Directional Sonic Drilling

TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION:
Where: In Situ
Media: any geologic formation
Targeted Contaminants: wide range of VOC's, radiological materials, heavy
metals, other chemicals.

This technology aims to provide rapid, cost-effective slant hole drilling
and borehole emplacement for access to, and characterization/monitoring of
regions within, under, and adjacent to known or suspected chemical or mixed
waste repositories.

Resonant sonic drilling yields continuous, relatively undisturbed cores;
eliminates the downhole introduction of air, water, mud, or other drilling
fluids; affords high penetration rates (up to one foot per second); is
adaptable to any slant angle from vertical to horizontal) and virtually any
type of geologic formation; and, most importantly, typically produces no
cuttings (secondary waste stream) from the drilling process.

Resonant sonic drilling technology has existed for over 30 years,
originating most notably from the work of the inventor, A. G. Bodine. This
technology has already been successfully applied to continuous coring,
monitor well construction, and horizontal drilling activities.

Components-
Slant hole boring is required by the Mixed Waste Landfill ID for access to,
and characterization or monitoring demonstrations at, contaminated or
potentially contaminated regions (e.g., the vadose zone) under, and
adjacent, landfill regions.

Resonant sonic drilling systems are commercially available from Water
Development Corporation.

Procedures/Reliability-
Resonant sonic drilling employs an inertially activated drill head which
generates high-frequency sinusoidal vibrations in a drill string to produce
a resultant cutting action at the bit face. This cutting action forces a
continuous core of the formation into the drill string. Due to the large
forces developed by the resonance head and the uniform outer diameter of
the drill string, excess formation material removed by the cutting face of
the bit is forced back into the borehole wall, eliminating the production
of cuttings during the drilling process. Boreholes featuring different
depths and dimensions can be drilled with various sizes and types of
tooling.

Borehole plans (e.g. location, slant angle, diameter, and depth);
assessments of geologic formations to be encountered; selection of
appropriate drill head, drill string, and cutting head elements; site
preparation and hardware set-up; appropriate casing materials; technique
for core sample recovery and handling; safe operational procedures;
environmental protection measures.

Cost effective, angled boreholes beneath or near potential contamination
sources (e.g. landfills, storage tanks, and laboratory/processing
facilities).

The intense, cyclic mechanical loads associated with sonic drilling systems
have led to destructive failure of certain system elements. Additionally,
drilling performance is highly dependent on operator expertise. Heat
generated downhole by sonic drilling may also be problematic for certain
applications (e.g. bioremediation or monitoring of VOCs).

Secondary waste stream is virtually eliminated by sonic drilling process;
core samples are responsibility of monitoring group/agency.

As appropriate for contaminants entrained in the minimal waste stream, if
any.

Decontamination necessary for hardware (e.g., drill head and string)
retrieved from contaminated borehole, and for any contaminated vapors
emanating from borehole.

According to appropriate regulations and site protocol.

Mechanical failure of system elements to be minimized by redesign
activities.

Typically, about ten percent of the time must be spent on maintenance, or
about four hours a week.

Current mechanical failure rates should decrease (i.e., improve) with
emerging analysis and redesign of components.

General Applications and Limitations-


Support/Infrastructure Requirements-
Technical staff and instrumentation facilities to diagnose system and
component failures and guide design modifications.

Program Integration Issues and Compatibility with Other Technologies-
Determination of the mechanical response characteristics of a sonic
drilling systems an the associated loads experienced by system elements is
needed, followed by (1) development of feedback control methods for
optimization of system performance, and (2) hardware design changes leading
to improved component and system reliability.

Applicable to a wide range of geologies and borehole requirements.

No known incompatibilities.

Operator Staffing/Skill/Training/Physical Requirements-
To be improved by development of feedback control methods for optimization
of sonic drilling performance.

As appropriate for typical drilling process, with special provisions for
high noise levels and site-specific contamination issues.

ACCEPTABILITY:
Redesign and/or field replacement of affected components. The only impact
to failures is system stoppage.

A typical failure involves the drill pipe breaking, in which case it only
need be fished out and replaced.

Environmental and Aesthetic Impacts-
Minimized or eliminated by absence of secondary waste stream.

Temporary visual and audible disruptions during time frame of setup,
drilling, and cleanup activities. Noise level probably slightly higher than
the baseline.

Natural Resource Usage-
No anticipated impact.

Approximately 50 gallons a day of diesel fuel.

Land Use Impacts-

Other Socioeconomic Impacts-
Sandia has a good reputation in sonic drilling, and other DOE agencies are
aware that it is performing this work.

Sandia is perceived as accomplishing new milestones, for instance by its
drilling the first ever sonic slant hole at the Chemical Waste Landfill at
Sandia.

Sonic drilling has existed for over 30 years and should be easily
comprehensible to anyone acquainted with well-drilling procedures.

Employment opportunities for personnel to fabricate, maintain, and operate
drilling equipment; logistical support of drilling crews by local
businesses.

Roughly several hundred man-hours per borehole.

STATUS:

Maturity-

Future Development-

Previous Applications (refs.)-

Patents-
Resonant drilling technology U. S. patents, most notably those of the
inventor (A. G. Bodine), are held by Water Development Corporation.

None known.

D. S. Drumheller, Analog Circuit for Controlling Acoustic Transducer
Arrays", U. S. Patent No. 5,056,067.

D.S. Drumheller, "Acoustical Telemetry in a Drill String Using Inverse
Distortion an Echo Suppression," U.S. Patent No. 5,128,901.

Industrial Partnerships-
Water Development Corporation

Water Development Corporation operates ten of the eleven known U.S.-based
sonic drill heads and rigs.

Nondisclosure agreement between Sandia National Laboratories and Water
Development Corporation. Currently working to get a CRADA.

None known.

Several Canadian firms are active in the sonic drilling area.

COMPETING TECHNOLOGIES:
Cable Tool Drilling (Cable Tool)

EFFECTIVENESS:
Not relevant for a drilling technology which only provides access for
characterization, monitoring, and/or remediation.

COST:


Start-up-
Probably around $500 K for the rig (this is only a guesstimate). Dependent
on pricing set by manufacture (Water Development Corporation).

O&M-
Expected lower overall project costs compared to baseline technology.

Decommissioning-
Dependent on frequency and intensity of drilling application

Regulatory Oversight-
Sonic drilling aids in the achievement of cleanup milestones by providing a
means through which characterization activities can be done.

The total number of U.S.-based sonic rigs (about 11) may be insufficient
for meeting nationwide cleanup commitments.

Existing infrastructure should be sufficient to verify personnel
qualifications and site plans for drilling in contaminated areas.

There are currently no sonic drilling-specific regulations that require
anything more than standard drilling permits.

No anticipated problems meeting regulatory compliance.

RATE/SCHEDULE:
This technology is currently available, with process improvements (e.g.,
feedback control and hardware redesign) expected within 2-3 years.

Penetration rates are geology dependent; rates as high as one foot per
second have been observed.

It takes about two days to drill a single borehole.

However, this is heavily dependent upon the parameters of the drill:
whether or not the hole will be cased, whether it is vertical or
horizontal, the desired size of the hole, depth and soil type.

SAFETY (worker exposure, safety impacts, etc.):
Hazards generally comparable to conventional drilling methods, with special
provisions anticipated for high noise levels and site-specific
contamination issues.

Worksite monitoring and personal protective equipment (PPE) required, as
appropriate, for mechanical, noise, and potential contaminant exposure
hazards.

Standard construction requirements.

Typically 3-5 people operate drilling equipment.

Standard risks associated with the use of heavy equipment and hydraulics.

Prevented by establishment of authorized/limited-access exclusion zones to
be maintained during setup and drilling process.

Risk levels typical of those associated with any mobile, truck-mounted
heavy equipment.

REFERENCES:
D. S. Drumheller, "Acoustical Properties of Drill Strings", J. Acoustical
Society of America, 85, 1989, 1048-1064.

D. S. Drumheller, "Extensional Stress Waves in One-Dimensional Elastic
Waveguides", J. Acoustical Society of America, 92, 1992, 3389-3402.

Stearns, S.D. and R.A. David, Signal Processing Algorithms, Prentice Hall,
1988.

Wise, Jack L. "Development of Extended Dynamic Pressure-Shear Testing
Methods," D.E. Grady and J.L. Wise, Dynamic Properties of Ceramic
Materials, SNL Report SAND930610, 1993 (in press).

CONTACTS AND ADDRESSES:
Department 6111 and 9333
Jack L. Wise, 505-844-6359, Fax: 505-844-3952; Jerry W. Mercer,
505-845-7564, Fax: 505-845-7602

Developers: Water Development Corporation & Sandia National Laboratories

REPORTER:
Andrew L. Thomas, Project Geologist
Golder Associates Inc.
4104 148th Ave NE
Redmond, WA  97552  USA
Tel 206-883-0777, Fax 206-882-5498
Processed from ProTech on 8/4/94 at 15:33


VALIDATION:
Technology information obtained from: ProTech v3.0, The Prospective Tech-
nology Communication System [database on diskette], 1994, U.S. Department of
Energy, Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management.
Publically available from the National Technical Information Service,
U.S. Department of Commerce, 5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield, VA 22161.

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views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or
reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. 


No additional validation has been performed on the technology
data or description

Last Modified: Tuesday, March 25 1997 11:38