Analysis of Fracture Reason of Transmission Shaft of Screw Drilling Tool in a Certain Well

Abstract During the drilling process of a certain well in an oil field, the transmission shaft of the screw drilling tool broke. According to research, the screw drilling tool is brand new and has been in use for only 63.5 hours, indicating early failure. The fracture of the transmission shaft of the screw drilling tool is flat and severely worn, and the fracture is located at the change in diameter. In order to analyze the causes of the tool’s failure and avoid similar accidents, this article conducted non-destructive testing, macroscopic fracture analysis, chemical composition analysis, tensile performance testing, Charpy impact testing, Brinell hardness testing, metallographic analysis, microscopic analysis, and a comprehensive analysis of the failed transmission shaft of the spiral drilling rig. Through a series of analyses, it is believed that this tool belongs to fatigue fracture. The main reason is the presence of quenching cracks in the matrix structure near the fracture surface, which does not comply with industry standards. At the same time, before the screw drilling tool was put into use in the well, the operator did not conduct a flaw detection on the transmission shaft body according to the standard, so that quenching cracks were not detected in advance. After entering the well, the transmission shaft undergoes rapid propagation of quenching cracks under variable load, ultimately leading to early fatigue failure. This article suggests that manufacturers optimize the heat treatment process of screw drilling tool transmission shafts to improve product quality and prevent quenching cracks from appearing in the body. At the same time, operators should strictly follow the standards for non-destructive testing to avoid drilling tools with quality issues from entering the well for use.