When your project involves sinking a borehole to the ground, there are a number of available drill mechanisms. Every single one of them comes with its own set of pros and cons with respect to the drill depth that it can drill in, the involved costs, type of returned samples, and achieved penetration rates.

Drill systems come in two basic types, one would be drilling methods that are producing rock chips, and the second type would be drills that are producing core samples.  Below are the different kinds of drilling methods today. 

1. Auger drilling

 

Auger drilling techniques involves the use of a helical screw. 

You will need to drive this screw down to the ground by virtue of rotation, consequently rendering the screw blade to bring to the surface the borehole ground. 

A hollow auger drilling stem is normally used only when working on softer grounds, ideally swamps. The hole here is not likely to stay open on its own for geotechnical drilling, geochemistry reconnaissance work, soil engineering, or environmental drilling to explore viable sites for mineral deposits exploration. 

Solid flight or bucket augers are normally utilized in much harder ground drilling construction works. In some cases, mine shafts could be dug alongside auger drills. As for the small type augers, you can mount them at the back of your utility truck 

 2. Direct Push Rigs

Direct push is a technology that includes several kinds of drilling equipment and drilling rigs. These two are used to advance a drill string by hammering or pushing without the need to rotate the drill string. While it is not likely going to fall within the proper definition of drilling, in the end, it is giving us the same result – the creation of a borehole. 

Direct push rigs consist of direct push sampling rigs and cone penetration testing (CPT) rigs. These types of rigs are usually confined to performing drilling activity in what can be best described as unconsolidated soil materials as well as very soft rock.  

3.  Diamond Core Drilling

Diamond core drilling, otherwise known to others as exploration diamond drilling, is utilizing an annular diamond drill bit. This is usually connected to hollow drills rods’ ends enabling it to cut a cylindrical solid rock core. 

This kind of drilling techniques is utilizing microfine diamonds, classified as an industrial-grade which are set in a matrix of different levels of hardness, from high-grade steel to brass. Diamond size, matrix hardness, and dosing — all these can vary with respect to the rock that is subject for cutting. 

There would be holes within the bit itself, and they minted to allow the delivery of water to the cutting face. By having this, 3 essential functions are carried out — cooling, lubrication, and elimination of drill cuttings from the hole.  

4. Cable Tool Drilling

When it comes to making a water well, the traditional way to do it is to make use of cable tool rigs. If it weren’t for this type of drilling method, the vast majority of water supply wells would not have been completed. 

Even though this drilling method has been supplanted within the past decade by several faster, more pioneering drilling systems, it has remained all these years as among the most practicable methods of drilling for deep bedrock wells. The drill bit impact fractures the rock itself and increases the flow of water in many shale rock formations into a well over rotary.