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    97 views28 pages

    Chapter 2 Rotary Percussive Drilling

    Uploaded by

    Rafael

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    wv CHAPTER 2 Rotary percussive drilling 2.1 INTRODUCTION Drilling by rotary percussion is the most classic system for drilling blasthotes, and its chronological appearance coincides with the industrial development of the nin- teenth century. The first prototype machines made by Singer (1838) and Couch (1848) were run by steam, butt was when compressed air was used as the source of energy, in the execution of the tunnel of Mont Cenis in 1861, that this system evolved and was put into extensive use. This event, along with the arrival of dynamite, was decisive in the rapid development of rock breakage in ‘ining and civil engineering at the end of the last cen- ‘tury ‘The drilling principle of these rigs is based upon the impact of a steel piece (piston) that hits a utensil which transmits at the same time that energy tothe bottom ofthe blasthole by means ofthe final element called he bit. The rotary percussive rigs are classified in two large groups, depending upon where the hammer is located: Top hammer. Inthese drills, two of the basic actions, rotation and percussion, are produced outside the blast hole, and are transmitted by the shank adaptor and the rill steel to the drill bit. The hammers can be driven hydraulically or pneumatically. ~ = Down the hole hammer. The percussion is delivered directly tothe drill bit, whereas the rotation is performed outside the hole. The piston is driven pneumatically, ‘while the rotation can be hydraulic or pneumatic. Depending upon the fields of application of these driling rigs, surface or underground, the most common range of diameters are shown in Table 2.1 ‘The main advantages of rotary percussive drilling are: It can be applied to any type of rock, from soft to hard. ~ Wide range of diameters; ~ Versatile equipment, it adapts wel to different ope- rations and is very mobile; ~ Only requires one operator; ~ Easy, quick maintenance, and = The capital costs not high In view of these advantages and characteristics, the type of operations where itis used are: - Underground civil engineering; tunnels, under «ground hydraulic plants, residual deposits, ete. and in surface operations; roads, highways, industrial excava- tions, ete, = Inunderground mines and in small to medium sizec surface operations 2.2 FUNDAMENTALS OF ROTARY PERCUSSIVE DRILLING. Rotary percussion drilling is based upon the combination of the following: ~ Percussion. The impacts produced by repeated biows of the piston generate shock waves that are tran ‘mitted to the bit through the drill steel (in top hammer) oF directly upon it (down the hole), ~ Rotation. With this movement, the bit is turned so that the impacts are produced on the rock in different positions, ~ Feed, or thrust load. In order to maintain the contact ‘of the drill bit with the rock, a thrust load or feed force is applied to the drill string, ~ Flushing. Flushing removes the drill cutings from the blasthole. ‘The indentation forming process with which penetra- tion is achieved in this drilling system is divided ino five times, as indicated in Fig. 2.2. ) Crushing of the rough edges of the rock upon bit contact. ») Radial cracks appear from the points of stress con- centration and a V shaped wedge is formed. ©) The rock of the wedge is pulverized, 4) The larger fragments are chipped in the zones next tothe wedge. ©) The drill cuttings are ushed away, ‘This sequence repeats itself with the same impact ‘hythm of the piston upon the system of energy transmnis- sion tothe bit. ‘The yield of this process increases proportionally with the size ofthe rock chippings. 22.1 Percussion ‘The kinetic energy E, ofthe piston is transmitted from the hhammer to the drill bit, through the drill stel, inthe form of a shock wave. The wave travels at high speed and its shape depends basically on the design of the piston When the shock wave reaches the drill bit, part of the energy is transformed into work, causing the bit to pene- trate, and the rest is reflected and returns through the dell steel. The efficiency of this transmission is difficult to Rotary percussive drilling 9 Table2 Dring method Fophammer Downthetoke PERCUSSION FEED FORCE © FLUSHING Fig. 21 Basi ction in rotary percussive ding wave Nae er “OS ig, 22, Sequence of rock failure ding center foeation (Hartnan, 1959) evaluate as it depends upon many factors such as: type of | rock, shape and size of piston, drill steel characteristics, Dit design, etc. Another thing fo take into account is that ‘energy is lost through the sleeves of the rod couplings, due (0 reflection and fricton which is converted into heat ‘and wear on the drill steel threads. Inthe first coupling the losses oscillate between 8 and 10% of the shock wave energy. In down the hole drilling the piston energy is tran- mitted directly to the bit, giving greater performance. In these drilling systems, percussion force is the pa- rameter that most influences the penetration rate. ‘The energy freed per hammer stroke can be estimatd from the following equations: E, s=tam, x v2 Ez 0g XA, Xl where: m, = Mass of the piston, y, = Maximum piston speed, p,,’= Pressure of the work fluid (oil or air) inside the cylinder, 4, = Surface area of the piston face, |, = Stoke ofthe piston In the majority of hydraulic hammers, the manufac- turers indicate the impact energy value, but this snot the case with the pneumatic hamumers. Special care should be taken in estimating the p for these, a i is 30 0 40% Jower in the cylinder tha in the compressor, owing to charging and expansion losses of air with each stroke of the piston Thus, the hammer power is the energy per stroke 1ulipied by the frequency of strokes Py = E,xn, wheren, = Kx and taking into account the previous equations, the fol- lowing can be stated: P, ‘The percussion mechanism consumes from 80 to 85% of the total power ofthe equipment. 22.2 Rotation Rotation, which tums the dil bit between consecutive blows, has the function of making the bit strike upon different points of the rockin te botiom ofthe biasthole Ineach type of rock there is an optimum rotation speed which produces larger sized cuttings taking advantage of the fre area ofthe hole created with each impact. When drilling with insert its, the most common rota tion speeds oscillate between 80 and 150 rp.m. with angles between indentations of 10 t0 20°, Fig. 23. For button bit from 51 to 89 mm, the speeds should be lowe, between 40 and 60 rp.m, that bring turing angles be- tween 5 and 7°. Bits of larger diameters require even lower speeds. 22.3 Thrust load ‘The energy generated by the mechanism of hammer blows should be transfered to the rock, for which itis necessary to have the drill bt in permanent contact with the bottom of the hole. This is achieved with the thrust Toad or pull down, supplied by a pull down motor, which should be adapted to rock type and drill bit, Insufficient thrust load has the following negative ef- fects: lower penetration rates, greater wear of rods and sleeves, loosening of drill steel threads and heating of the same. On the contrary, if the pull down is excessive the penetration rate is also diminished, there is increased ona ‘ INSERT arr eurToN ar Fig. 23, Rotation speed between consecutive blows a function of peteation ateand it clameter, wv 0 Drilling and blasting of rocks 3} 3 7 FEED Fig, 24, Theeffe: of trust oad upon penetration rat in top hammce dling. rotation resistance, drill steel can become jammed, the ear on the bits increases as well as the rotation rate and equipment vibrations, and the blastholes can be de- viated, As occurs with rotation, this parameter does not have decisive influence on the penetration rates, Fig. 2.4 2.2.4 Flushing In order to have efficient drilling, the bottoms of the blastholes must be maintained clean by evacuating drill ‘cutings as soon as they appear. If this is not done, a large quantity of energy will be consumed in regrinding with the consequent wear on dril bits and decrease in penetra- tion, apart from the risk of jamming. Blasthole flushing is carried out with a flow of air, Water or foam that is injected by pressure to the bottom ‘through an opening in the center of the drill steel and. Bushing holes in the drill bts, ‘The cuttings are removed up through the space be- tween the rod and the blasthole walls Fig. 25. Flushing with air is used in surface operations, where the dust produced can be eliminated by means of dust collectors : Water flushing is mostly used in underground driling, which also keeps dust down, although it reduces perfor: mance by about 10 t0 20%. Foam is used as a complement to air as it helps bring large particles up to the surface and also acts as sealer for blasthole walls when drilling through loose material ‘The velocity of air flow for efficient cleaning with air goes from 15 10 30 m/s. The minimum velocities foreach ‘ease can be calculated from the following equation: y= 9,55 xP os eel * where: v, = Velocity of airflow (m/s), p, = Rock density (glem),4, = Diameter ofthe particles (mmm). ‘Therefore, the flow that should be supplied by the compressor is: é) 127 where: Q, = Flow (m'/min), D = Blasthole diameter, d= Diameter of the ods (). When water is used for flushing, the velocity of air x 2, FLUSHING FLOD Fig. 25. Princip of Bushing. flow should be between 0.4 and 1 m/s. In these cases the pressures are maintained between 0.7 and 1 MPa, to kee}, the flow from entering into the haramer. ‘When using air with top hammers, itis not common t have a igh pressure compressor for fushing alone, Only in down the hole hammer drilling is a high pressur ‘compressor used (1 — 7 MPa) because the percussiot power is increased along withthe Sushing of cuttings. ‘An important factor to remember when estimating th, flushing flow is that of charging losses produced due t the narrow conducts through which the fluid must pas: (flushing needle, drill steel holes) as wells along the dil string, In Table 2.2, the flushing velocities for top hammet drilling are indicated as function of air compressor flow and drill steel diameter, 23 TOP HAMMER DRILLING ‘This drilling system can be qualified as the most conven: tional or classic, and although its use by pneumatic drive was limited by the down the hole and rotary equipment, the appearance of the hydraulic hammers in the sixties has given anew boost to this method, complementing and ‘widening its field of application, 23.1 Pneumatic drilling rigs Hammers driven by compressed air basically consistin: = A cylinder with a front cover that has an axial ‘opening where the rotation chuck goes, as well as a retaining device for the drill rods, = The piston that alternately strikes the deill steel shank through which the shock wave is transmitted t0 the red. Rotary percussive drilling n ~ ‘The valve that regulates the passage of compressed airina pre-set volume and in alternating form tothe front and back of the piston. 'A rotation mechanism, that can be a spirally Muted rile bar or of independent rotation. "A flushing system that consists ina tube that allows the passage of arto the inside ofthe dil see. “These elements are common to all the types of ham- smerson the market, with only afew design characteristics that differ diameter of the cylinder, length ofthe piston stroke, distribution valves, ete. The following describes the working principle ofa pneumatic hammer, Figs. 2.6 212. 1. The piston is atthe end of its return stroke and is ready to star its working stoke. The air, at ine pressure, fils the backhead (1) and gasses through the back supply port (2) imo the cylinder (3). The air pushes the piston forward, beginning the working stroke. Meanwhile, the cylinder front end (5) is at atmospheric pressure since the exhaust por (6) s open. 2. The piston (4 continues to accelerate forward, dri- ven by the line pressure, until the leading edge (7) ofthe pistons control head shuts off the entrance of compressed Zit The air confined in the back end of the cylinder 3) starts to expand and cotiunes to drive the piston forward [Note thatthe piston flange (4 closes the exhaust port (6) and thatthe front ends still at atmospheric pressure. 5. The ait confined at the back ofthe piston (3) con- tinues to expand until the back edge of te piston Mange starts to uncover te exhaust port (6). Remember thatthe piston control head (7) has already shut off the com- Dressed air entrutce, so that no compressed air will be ‘wasted when the exhaust por is opened ‘Up front, the piston has trapped airthat was a atmophe- ric pressure (5), and has now compressed it to slightly above atmospheric pressure ~ “4. The piston continues to move forward because ofits momentum until it strikes the drill shank steel. Now, the back edge of the piston flange (8) has uncovered the exhaust port (6) andthe air inthe back end is exhausted into the atmosphere. While this was going on, the back ‘edge (10) of the control head opened the front supply port ‘umittng compressed air tothe frontend (5) diving the piston back on the tur stoke. During this stage there is ‘Compressed air pushing against the piston from the front end (5) and also pushing against the back end (10), The {ont surface area is much larger than te back (10) s0 the piston moves towards the rear. 5. The piston is accelerated back on the rem stoke, until the back edge ofthe contol head (10) covers up the front air supply port. The air upfront then continues to push the piston back, 6, The piston continues to accelerate backwards while the arin the fot end (5) expands until the front end of the piston flange (11) uncovers the exhaust por, tapping the air in the back end ofthe cylinder and compressing it to.a pressure slightly more than atmospheric. Note than the front edge ofthe control head (7) is just about to open the back supply port Fig. 27. The piston acelerie Forward. Tig, 28. Tetack edge othe ston ange uncovers the echaus port. Fig 29. The piston compresies he arin ont Fig, 2.10 Te piston saceelerated back Fig. 2.12. Retr stroke oft ston Mises wv R Drilling and blasting of rocks Table22 Flow in) 32 ae Gs eee RE as 33 Rod diameter im) 2 38 3 45 8 3 100 Coupling diameter) 5 35 53 6 6 7% Flushing hole ciameter xm) 2 « tw 0 n a 6 Blasthole diamete Fshing air velocy (mvs) — - Simm 2") @ S . 5 5 : Gem) 2 2 : 2 : emma) 25 ” 50 : : mmc") 0 Py 2 36 Tozmm¢¢") : "7 2 2 os - Sem (6!y" . - 2 0 6 cn e 127mm 5") : : 7 a 5 9 3 40mm 5! : = 16 2 152mm 6 “Table 23. Mean characteristics of pneumtic. amen Relationship ison damete/Blatole diameter 3-17 Piston stoke (mm) 3598 Frequeney of Blows (iows/min) 1500-3400 easton oct (ni) 40.400 Relaivesi¢consumption nin em. diameter) 21-28 7. The retum stroke finishes when the back supply port is fully open, allowing compressed air to enter behind the piston, This has a cushioning effect, bringing the piston to ‘gentle stop, and at the same time prepares the piston for ‘anew working stroke Some of the typical characteristics of this equipment are indicated in Table 23, ‘The drilling lengths reached with this system do not usually go over 30 m, owing to important energy losses in transmission ofthe shock wave and blasthole deviations. ‘As mentioned before, drill steel rotation can be ob- tained by two different procedures:* ) With spirally fluted rifle bar of ratchet ring, and ») With an independent motor. ‘The first group is common in light drilling rigs, whe- reas the second is used for large diameter blastholes ‘where higher performance is necessary In rotation by fluted rifle bar, the piston has a tubular shape and surrounds the bar by means of a rifle nut. The bar is connected to the static components of the hammer with rachets, Fig. 2.13. The front end of the piston has splines that fit into those of the rotation chuck. ‘This makes the piston, in its return stroke, tum in the same direction asthe drill stel. The rife bars come in different pitches, so that every 30, 0 or 50 strokes a complete tum ‘s obtained. Inrotation by rachet ring, the frontend of the piston has splines that register in the’ chuck bushing, which is in- temally linked with the rachet ring. Also, inthis case, the drill steel only tums during the return stroke of the piston, The second procedure, which is the most widely used, has a separate motor mounted outside the pneumatic of hydraulic hammer. Is advantages are ~ With a piston of the same size the hammer receives ‘more energy, because when the rife-bar is eliminated the working surface area of the piston on which the com pressed air acts is increased. — More power which allows working with larger d ameters and lengths. ~ The percussion and rotation can be adapted to th type of rock to be drilled, = Increased drilling yield ‘This type of drills have cylindrical gearing to transmi the rotation movement to the drilstel, Fig 2.14 ‘The field of application of top hammer pneumatic roc drills is turning more and more to short blastholes wit lengths between 3 and 15 m, blastholes of small diamete: from 50 to 100 mm, hard rocks and areas of difficul access. This is duc to the large consumption of com pressed air, about 2.4 m/min for each centimeter 0 diameter, and tothe great wear on accessories, drill steel sleeves, bits, etc. to the frequency of blows and shape 0 the shock wave transmitted with large diameter pistons. However, pneumatic rock drills still give numerou: advantages: ~ Simplicity, ~ Reliability and low maintenance, ~ Easy repair, = Low capital cost, and ~ Possibility of using the existing compressed ais installations for underground operations. 23.2 Hydraulic rock drills At the end of the sixties and beginning of the seventies, ‘great technological advance took place in rock drilling with the development of hydraulic hammers, ‘A hydraulic drill is composed basically of the same clements asthe pneumatic, Fig. 2.15. ‘The most important difference between both systems is that instead of using compressed air as an energy transmission medium, this has been replaced by a more efficient medium, hydraulic ol, which is pumped around the circuits by gear of piston pumps, driven by a diesel engine or electric powerpack, The following describes the working principle of a hydraulic top hammer drill used in surface driling, Figs. 2:16102.19, Rotary percussive drilling B Fig, 2.1, Operational part for rife-barrotation, AR_INTAKE FOR x ROTATION AND. HAMMER AIR MOTOR REVERSIBLE AIR MOTOR GEARED CHUCK RATCHET BALL STEEL SHANK ADAPTOR Fig. 2.14 Cross-section of preumatic rock dil with independent rotation (Compe Holman), wv lu Drilling and blasting of rocks stock ABSORBER Dawe STEEL ROTATION MOTOR. Fig. 215. Cross-section ofa hydraulic rock il (Aas Copy 1. The piston is shown at the front end of its stroke. ‘The hydraulic oil enters the rock drill through the high Dressure port (1) and flows into the front part of the cylinder (2). It forces the piston backwards and at the same time enters the distributor chamber (3) pushing the dlistributor (4) tothe rear position. Part ofthe oil delivery enters the high pressure accumulator (5) compressing its nitrogen and thus accumulating energy. In this position the oil in the rear part of the cylinder escapes through the Port (6) to the return port (7). The low pressure accu 'mulator (8) functions similarly to prevent shock loads in the return hoses, 2. When the piston has travelled so far thatthe edge (9) hhas covered the ports (6), port (10) will have opened and Pressure acting onthe high pressure side stops the piston Pressure shock caused by the piston is absorbed in the ‘accumulator (5). After this, edge (11) uncovers port (12) and the pressurized oil inthe distributor chamber escapes to the retum line. Before this, edge (13) prevents oil flow 'o the distributor chamber, and the pressure in the front art of the cylinder forces the piston backwards. 3. Asthe pressure in the distributor is reduced, the high pressure prevailing against the rear face ofthe distributor (4) forces it forward, thus covering the escape ports (6). In this position the oil can flow to the rear part of the cylinder through a pressure port (14) between the dist butor and the body. At the same time the oil can flow through port (10) tothe cylinder. 4. The piston moves forward due to the imbalance of forces prevailing in the front and rear parts of the cy- linder: At the same time the HP-accumulator (5) dischar- es oil to the HP line thus increasing the oil flow to the cylinder. Shorly before percussion of the piston, edge (22) allows oil to flow towards the distributor chamber and the imbalance of forces between distributor faces moves the distributor to the rear position, closing the oil supply to the rear part of the cylinder. After the instant of percussion, the return cycle of the piston begins as described before Although in the beginning these drills were mostly used in underground operations, as time went by they began to appear in surface drilling as a complement tothe Fig. 219-The piston moves forward pneumatic drills Rotary percussive drilling 15 “Table 24. Mean characterises of hydraulic op hammer ils Work pressure (MPa) 7525 Innpact power kW) 620 Frequency of blows (blows/in) 2000-5000 Rotnon velocity in 0.500, Maximum fore (Nn) To0- 1800 on ni 0609 “Tle. _ Diameter of he dl sea (rim- Oulput power afte al (OW) ifn ea Barr on Sut" ois serie" is ws" 6s 08.2" ie ‘The characteristics ofthese drillsis shown in Table 2.4, Depending upon the output power of the rock drill, the drill stel size can be chosen. Table 2.5, can be taken as a general guideline, ‘The reasons for which hydraulic driling is technolo sically better than pneumatic are the following Lower energy consumption. Hydraulic drills work with fluids at much higher pressures than the pneuma- tically driven and, also, there is not as much pressure fal Energy produced by hydraulic power is more efficient ‘and costs one-third ofthat obtained with pneumatic dri ling. = Lower drilling accessory casts. Energy transmission in hydraulic rock drills is carried out by means of pistons that are longer and with smaller diameters than those ‘corresponding to pneumatic drills. Drill steel fatigue

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