BEARING SECTION OF A DOWNHOLE DRILLING MOTOR

摘要

Present embodiments are directed to a bearing assembly for a downhole motor. The bearing assembly includes a housing and a drive shaft designed to rotate with respect to the housing. The bearing assembly also includes stackable thrust bearings, each pre-loaded via a corresponding spring component. Some thrust bearings are arranged such that their spring components distribute axial loads from the housing in a first direction to the thrust bearings. Other thrust bearings are arranged such that their spring components distribute axial loads from the drive shaft in the first direction to the thrust bearings. Thus, the bearing assembly may be tailored via the stackable bearings to distribute axial thrust forces on the downhole motor evenly across the different thrust bearings. The bearing section may include a machinable spacer used to provide a double shouldered connection between the drive shaft and a drive shaft cap used to compress the stackable bearings.

主权项

1. A bearing assembly for use in a downhole drilling motor, comprising:
a housing: a drive shaft disposed in the housing and rotatable with respect to the housing about an axis; a first stackable thrust bearing disposed between the housing and the drive shaft and configured to distribute axial loads acting in a first axial direction on the drive shaft relative to the housing; a second stackable thrust bearing disposed between the housing and the drive shaft and configured to distribute axial loads acting in a second axial direction on the drive shaft relative to the housing; a first stationary spacer disposed in contact with the housing and in an axially stacked position below the first stackable thrust bearing; a second stationary spacer disposed in contact with the housing and in an axially stacked position above the second stackable thrust bearing; a rotational spacer disposed in contact with the drive shaft and in an axially stacked position between the first and second stackable bearings; a first rotational sleeve disposed between the drive shaft and the first stackable bearing and in an axially stacked position above the rotational spacer; a second rotational sleeve disposed between the drive shaft and the second stackable bearing and in an axially stacked position below the rotational spacer; and a stationary sleeve disposed between the housing and the first and second stackable bearings, wherein the stationary sleeve is in an axially stacked position between the first and second stationary spacers.