The REALM project will develop a new, sustainable manufacturing technology to produce hard-facings for downhole drilling tools. The proprietary technology uses a novel metal additive manufacturing process based on Directed Energy Deposition (DED) to form highly wear resistant hard-facing coatings in-situ, using elemental powders. The super-hard coating is characterised by a strong metallurgical bond showing a continuous metal-matrix and finely-dispersed carbide precipitates creating functional graded microstructure necessary for wear and erosion applications. This has overcome the drawback encountered when using commercial hard-facing tungsten carbide powders. The project is expected to deliver three innovations: 1. Automated, low-heat input manufacturing process to form functionally-graded hard-facings; high toughness at the coating-substrate interface and high hardness on the surface. 2. Reactive powder composition formulated using a wide variety of application-targeted material combinations. 3. Design freedom of hard-facings to optimise coating geometries for improved heat dissipation and performance. The innovative DED process will benefit the environment; the near-net shape process will lead to more efficient application of tungsten and cobalt thus minimising waste of these expensive at-risk commodities. Localised heating using a laser beam will save energy and greenhouse gases. In service, the downhole tool will exhibit higher performance and will lower energy consumption, whilst its higher longevity will reduce the demand for the primary production of "at-risk" metals.

To develop finishing operations for Thermally Stable Polycrystalline Diamond hard-faced components to be used in drilling operations.

Development of Mud Motor Radial bearing manufacturing for the oil and gas industry using an innovative manufacturing technique for improved wear resistance, low coefficient of friction and high productivity.

This project concerns the extraction of oil and gas; a successful outcome would also be of benefit to the UK’s burgeoning shale gas industry. Individual drill pipe tool joints and other vulnerable areas of drill string components have been protected for a long time from abrasive wear using hardbanding welding technique that involved a selective application of strips or pads of wear-resistant material typically containing tungsten carbide. The drill string runs inside an outer casing and wear of the casing has become a significant problem. Whilst tungsten carbides provide excellent protection for the drill pipe joints, it is very aggressive to the casing leading to premature failure of the latter. As easily accessed reserves become depleted there is a requirement to drill to ever increasing depths whilst new technology allows highly deviated wells such as horizontal drilling, multidirectional drilling and extended reach drilling. All of these techniques create situations where the hardbanding can come into contact with the casing. In addition to causing failure of the casing by wear such points of contact also produces friction and torque that impedes the drilling process. There is thus a requirement for a hardbanding material that whilst providing adequate protection against wear of the pipe joint is also casing friendly and has low friction properties. Casing failures are of course expensive but also have a significant environmental impact as the well is no longer constrained leading to uncontrolled leakage. The aim of this project is to provide a solution to this problem by developing a hardbanding product that combines high wear resistance with low coefficient of friction. A combination of the following mechanisms will be explored. • Control of chemistry to promote favourable changes in the microstructure and crystallinity of the matrix alloy. • Addition of spherical wear resistant particles. • Addition of solid lubricating additives into the matrix.

The company is looking to research and develop a novel intelligent down the hole disconnect tool (I-DISC) which would provide disconnection from the bottom hole assembly and extraction in a fraction of the time of the existing state of art methods. During oil and gas exploration the bottom hole assembly (BHA) can become stuck/jammed due to poor cleaning of the hole and subsequent build up of cuttings. With directional drilling programmes potentially exceeding 10km, problems are becoming more common and expensive as oil exploration companies look to access difficult to extract oil reserves from reservoirs which until recently were not commercially viable. Existing methods of disconnecting the BHA are crude and prone to error where wireline systems cannot easily be employed. In development and exploration drilling, the costs when the BHA becomes stuck down the hole are considerable with rigs, equipment and support costs exceeding $1M per day. The intelligent disconnect tool would provide the separation of drill pipe in such instances after autonomous monitoring of drilling parameters, thus effecting a controlled and time efficient solution.

To develop hard-banding technology for use by companies who service the oil and gas drilling markets.