Patent ID: 8413744

Claim:
A system for monitoring and controlling a load on a downhole component of a well drilling system, the system comprising: a downhole drilling tool disposed in operable communication with a drillstring and configured to be movable within a borehole, the drillstring configured to allow a drilling fluid to be advanced through the borehole; at least one sensor disposed in operable communication with the downhole drilling tool for in-situ measurement of at least one chemical property of an environment surrounding the downhole drilling tool; and a processor configured to monitor the at least one chemical property during a drilling operation, to associate the at least one chemical property with a corrosion rate and at least one of i) adjust a mechanical load on the downhole drilling tool based on the corrosion rate, ii) steer the drillstring to a different location based on the corrosion rate and iii) shut down the drilling operation in response to detection of a corrosion rate beyond a selected threshold.