Self-aligning bearing stack for mud-lubricated service

To address the issue of misalignment on radial and thrust bearings during downhole drilling operations, QA Bearing™ Technologies Ltd. has developed and filed a patent application for the Concentric Radii Bearing Stack, a self-aligning bearing stack for mud-lubricated service.

Design features include the following:

• A number of full-complement ball-bearing races with individual outer raceway surfaces that are placed on progressively larger concentric circles;
• The common vertex produces a bearing that will misalign around a single point on the shaft axis.
• The amount of misalignment the design can accept will vary depending upon the cross-section available; however, initial application designs have produced misalignment capacities of +/- 1.5°.
• A variety of design alternatives may be produced, including unitized single-row or multi-row bearing assemblies.

A variety of design alternatives can be produced; including unitized single row or multi-row bearing assemblies.

Symmetric or asymmetric configurations that optimize the radial or thrust capacities for specific tool requirements may be custom designed. The rows closest to the common vertex produce a greater amount of radial load capacity, while rows that are further out produce progressively larger thrust capacities due to their increased contact angle.

If the only thing holding back your tool's performance is finding a bearing that is able to handle the operational misalignment of your tool design, contact QA Bearing™ Technologies Ltd. to help you develop a customized design solution.