temperature relation, the
quantity (AVd/AVR)/ (Adp/Ap)was calculated and plotted vs TI,,, as
shown in Fig. 19. As expected it was found that in most of the
test series the values for the first few cuts were erratic
because the model does not represent these cases well. These
values were therefore not included in Fig. 19. For the most
part, the remaining values correlate reasonably well with TI.
The results show that the diamond wear rate increases at an
increasing rate with respect to temperature T1 up to
approximately 500 C. Basically it is expected that the diamond
wear rate depends on the diamond hardness in an inverse manner.
As Lee and Hibbs found [3] the diamond hardness varies linearly
with respect to temperature up to 700 C. An empirical fit of
their data for hardness indicates that

Where H is Hardness
C is Constant
T is Diamond Temperature
Therefore, to fit the wear data it was assumed that F(T1) would
have the form

Where C1, C2, and C3 are Constants and (C2-TI) represents the
hardness. The constants were determined by a least squares fit
of the data. This resulted in relation

This is in good agreement with the hardness data because the

value of C2r1934, which was determined using the wear data,
compares quite well with the value 1944 determined from the
hardness data of Lee and Hibbs.
The values of F(T1) are shown graphically in Fig. 19 for
comparison with the experimental data. When F(T1) is substituted
into (14) the equation for diamond wear rate (dVd/dyR) is
obtained. The theoretical values from this equation vs
experimental values are shown in Fig. 20. Although there is
scatter, the overall correlation is reasonably good considering
the large number of varied cuts that are represented by the
data.
Critical Temperature Failure of PDC Cutters
Cutting experiments showed that whenever the measured
diamond temperature T1 exceeds 500 C the wear rate abruptly
increased by a factor of approximately 50. From a practical
standpoint this amounts to catastrophic failure of the cutter.
This result was first puzzling because the abrupt decrease in
diamond hardness occured at about 700 C, which is 200 C beyond
the critical value of TI. Yet, from all appearances, it seemed
that the diamond at the cutting tip had reached the critical
temperature of 700 C. Therefore, to determine if this was true
a cutter was instrumented with these thermocouples at distances
of 0.05 in., 0.133 in. and 0.389 in. from the cutting tip (test
series 21). The plots of the temperatures measured by these
thermocouples indicate that it is reasonable to believe that
when T1 reached 500 C in the previous tests the temperature at
the cutting tip had reached 700 C. Thus, there again seems to
be good correlation between the cutting tip temperature at
failure and the temperature at which hardness abruptly
decreases. Further evidence of this is found by examining the
behavior of the normal force and temperature T1 in series 2 cut
25 (Fig. 4), series 3 cut 2, series 4 cut 3 and series 13 cut 4.
In all cases there was an abrupt change in slope of T1 at values
of T1 equal to 500 C, 470 C, 500 C and 525 C respectively. There
were corresponding abrupt increases of the slopes of X, which
means that the wear rate had abruptly increased and the wear
flat area Ad was rapidly increasing. It is also observed that
in all cases T1 subsequently peaked out at values of 800 C, 830
C, 780 C and 870 C respectively. The average value is 820 C.
Since this behavior of cutter failure was so consistent it is
believed that in essence what happened was that the diamond tip
reached the critical temperature of 700 C when T1 = 500 C and
thereafter had lost all cutting ability. The carbide backing
had not yet lost its strength and therefore the carbide
continued cutting as if the diamond was not there. The
temperature continued to increase up to approximately 820 C (tip
temperature in excess of 1000 C) when apparently the hardness of
the carbide had decreased to the point where it could no longer
cut the granite. This is further supported by observing that
after reaching the peak temperature the values of X began to
decline, indicating that the cutter could no longer continue
cutting. Approximate analysis of the wear rate of the cutters
(based on the wear volume of the diamond) was made for the four
cases being considered and the wear rates were 27.5, 67.9, 57.6
and 45.4 times the rates at T1 = 500 C. On average the
lleffectivewwear rate of the diamond abruptly increased by a
factor of 50 times. This is shown graphically in Fig. 21.
In summary, a reasonable theory of the wear rate of PDC
cutters in cutting granite has been developed and correlated
with the experimental cutting data. The results show that the
wear rate continuously increases as the cutter tip temperature
increases to a tip temperature of approximately 700 C, where
upon the diamond has lost all cutting ability. The carbide
continues to cut up to about 1000 C but the effective diamond
wear rate is 50 times greater. The carbide then reaches the
cutting limit when the temperature is about 1020 C.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
Since the introduction of PDC bits they have almost
completely replaced three cone bits in soft, non abrasive
formations. The ultimate goal is to drill all kinds of
formations using PDC bits. Hence it is necessary to achieve
strong bits which can drill with high rates of penetration
without losing their life. This research work was devoted to
study the wear behavior of PDC bits in drilling hard rock
formations.
It has been observed that without ample amounts of cooling,
it is not possible to cut the hardest formations such as
granite. This was clearly observed in air and mist cooled
tests. Of equal importance, however, it was found that the
temperature of the cutter can be controlled within the desired
limit with an adequate amount of cooling. This prevents burning
even after wear flat formation, and continuous cutting. With
inadequate cooling the cutter will easily burn up after the wear
flat formation. This has been observed in several test series,
and is an important result of the research. The significance of
this is that during drilling with PDC bits, cuttings may
accumulate in front of the cutters thus preventing the drilling
fluid from reaching the diamond face of the cutters. This will
in essence prevent heat removal from the cutter and will result
in high cutter temperature and consequent cutter failure. It
would be a valuable improvement in drilling technology if
thermocouples were mounted on the cutters to monitor the
temperatures. Then if overheating was detected corrective
action could be taken before excessive damage occurred.
An important discovery from the experiments was that the
wear rate of the diamond is not constant when the cutter
temperature is constant. This was unexpected but upon further
consideration was explained by a new theory of diamond wear rate
during cutting. Wear of new cutters begins by initial chipping
of the cutting edge. This varies substantially from cutter to
cutter and appears to be probabalistic in nature. Once the wear
has begun then the wear rate depends on the present wear state
Ad as well as cutter temperature.
Another result of the cutting tests was that the contact
stress between the carbide portion of the cutter wear flats and
rock surface was much larger than expected. It was previously
believed that the normal stress on the carbide would be only a
few percent as large as the normal stress on the diamond wear
flat. Instead it was found to be nearly 47% as large. This
result has important practical implications for bit design,
because as the wear flats become larger, substantial increases
in bit weight are required to maintain a reasonable rate of
penetration. In many cases the maximum bit weight capability of
the drilling rig will be reached and then the bit must be
replaced. This adversely affects the economics of drilling.
Hence it is important to design bits with limited areas of the
carbide backup. It is also important to learn more about IflipI1
formation in different rocks and how bit vibration affects the
fflipsff. Perhaps there are design changes and changes in
operation procedures that will enhance "lipw formation and
thereby lead to higher rates of penetration and longer bit life.
This would definitely lead to lower drilling costs.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation

Grant No. CBT-8819165.
REFERENCES

Barr, J.D., "Optimization of Radial Distribution of

Stratapax Cutters in Rock Drilling Bitsn, ASME Engg.
Sources Tech. Conf., New Orleans, Feb.3-7, 1980.
Brett, J. Ford, Thomas M. Warren and Suzanne M. Behr,
"Bit Whirl-A New Theory of PDC Bit Failuref1,SPE Drilling
Engineering, Dec, 1990.
Lee, M. and L. E. Hibbs, Jr., "Role of Deformation Twin
Bands in the Wear Processes of Polycrystalline Diamond
Toolsff,ASME, Wear of materials, Ed. K.C. Ludema, W.A.
Glaeser, S.K.Rhee, 1979, p.485.
Prakash, V., Rock Cutting Theory for PDC Cutters, MS
Thesis, Kansas State University, 1982.
Warren, Thomas M., J. Ford Brett and L. Allen Sinor,
wDevelopment of a Whirl-Resistant BitN, SPE Drilling
Engineering, Dec. 1990.
NOMENCLATURE

Projected Area of Carbide Wear Surface

Area of Diamond Wear Surface
Projected Area of Diamond Wear Surface
Projected Area of Cut
Constants
Depth of Cut
Feed Rate
Wear Rate Functions of Temperature
Normal Force on Cutter
Normal Force due to Cutting
Normal Force on Flank of New Cutter
Normal Force on New Cutter
Normal Force on Slider
Tangential Force on Cutter
Tangential Force due to Cutting
Tangential Force on New Cutter
Tangential Force on Flank of New Cutter
Diamond Hardness
Length of Cutting or sliding
Friction ~dhesionCoefficient for Rock
~ffectiveDepth of Cut; Time
Temperatures at Thermocouples
Cutting Velocity
Volume of Rock Removed
Volume of Diamond Wear
Volume of Wear of Slider
projected Width of Wear Flat; projected Width
of Cut
Components of Cutting Force Measured with
Dynamometer
Angle of Internal Friction of Rock
Normal Rake Angle of Cutter
Coefficients of Friction on Diamond and Carbide
Wear Flats
Normal Stress on Carbide
Compressive Strength of Rock
Shear Stress Asymptote of Rock
Shear Angle
 TABLE 1
SUMMARY OF ROCK CUTTING EXPERIMENTAL PARAMETERS
Series Runs Cutter Rock V e l o c i t v f Vl F e e d l f ) Depth of C u t f d l Coolant

1 34 1A Georgia 500 SFM .020 i p r .020 i n . Dry and

Granite I I I spray m i s t

2 25 2A ( 10"long) I 5 J Dry(Air jet)

3 2 2B 1 I .00725ipr .055 i n . D r y ( A i r jet)

Spray M i s t

Water Jet

6 10 5A
I
J 500 s t d . .020 s t d . .020n s t d . Mostly d r y

7 10 5A New l o g of 500 SFM .00725 i p r .02OW Water Jet

Georgia (T1=1400C)
8 3 5A Granite .040 i p r .010 i n . T1=1400C
( 10"long
9 7 2C
I .010 i p r
I
5
.040 i n .
I
5
T1=4000C

T1=2000C

.00725 i p r .055 i n . ; T1=5000C

12

13
10

4
4C

6C
I
.I
5

300 SFM
T1=5000C

Dry ( A i r jet )

14 4 7C Bar e 500 SFM I I T1=1400C

Gra i t e 5 5 (Water j e t )
( 8)1 l o n g
15 4 5C 300 SFM 1 0 Thread .005"/ T1=1400C

I p e r inch half thread

.00725 i p r .05 in. T1=1400C

T1=5000C

5 5 T1=2000C

500 SFM .0025 i p r T1=2000C

100 SFM .00725 i p r T,=200°C

500 SFM T2=4000C

Dry
5
.040 5 Dry

5 .020/.010 .020/.040 20 PSI

 SPE

TABLE 2
EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL DATA

CUTTING GRANITE CYLINDERS WITH NEW PDC CUTTERS

Force Analysis
TEST CUTTER CUT V d COOLANT
SERIES NO. NO. (fpm)
..................................(in)
1980 STRATAPAX 1 323 0.0060 WATER
2 2A 1 500 0.0250 AIR
3 2B 1 500 0.0550 AIR
4 3A 1 500 0.0580 MIST
5 4A 1 500 0.0510 WATER
6 5A .1 500 0.0265 AIR
9 2C 1 500 0.0475 WATER
11 5B 1 500 0.0545 WATER
12 4C 1 500 0.0560 WATER
13 6C 1 500 0.0560 AIR
14 7C 1 500 0.0360 WATER
15 5C 1 300 0.0034 WATER
17 7B 1 300 0.0585 WATER

TEST CUTTER CUT Y Z F

SERIES NO.
------------------- NO. (Ib) (Ib) (k) (%I) f&) (1%)
1980 STRATAPAX 1
2 2A 1
3 2B 1
4 3A 1
5 4A 1
6 5A 1
9 2C 1
11 5B 1
12 4C 1
13 6C 1
14 7C 1
15 5C 1
17 7B 1

STRATAPAX 1
2A 1
2B 1
3A 1
4A 1
5A 1
2C. 1
5B 1
4C 1
6C 1
7C 1
5C 1
7B 1
 + I-, 1.5 Material - Brass

Figure 2 Bracket to Hold the PDC Cutter

Figure 3 Thermocouple Locations on the PDC Cutter
Figure 4 Typical Experimental Data
Force and Temperature vs Time
Test Series 2 Cut No. 25
 TIME (sec)

Figure 5 Typical Experimental Data

Force and Temperature vs Time
Test Series 10 Cut No. 6
S9'0 9'0 SF0 9'0 SP'O P'O SC'O C'O
-
i0
r u u
ZO'O
€0'0
PO'O
SO'O
90'0
LO'O
80'0
 [NORMAL NOSE FORCE Vs PROJECTED WIDTH[
NEW CUTTERS
160

PROJECTED WIDTH OF CUT (in)

EXPERIMENTAL --43.44+919.6*Wp

Figure 7 Normal Nose Force vs Projected Width

 [TANGENT NOSE FORCE V s PROJECTED WIDTH I
NEW CUTTERS
100

PROJECTED WIDTH OF CUT (in)

m EXPERIMENTAL -0

Figure 8 Tangent Nose Force vs Projected Width

F i g u r e 9 Schematic of N o s e F o r c e s on a New C u t t e r
 NORMAL FORCE ON WEAR FLAT
vs WEAR AREA OF DIAMOND

I a THEORETICAL + EXPEWMENTAL I

Figure 10 Normal Force on Wear Flat

vs Wear Area of Diamond
 TANGENT FORCE ON WEAR FLAT
vs WE.4R AREA DF DIP,NIOND

Figure 11 Tangent Force on Wear Flat

vs Wear Area of Diamond
 Rock Volume vs Wear Area
Series 2 Cutter 2A
0.007 0.007

0
I
8
/
I ! 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Rock Volume Vr

I -c InterpolatedValues +Measured Wear I

Figure 12 Rock Volume Removed vs Wear Area

FORCE AND TEMP. VS WEAR AREA

Series 2 Cutter 2.4
350 550

500
300

e 250
450

-
-
3

X 400 I-
?!
L
m - 2

g 200 350
L

300 + :
Q

150
250

Wear Area Ad (sq in)

- Force Fx -I- Temperature T I

Figure 13 Correlation of Normal Force and

Temperature vs Wear Area
 Tl avg and Incremental Wear Ratio vs Cut
-
Series 12 Cutter 4C
500,

o-)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 .7 8
!0
9
Cut No.

--c T1 + Wear Ratio

Figure 14 Typical Temperature and Wear Ratio

vs Cut No.
 DIAMOND WEAR VOL vs VOL OF ROCK REMOVED
CUTTING SPEED 500 SFM

46 60

VOLUME OF ROCK REMOVED (cu.in)

-I-SERIES 9 +SERIES 10 SERIES 12

-6- SERIES 1 4 ++ SERIES 5 * SERIES 1 9

Figure 15 Diamond Wear Volume vs Volume of Rock Removed - 500 SFM

VUS O O E a33dS 3Nllln3
 Figure 17 Schematic of Slider Wear

Figure 18 Model of Sliding Wear of Diamond Wear Flat

 EXPERMENTAL AND THEORETICAL
\7ALUES OF DIAMOhD WEAR RATE

Figure 20 Experimental vs Theoretical Values

of Diamond Wear Rate
 DIAMOND WEAR RATE
- 15
4"1 4
vs AVERAGE TEMPERATURE

;\I3
"12

-
TI1

1 9
10
n
8
+!
d 7
\ 6
P
4
w

3f 3
2
"
fi
0 1
I I I 1 I 1 I 1

Figure 21 Diamond Wear Rate vs Average Temperature

(Including Cutter Failure Rate)