WorldWide Drilling Resource

41 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® AUGUST 2018 In Memoriam Thomas Benedict “Tom” Sturges, III (1944~2018) The National Drilling Association was saddened by the loss of long-time member Thomas Benedict “Tom” Sturges, III , from complications of a brain tumor. Tom grew up in Whitehall, Pennsylvania. He attended Kiski School and graduated from Bucknell University with a civil engineering degree. After working for Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, he moved back to Pittsburgh to join Pennsylvania Drilling Company, which specialized in ex- ploratory and environmental drilling. Tom eventually became chairman, expanded PennDrill Manufacturing, and added another manufacturing facility in Winchester, Virginia. He was active in both Kiski and Bucknell throughout his life, was deeply involved in nonprofit boards of The Early Learning Institute and Conservation Consultants, as well as being a member and leader of several professional organizations. He loved sailing, his little red sports car, and chocolate. His greatest passion was for people. He was always open to meeting someone new and would call them friend before too long. Tom is survived by his wife Barbara; children Melissa (Ken) and Caleb (Marci); grandchildren August and Brooke; a large extended family; and friends, neighbors, and colleagues who appreciated his kindness, generosity, and sense of humor. The management and staff of WWDR extend their condolences to Tom’s family, friends, and colleagues. Lest we forget... Boring Thoughts by Todd Tannehill Owner, Mud & More, LLC Grouting with Diet Coke ® Diet Coke ® has low to no solids content, will not setup, and fluid loss is going to be an issue if you grout with it. What it has in common with grout is that it is liquid. It takes as much Diet Coke as it does grout to fill a specified space. If I have a 5-inch-diameter drinking glass by 1 foot tall, it will take 1.02 gallons of Diet Coke or 1.02 gallons of grout to fill the glass. While my 5-inch by 1-foot glass is ridiculous (I did have an enormous gas station drink once which seemed close), the point is the volume to fill it is the same. It does not matter the thickness or the type of liquid; all are equal. To figure the amount of grout needed to fill a borehole, you start with the re- quired gallons per linear foot. Using the table on this page, I know my 6-inch-di- ameter borehole with a 1-inch geothermal loop will take 1.31 gallons of grout per linear foot. If my borehole is 460 feet deep, I will multiply 460 feet by the 1.31 gal- lons per foot and get 602.6 total gallons to fill the borehole. To find out how much product is needed on-site, check the Technical Data Sheet (TDS) of your favorite grouting product and see what each batch will yield. One TDS for a 1.2 thermal conductivity (TC) value, using graphite, yields 18.652 gallons of grout per batch. A batch is (1) 50-pound bag of geothermal type grout and (1) bag of graphite. I will take my 602.6 gallons of grout needed and divide it by 18.652 gallons of grout per batch. The total is the number of batches needed to grout the borehole, or in this case 32.3 batches. Every manufacturer of grout is going to have different numbers. Some will use multiple bags and others only a single bag to make a batch. Some brands will adjust water depending on desired TC value, but it does not matter - the math is the same. While their gallons per batch yields will change, the gallons required to fill the hole do not. X brand, Y brand, or Diet Coke - stay focused on yield per batch and do not assume all manufacturers’ recipes are the same. They are not. A last word on “padding the numbers.” In this case, “padding” refers to adding additional material. Different online calcu- lators and references will show different numbers when calculating product need. This is expected, as every good mud engineer will factor in a percentage for unknown voids which may be encountered. Starting with 10%, and up to 20% is very common when figuring a grouting job. It is better to have more product than needed when you are working miles from a supply house or your shop. Knowing most programs’ pad will keep you from then padding more on your end. Todd Todd Tannehill may be contacted via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com GEO