WorldWide Drilling Resource

Focus on IGSHPA “Under the ground, by the sea; the expo for efficiency.” October 15-16, the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGHSPA) 2014 Technical Conference and Expo will be in Baltimore, Maryland. Courses, held at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor, begin October 13. They are: • Accredited Driller Workshop • Accredited Installer Workshop • Certified GeoExchange Designer Course • Building Load Analysis & Pumping Course The IGSHPA event provides you with an opportunity to gain perspective on the ground source industry beyond your local market. It is a diverse learn- ing experience, enabling you to make valuable connections for your geother- mal business. Conference presentations and occurrences allow you to view the industry at national and global levels, so you walk away with a wealth of im- portant knowledge to grow your busi- ness. The trade show expo hours are Wednesday, October 15, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Thursday, October 16, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Baltimore Convention Center. For more information on this com- prehensive conference and expo, visit www.igshpaconference.com A big smile from Rob of ChemGrout ® at IGSHPA’s 2013 event. WWDR photo. Drilling to the Center of the Planet Adapted from Information Provided by SINTEF and The Norwegian University of Science and Technology Ever since Jules Verne’s 1864 novel “A Journey to the Centre of the Earth”, people have dreamed of capturing the heat of planet earth. It exists in huge amounts, is completely renewable, and emits no CO 2 . “What we have done so far is no more than to scratch the surface of the earth,” said SINTEF Research Scientist Alexandre Kane. If geothermal heat is to be competi- tive as a source of energy, the time put into drilling must be kept to a minimum. To capture this heat, dri l l operators need to be able to drill at high speeds. They cannot afford lost time involved if the drill bit is constantly being brought to the surface for replacement. The Nextdrill project is a response to this challenge. Three of its members - SINTEF, Sandvik, and H.C. Starck - are collaborating on the development of materials for a drill bit with a long work- ing life. Another participant is the Norwegian technology company Resonator, which is in the process of developing an elec- tric percussion rotary drill, a tool that crushes rock by dealing it hammer-like blows as the drill bit turns. Electrical operation offers the possibility of energy- efficient drilling systems with remote control. This year, the Nextdrill project will carry out its first small-scale drilling trials in Norway. A specially designed version of Resonator’s percussion rotary drill will tackle hard rock. It will be fitted with commercially available drill bits and bits made of the highly wear-resistant materials developed by the project. These trials have two main purpos- es. They will provide new knowledge about how wear occurs on drill bits when rock is crushed using an electric percus- sion rotary drill. The tests will also show how the number of impacts per unit time affects the speed of drilling. “Although we will not be drilling very deep during these tests, we do expect to gather important data for the next stages of our efforts to develop highly durable materials,” said Kane. The geothermal energy SINTEF’s project manager wants to capture is derived from two sources lying far be- neath our feet. About one third of it is heat stored in the earth’s molten core since our planet was formed. The other two-thirds have their origin in the decay of radioactive isotopes in the earth’s crust. This process releases heat, which means the temperature gets hotter and hotter the further we drill into the interior of the planet. Two types of wells need to be drilled to exploit this heat; one to pump cold water down, and the other to bring hot water up. The drill bit performing this job must be able to crush hard rock types such as granite. The main aim of the Nextdrill project is to identify a combination of hard-wearing, durable materials and technical solutions which can get the job done. The drill bit needs to be able to with- stand a high level of friction, in addition to enormous amounts of mechanical abuse resulting from high-frequency hammer impacts. “Laboratory trials and virtual experi- ments performed by computer models have taught us a great deal about drilling through granite, and have enabled us to develop models that we use to find the optimal form and composition of the drill bit. The drilling trials [in Norway] will give us measurements that will let us further improve the computer model,” said Kane. 42 SEPTEMBER 2014 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® 3#-0 $ 0!5&-0$14)**% *-5#%,2%0 *--. .3+. +-$3*%1 !0% !4!)* !"*% &-0 "-2( 0%1)$%,2)!* !,$ #-++%0#)!* '0-3,$ *--. (%!2),' !,$ #--*),' 1712%+1 -+.!2)"*% 5)2( 2(%1% .3+.1 03,$&-1 )*- *-5#%,2%01 #!, "% #-, &)'30%$ 5)2( -0 .3+. 3,)21 2- +!2#( $)&&%0%,2 *-!$ 0%/3)0%+%,21 0-$3#21 ),#*3$% *-5#%,2%01 %-2(%0+!* *-1%$ --. )22),'1 %.*!#%+%,2 3+.1 -1% )21 !,$ ##%11-0)%1 !0)!"*% .%%$ 3+.1 (-,% !6