Chang-Heon Song

Rock Fragmentation Assessment of a Drill Bit by Hopkinson Bar Percussion Test

The percussion rate and spacing of the button of drill bit are very important in maximizing the drilling efficiency. Therefore, a series of percussion tests using Hopkinson bar system was carried out to assess the fragmentation performance against the beat rate and spacing of a drill bit. First, single percussion test complemented with numerical simulation was performed to analyze rock fragmentation phenomenon and to describe the fragmentation process. Next, multiple percussion test that repetitively strike the rock sample moving at predetermined rate was carried out to predict drilling efficiency against the button spacing. After the tests, the fragmented volume of the rock was measured by laser scanner and the drilling performance was analyzed using the calculated percussive energy and measured negative volume. Based on the results, the single impact performance of drill bit with 102 mm diameter was predicted.

Optimization of Flow Path of Drill Bit Using CFD Simulation

In this study, a series of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations carried out to evaluate the optimum design model of the internal flow path of drill bit. The Star-CCM+ code was adopted to simulate the multi-phase discharge flow of rock particles and flushing air during a drilling process. The input parameters for the flow simulation of rock particles and air were obtained from the in-situ drilling test results. After the three design factors were determined, the experimental design method (Taguchi method) was utilized to evaluate the optimum value of each factor.