Positive displacement fluid motor and associated method

Abstract

A positive displacement fluid motor can include a stator and a rotor. The stator can include a housing with opposite end connections that are the same. A method can include deploying a fluid motor into a well, operating the fluid motor by flowing fluid between a rotor and a stator of the fluid motor, retrieving the fluid motor from the well, and then reversing the stator on the rotor. Another positive displacement fluid motor can include a stator housing configured to receive a rotor into one end connection, and configured to receive the rotor into an opposite end connection.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A positive displacement fluid motor, comprising:
 a stator; and   a rotor configured to rotate in response to fluid flow between the stator and the rotor,   in which the stator comprises a housing and at least one internal helical profile disposed between first and second end connections at respective first and second opposite ends of the housing, the first end connection being the same as the second end connection.   
     
     
         2 . The positive displacement fluid motor of  claim 1 , in which the rotor has at least one external helical profile configured to engage the stator housing at least one internal helical profile. 
     
     
         3 . The positive displacement fluid motor of  claim 1 , in which the at least one internal helical profile is spaced apart from the first end connection a first distance, the at least one internal helical profile is spaced apart from the second end connection a second distance, and the first and second distances are the same. 
     
     
         4 . The positive displacement fluid motor of  claim 1 , in which the at least one internal helical profile is spaced apart from the first end connection a first distance, the at least one internal helical profile is spaced apart from the second end connection a second distance, and the first and second distances are different. 
     
     
         5 . The positive displacement fluid motor of  claim 1 , in which each of the first and second end connections comprises threads and a seal portion. 
     
     
         6 . The positive displacement fluid motor of  claim 5 , in which the threads comprise internal threads. 
     
     
         7 . The positive displacement fluid motor of  claim 5 , in which the seal portion comprises a seal bore. 
     
     
         8 . The positive displacement fluid motor of  claim 1 , in which the at least one internal helical profile is formed on an elastomer material. 
     
     
         9 . The positive displacement fluid motor of  claim 1 , in which the at least one internal helical profile is formed on a metal material. 
     
     
         10 . The positive displacement fluid motor of  claim 1 , in which the stator housing is configured to receive the rotor into the first end connection, and the stator housing is configured to receive the rotor into the second end connection. 
     
     
         11 . A method of utilizing a fluid motor with a subterranean well, the method comprising:
 deploying the fluid motor into the well;   operating the fluid motor by fluid flow between a rotor and a stator of the fluid motor;   retrieving the fluid motor from the well; and   then reversing the stator on the rotor.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , in which the rotor is received into a first end connection of a housing of the stator in the deploying, and in which the reversing comprises receiving the rotor into a second end connection of the stator housing. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , in which the stator comprises first and second end connections, in the deploying the first end connection being directly connected to a housing surrounding a flexible joint, and the reversing comprises directly connecting the second end connection to the housing. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , in which the rotor remains connected to the flexible joint during the reversing. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , in which the reversing comprises withdrawing the rotor from a first end connection of a housing of the stator, and inserting the rotor into a second end connection of the housing. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , in which the first end connection is configured the same as the second end connection. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , in which at least one internal helical profile is disposed in the housing, the at least one internal helical profile is spaced apart from the first end connection a first distance, the at least one internal helical profile is spaced apart from the second end connection a second distance, and the first and second distances are the same. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , in which at least one internal helical profile is disposed in the housing, the at least one internal helical profile is spaced apart from the first end connection a first distance, the at least one internal helical profile is spaced apart from the second end connection a second distance, and the first and second distances are different. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , in which the stator comprises a housing having first and second opposite ends, the operating comprises the fluid flow into the second end and out of the first end, and the method further comprises the fluid flow into the first end and out of the second end after the reversing. 
     
     
         20 . A positive displacement fluid motor, comprising:
 a stator; and   a rotor configured to rotate in response to fluid flow between the stator and the rotor,   in which the stator comprises a housing and at least one internal helical profile disposed between first and second end connections at respective first and second opposite ends of the housing, the stator housing is configured to receive the rotor into the first end connection, and the stator housing is configured to receive the rotor into the second end connection.   
     
     
         21 . The positive displacement fluid motor of  claim 20 , in which the rotor has at least one external helical profile configured to engage the stator housing at least one internal helical profile. 
     
     
         22 . The positive displacement fluid motor of  claim 20 , in which the at least one internal helical profile is spaced apart from the first end connection a first distance, the at least one internal helical profile is spaced apart from the second end connection a second distance, and the first and second distances are the same. 
     
     
         23 . The positive displacement fluid motor of  claim 20 , in which the at least one internal helical profile is spaced apart from the first end connection a first distance, the at least one internal helical profile is spaced apart from the second end connection a second distance, and the first and second distances are different. 
     
     
         24 . The positive displacement fluid motor of  claim 20 , in which each of the first and second end connections comprises threads and a seal portion. 
     
     
         25 . The positive displacement fluid motor of  claim 24 , in which the threads comprise internal threads. 
     
     
         26 . The positive displacement fluid motor of  claim 24 , in which the seal portion comprises a seal bore. 
     
     
         27 . The positive displacement fluid motor of  claim 20 , in which the at least one internal helical profile is formed on an elastomer material. 
     
     
         28 . The positive displacement fluid motor of  claim 20 , in which the at least one internal helical profile is formed on a metal material. 
     
     
         29 . The positive displacement fluid motor of  claim 20 , in which the first end connection is the same as the second end connection.