How to Use Stiff-Foam to Air-Rotary Drill Through Caving Overburden
Transcript of How to Use Stiff-Foam to Air-Rotary Drill Through Caving Overburden
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ToddGiddings, Ph.D.,P.G.ToddGiddings andAssociates,Inc.
How to Use Stiff-Foam to Air-Rotary DrillThrough Caving Overburden
Session DTechnical Aspects
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Learning Objectives• What is profitable geo borehole drilling? • How do you drill with Stiff-Foam?• How do you make Stiff-Foam?• How does Stiff-Foam get you through the
caving overburden?• What are the advantages & disadvantages?• What is the equipment list?• What is the material list?
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Acknowledgements• Pennsylvania Ground Water Association• Baroid Corporation
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Profitable geothermal borehole drilling:• Is production drilling
• Uses a drill rig with special features
• Does NOT re-drill the same caving zone many times
• Salvages and re-uses the temporary steel casing
• Controls the water and cuttings
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This is the third method in a series:
2012Case-as-you-drill
2013Convert to mud
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Where was the demonstration site?
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How do you drill with Stiff-Foam ?• Use a standard air-rotary drill rig
• Use a down-the-hole hammer with a button bit
• Calibrate the flow rate of the water injection pump
• Inject the polymer/water/foaming-agent mix
• Drill with a very reduced air volume and pressure
• Manage the foam-cake by using either or both:
• A de-foaming agent and a garden sprayer
• A BubbleBuster
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ROCK
SOIL6-INCHSTEEL
CASING
SOIL
6-INCH
BORE
HOLE
SOIL
ROCK ROCK
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ROCK
SOIL6-INCHSTEEL
CASING
SOIL
6-INCH
BORE
HOLE
SOIL
ROCK ROCK
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ROCK
SOIL6-INCHSTEEL
CASING
SOIL
6-INCH
BORE
HOLE
SOIL
ROCK ROCK
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ROCK
SOIL SOIL
6-INCH
BORE
HOLE
SOIL
ROCK ROCK
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ROCK
SOIL SOIL
6-INCH
BORE
HOLE
SOIL
ROCK ROCK
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ROCK
SOIL SOIL
6-INCH
BORE
HOLE
SOIL
ROCK ROCK
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How do you make Stiff-Foam?• Fill a 100-gallon mixing tank with potable water
• Adjust the pH and hardness of the potable water
• Add a polymer to the water and mix by recirculating
• Measure the viscosity of the polymer-water mix
• If required, add more polymer and mix and measure
• Transfer the polymer-water mix into a storage tank
• Add the foaming agent to the polymer-water mix
• Blend in the foaming agent by stirring very gently
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Laundry detergent foam while agitating
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The bubbles do not persist in flowing water
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One-half acre of foam-cake while trying to get through the caving overburden.
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With a foam-cake mess like this, how do you even change a rod?
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A Simco Model 2800 HSHT• 4,000 ft-lbs of torque• 12,000 lbs of pullback• Road weight 15,000 lbs
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Ingersoll-Rand Compressorcapacity of 400 cfm @ 200 psi.During the Stiff-Foam drillingwe used only 250 cfm @ 100 psi
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Driving in the temporary casing
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A diverter is recommended
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Filling the 100-gallon mixing tub
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Wetting the pH test strip
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A raw water pH of 7
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Adding Soda Ash to raise the pH
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An adjusted pH of 9.5
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A hardness of <120 ppm
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Adding the QUIK-TROL GOLD ® to the treated water
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Filling the Marsh funnel
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Measuring the viscosity
40 – 60 seconds per quart
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Mixing the polymer by recirculating
Centrifugal Pump
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Transferring the polymer/water mix into the storage tank
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Adding the AQF-2® foaming agent to the polymer/water mix
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Blending by gentle stirring
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Discharging the cuttings and foam into a pit
The polymer/water/foaming-agent injection rate is between 3 and 5 gpm depending on the drilling rate
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Connecting the BubbleBuster
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Collecting the cuttings
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Note the pieces of the silty-clay overburden
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Note how the foam holds the cuttings together
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The BubbblerBuster uses centrifugal force to burst the bubbles inside the cyclone
Spraying the BARA-DEFOAM 500® de-foaming agent
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Drilling 60 feet through the caving overburden
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Adding EZ-Mud® polymer to water in the grout mixer
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Mixing the EZ-Mud® polymer into the water
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Adding BENSEAL® granular bentonite
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Pressure-tremie grouting the 60-foot borehole
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The foam pit was filled in to complete the site restoration
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How does Stiff-Foam get you through the caving overburden?• The air volume and pressure are low
• The low up-hole air velocity does not cause scouring
• The Stiff-Foam bubbles have a very strong skin
• The bubbles increase the viscosity of the air stream
• The bubbles carry the cuttings up the annular space
• A pseudo wall-cake is formed on the borehole wall
• You are “tip-toeing” through the caving overburden
• You are not “blasting” your way through
• This method is the least-certain of the three methods
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• Can be used with any air-rotary drill rig
• Quick to set up and easy to use
• Has a low cost for equipment and materials
What are the disadvantages ?
What are the advantages of Stiff-Foam ?
• Will not work in all types of overburden
• The foam-cake in not easy to control
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The equipment list for Stiff-Foam:• An air-rotary drill rig, and a diverter is recommended
• A down-the-hole hammer and bit
• A compressor
• Two 100-gallon tanks
• A 2-inch centrifugal pump with two hoses
• A mixing funnel
• A Marsh funnel
• A garden sprayer
• A BubbleBuster is optional
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The material list for Stiff-Foam:• Potable water
• pH and hardness test strips
• Soda Ash (Sodium Carbonate – Na2CO3)
• QUIK-TROL GOLD® polymer
• AQF-2® foaming agent
• BARA-DEFOAM® de-foaming agent
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Thank you!