DRILLING AND BLASTING TECHNOLOGY

Lecture No: 6 – ROCK PROPERTIES & TESTING_1

KAUSHIK DEY
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
IIT KHARAGPUR

1
ROCK PROPERTIES AFFECTING DRILLING
• The principal physical properties that have influence upon penetration
mechanisms and, as a consequence, on choice of the drilling method are:
• Strength
• Hardness
• Elasticity
• Plasticity
• Abrasiveness
• Texture
• Structure
• Characteristics of breakage.

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 2
 Strength
• Mechanical strength of a rock is the property of opposing destruction by an
external force, either static or dynamic.
• The rocks give maximum resistance to compression, normally, as the tensile
strength is not more than 10 or 15% of the compressive strength. This is due to
the fragility of rocks, to the large quantity of local defects and irregularities
that exist and to the small cohesion between the particles of which they are
constituted.
• The rock strength fundamentally depends on its mineralogical composition.
Among the integrating minerals, quartz is the most solid with a strength that
goes over 500 MPa, while that of the ferromagnesian silicates and the
aluminosilicates vary between 200 and 500 MPa, and that of calcite from 10 to
20 MPa. Therefore, the higher the quartz content, the more the strength
increases.
Dr. Kaushik Dey
Department of Mining Engineering 3
 Strength Test Procedure
• Rock under:
 Compression
 Tension
 Shear

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Department of Mining Engineering 4
 Strength Test Procedure
• Compression:
• Point Load Test
• Uniaxial Compression Test
• Triaxial Compression Test

Point Load Test UCS Triaxial

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Department of Mining Engineering 5
 Strength Test Procedure
• Point load test:
• The point load index is used to evaluate the uniaxial compressive strength
(Fu).
• Rock specimens in the form of core (diametral and axial), cut blocks or
irregular lumps are broken by application of concentrated load through a
pair of spherically truncated, conical platens. The distance between
specimen-platen contact points is recorded. The load is steadily increased,
and the failure load is recorded.

• Point Load Index: Is = P/(de) 2 where de = equivalent core diameter

equivalent core diameter

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Department of Mining Engineering 6
 Strength Test Procedure
• Uniaxial Compression Test:

• The uniaxial compression test is most direct means of determining rock

strength.

• In this test, cylindrical rock specimens are tested in compression without

lateral confinement. The test specimen should be a rock cylinder of
length-to-width ratio (H/D) in the range of 2 to 2.5 with flat, smooth, and
parallel ends cut perpendicular to the cylinder axis.

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Department of Mining Engineering 7
 Strength Test Procedure
• Uniaxial Compression Test:

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Department of Mining Engineering 8
• Tensile test:
 Brazilian Tensile Test
• To evaluate the (indirect) tensile shear of intact rock core.
• Core specimens with length-to-diameter ratios (L/D) of between 2 to
2.5 are placed in a compression loading machine with the load
platens situated diametrically across the specimen. The maximum
load (P) to fracture the specimen is recorded and used to calculate
the split tensile strength.

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Department of Mining Engineering 9
• Shear test:
Direct Shear Test
• To determine the shear strength
characteristics of rock along a plane of
weakness.
• The specimen is placed in the lower
half of the shear box and encapsulated
in either synthetic resin or mortar.
• The specimen must be positioned so
that the line of action of the shear
force lies in the plane of the
discontinuity to be investigated, and
the normal force acts perpendicular to
this surface.

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Department of Mining Engineering 10
• Shear test:
Direct Shear Test
• Once the encapsulating material has hardened, the specimen is mounted in the
upper half of the shear box in the same manner. A strip approximately 5 mm
wide above and below the shear surface must be kept free of encapsulating
material. The test is then carried out by applying a horizontal shear force T under
a constant normal load, N.

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 11
DRILLING AND BLASTING TECHNOLOGY
Lecture No: 7 – ROCK PROPERTIES & TESTING_2

KAUSHIK DEY
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
IIT KHARAGPUR

12
 Hardness
• Hardness is considered to be the resistance of a surface layer to be
penetrated by another body of harder consistency.

• In rock, it is a function of the hardness and composition of its mineral

grains, the porosity, degree of humidity, etc.

• The hardness of rocks is the principal type of resistance that must be

overcome during drilling, because once the bit has penetrated, the
rest of the operation is easier.
• Mohs' Scale of Hardness (1882): Mineral can scratch anything that has
a lower or equal number to it, numbering from 1 to 10.

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Department of Mining Engineering 13
 Hardness Test Procedure
• Rebound devices: a group of devices that use a spring-loaded
mechanism to measure rebound of a metal object against a rock face.
• Schmidt Hammer
• Equotip
• Piccolo

Schmidt Hammer
Equotip

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Department of Mining Engineering 14
 Hardness Test Procedure
• Drilling resistance: Resistance drilling is a method frequently used to
asses for example the condition of a building stone or wall.

Resistance drilling in action

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Department of Mining Engineering 15
 Hardness Test Procedure
• Rockwell scale: It is a hardness scale based on indentation hardness of a
material. The Rockwell test determines the hardness by measuring the depth
of penetration of an indenter under a large load compared to the penetration
made by a preload.

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Department of Mining Engineering 16
 Elasticity
• The majority of rock minerals have an
elastic-fragile behavior, which obeys the
Law of Hooke, and are destroyed when the
strains exceed the limit of elasticity.
• The elastic properties of rocks are
characterized by the elasticity module 'E'
and the Poisson coefficient 'ν'.

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Department of Mining Engineering 17
 Plasticity
• This begins when the stresses exceed the limit of elasticity.
• The plasticity depends upon the mineral composition of the rocks and
diminishes with an increase in quartz content, feldspar and other hard
minerals. The humid clays and some homogeneous rocks have plastic
properties.
 Abrasiveness
• Abrasiveness is the capacity of the rocks to wear away the contact
surface of another body that is harder, in the rubbing or abrasive
process during movement.

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Department of Mining Engineering 18
 Abrasivity Test Procedure
Cerchar Abrasivity Test:
• The Cerchar Abrasivity Test has been introduced in the 70s by the Centre
d’Etudes et Recherches des Charbonages (CERCHAR) de France for abrasivity
testing in coal bearing rocks.

• The testing principle is based on a steel pin with defined geometry and
hardness that is scratches the surface of a rough rock sample over a
distance of 10 mm under static load of 70 N.

• The Cerchar Abrasivity-Index (CAI) is then calculated from the measured

diameter of the resulting wear flat on the pin.

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Department of Mining Engineering 19
 Abrasivity Test Procedure
Cerchar Abrasivity Test:

Where,
CAI = Cerchar-Abrasivity-Index (-);
d = diameter of wear flat (mm); Sketch of the steel pin with rectangular
c = unit correction factor (c=1mm) shape before the test (left) and after the test
(right) with the wear flat d.

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Department of Mining Engineering 20
 Abrasivity Test Procedure
Cerchar Abrasivity Test:

1 – weight
2 – pin chuck
3 – steel pin
4 – sample
5 – vice
6 – hand lever

Setup of a modified Cerchar testing device according

to Cerchar (1986)

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Department of Mining Engineering 21
 Texture
• The texture of a rock refers to the structure of the grains of minerals that
constitute it. The size of the grains are an indication, as well as their shape,
porosity etc. All these aspects have significate influence on drilling
performance.

 Structure
• The structural properties of the rock masses, such as schistosity, bedding
planes, joints, diabases and faults, as well as their dip and strike affect the
allignment of the blastholes, the drilling performance and the stability of the
blasthole walls.

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Department of Mining Engineering 22
  Ultrasonic testing
• Determine compression (P-wave) and shear (S shear (S -wave) velocities of rock core
wave) velocities of rock core.
• Nondestructive measurements.
• Fast and inexpensive.
• Evaluation of small-strain elastic
stiffness (strains < 10-6 mm/mm).

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Department of Mining Engineering 23
 DRILLING AND BLASTING TECHNOLOGY
Lecture No: 8 – MECHANISM OF ROCK BREAKAGE BY DRILLING

KAUSHIK DEY
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
IIT KHARAGPUR

24
DRILLING METHODS
 The system of Rock Drilling
• Mechanical : Percussion, rotary, rotary-percussion
• Thermal : Flame, plasma, hot fluid, Freezing
• Hydraulic : Jet, erosion, cavitation
• Seismic : High frequency vibration
• Chemical : microblast, dissolution
• Electrical : Electric arc, magnetic induction
• Laser
• Nuclear : Fusion, fission
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Department of Mining Engineering 25
 Mechanical Operation
• Even though there is an enormous variety of possible rock drilling systems, in
mining and civil engineering drilling is presently carried out, almost exclusively, by
mechanical energy.

• The application of Mechanical energy to rock can be performed basically in only

two ways: by percussive or rotary action. Combining the two results in a hybrid
method termed rotary-percussive.

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Department of Mining Engineering 26
THE THEORY OF PENETRATION
• Drilling involves disintegration of the rockmass at the bit-rock interface under
the action of different cutting forces. However, the effectiveness of drilling, in
other words the rate of penetration of the bit, is certainly dependent on the
mode of energy transfer at the bit-rock interface.

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Department of Mining Engineering 27
THE THEORY OF PENETRATION
 There are three main functional components of any drilling
system.
Drill The source of energy

Drill steel The transmitter of energy

Bit The applicator

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Department of Mining Engineering 28
THE THEORY OF PENETRATION
 One additional component
• The circulation fluid : which cleans the hole, control the dust, cools the
bit and at the time may be used to stabilize the
wall of the hole.

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Department of Mining Engineering 29
THE THEORY OF PENETRATION
The transmission of energy
The three components are related to the utilization of energy by the
system in attacking rock in the following manner:

 Drill
• The drill is the prime mover.
• It converts energy from its original form (hydraulic fluid, pneumatic,
electrical or combustion engine drive) into mechanical energy to actuate
the system.

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Department of Mining Engineering 30
THE THEORY OF PENETRATION
The transmission of energy
 The drill steel
• The drill steel transmits energy from the prime mover or source to the
bit or applicator.

 The bit
• The bit is the applier of energy in the system, attacking rock
mechanically to achieve penetration.

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Department of Mining Engineering 31
FACTORS INFLUENCING DRILLING
• Bit types and their geometry

• Applied thrust and rotational speed Controllable drilling

parameters
• Flushing media and flushing rate

• Rock properties Uncontrollable

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Department of Mining Engineering 32
PERFORMANCE OF THE DRILLING
• Drillability of rocks :
• The real, or projected rate of penetration in a given rock type.

• The drillability index :

• A relative indication of this property (drillability) for different
drilling systems such as rotary, percussive or rotary-percussive.

• It is a convenient parameter and serves as a guide in selecting a

suitable drilling technique, rotary drilling or percussive drilling,
to yield optimum drilling technique.

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Department of Mining Engineering 33
PERFORMANCE OF THE DRILLING
• It also helps in setting up norms for drilling operations and in
estimating the cost of rock excavation work.

• It further assists in estimating the average life expectancies of

tungsten carbide bits and tipped steels.

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Department of Mining Engineering 34
MECHANISM OF ROCK BREAKAGE
Theory of Mechanical method of rock breakage
• The general types of rock breakage during drilling by mechanical method,
including percussion drilling, rotary drilling, and rotary-percussion drilling, are
three kinds of basic mechanism: percussion-penetration, pressured roller, and
cut.

• During the process of drilling the tool (percussive drilling bit, roller-disk and
studded roller-disk cutter, rotary tricone bit, or drag tools), the first action is
push(or percussion), the tool penetrates into (indentation) and breaks (by Fp)
the rock surface, then expands the breakage by continual percussion together
with rotation of the bit, or pressured-rolling by thrust force (Fp) and torque (M)
or continual cut by push force (Fr) under the thrust force (Fp).

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Department of Mining Engineering 35
MECHANISM OF ROCK BREAKAGE
Theory of Mechanical method of rock breakage
• The tool penetrates and breaks the rock surface by a static (thrust) force or
impact (percussion) force; this is the basic process of the rock breakage by
mechanical method.

(a) Percussive, (b) Pressured roller, (c) Cut

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Department of Mining Engineering 36
MECHANISM OF ROCK BREAKAGE
 The phases of tool penetration
• The process of tool penetrating the rock surface can be divided into four phases
as follows.
• Crushed zone:
• As the tool tip begins to
dent the rock surface,
stress grows with the
increasing load and the
material is elastically
deformed zone III in Fig.

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Department of Mining Engineering 37
MECHANISM OF ROCK BREAKAGE
 The phases of tool penetration
• Crushed zone:
At the contact surface, irregularities are immediately formed and a zone of
crushed rock powder core develops beneath the indenter (the bottom or
insert of the tool). The crushed core comprises numerous microcracks that
pulverize the rock into powder of extremely small particles. About 70–85 %
of the indenter’s work is consumed by the formation of the crushed zone.
The crushed core transmits the main force component into the rock.

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Department of Mining Engineering 38
MECHANISM OF ROCK BREAKAGE
 The phases of tool penetration
• Crack formation:
As the process continues, dominant cracks
begin to form in the rock, phase (a) in Fig.
This initial stage of restricted growth is
described as an energy barrier to full
propagation. The placement of major cracks
depends on the indenter shape. Generally,
the dominant placement of major cracks with
blunt indenters, such as a sphere, is located
just outside the contact area, pointing down
and away from the surface.

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Department of Mining Engineering 39
MECHANISM OF ROCK BREAKAGE
 The phases of tool penetration
• Crack propagation:
After the energy barrier has been overcome, spontaneous and rapid
propagation follows. At a lower depth than the contact dimension, the
tensile driving force falls below that necessary to maintain growth, thus
the crack again becomes stable. The crack is then said to be “well
developed.”

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Department of Mining Engineering 40
MECHANISM OF ROCK BREAKAGE
 The phases of tool penetration
• Chipping:
When the load reaches a sufficient
level, the rock breaks and one or
more large chips are formed by
lateral cracks propagating from
beneath the tip of the indenter to
the surface. This process is called
surface chipping, phase (b) in Fig.
Each time a chip is formed, the force
temporarily drops and must be built
up to a new, higher level to achieve
chipping.

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Department of Mining Engineering 41
MECHANISM OF ROCK BREAKAGE
 The leapfrogging process of the indenter as it penetrates the rock
surface

Fig: Load (Fp)—Penetration (h) profiles of various rocks (Courtesy of Coal Industry Press,
China).

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Department of Mining Engineering 42
MECHANISM OF ROCK BREAKAGE
 Facts drawn from the loading-penetration process
Fact 1
• From Figure, it shows that the load–penetration curves for each sub
rising sections have substantially the same slope. That means the
increase in penetration depth is nearly a constant when unit load is
increased.
• The dropping sections of the curves are in relation to the stiffness of the
loading mechanics; it is not fully dependent on the rocks being dented.

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Department of Mining Engineering 43
MECHANISM OF ROCK BREAKAGE
 Facts drawn from the loading-penetration process
Fact 2
• The bottom angle of the crater
(called “natural breaking angle”)
formed by crushing and chipping
are almost always within a range
about 120°– 150°.

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Department of Mining Engineering 44
MECHANISM OF ROCK BREAKAGE
 The natural breaking angle of some rocks
Rock ϕ
Soft shale 116
Clay shale 128
Dense limestone 116
Soft sandstone 130
Hard sandstone 144
Coursed-grained marble 130
Basalt 146
Diabase 126
Fine-grained granite 140
Hard quartzite 150

Natural breakage angles (ϕ) of some rocks (courtesy of coal industry press)

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Department of Mining Engineering 45
DRILLING AND BLASTING TECHNOLOGY
Lecture No: 9 – DRILLABILITY OF ROCK

KAUSHIK DEY
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
IIT KHARAGPUR

46
DRILLABILITY
• Drillability is the resistance of rock to penetration by a drilling technique,
and it is a term used to describe the influence of numbers of parameters
on the drilling rate (drilling velocity) and the tools wear of the drilling
machine. Penetration of rocks is influenced by rock properties as well as
machine parameters.

• In 1927, B.F. Tillson introduced the concept of “rock drillability,” researchers

in many countries carried out lots of work on the rock drillability and its
classification.

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Department of Mining Engineering 47
The purpose of studying the drillability of rock is for:
• Choosing a suitable drilling method, equipment, and technology to achieve best
results on project progress and economy;

• Estimation of the drilling rate and working life of the drilling tools to offer the basic
data of project planning;

• Offering reliable data of rock performance for design and improvement of drilling
machines.

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Department of Mining Engineering 48
CLASSIFICATION OF ROCK DRILLABILITY
NTNU/SINTEF Method
• SINTEF Rock and Soil Mechanics and NTNU Department of Geology have
developed a test procedure for evaluating rock drillability. The method includes
indices as:
 Drilling rate index (DRI)

 Bit wear index (BWI)

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Department of Mining Engineering 49
 Drilling rate index (DRI)
• The DRI is assessed on the basis of two laboratory tests:
 The brittleness value (S20) test
 The Sievers’ J value (Sj) miniature drill test.

• The brittleness value (S20) test:

 The brittleness value S20 is an indirect measure of rock resistance to crack
growth and crush. S20 is determined by the Swedish Stamp Test.
 The crushed and sieved aggregate, sizes ranging 16.0–11.2 mm, is placed in a
mortar and then struck 20 times with a 14-kg hammer. The mortar aggregate
volume corresponds to that of a 0.5-kg aggregate with a density of 2.65
tons/m3.

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Department of Mining Engineering 50
 Drilling rate index (DRI)
• The brittleness value (S20) test:

 S20 equals the percentage of

undersized material that
passes through 11.2-mm
mesh after droptest. S20 is
presented as a mean value of
three or four parallel tests.

Fig. 2.5 Outline of the brittleness value by

stamp test
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Department of Mining Engineering 51
 Drilling rate index (DRI)

• The Sievers’ J value (Sj) miniature drill test :

 The Sj miniature drill test is also an indirect measure
of rock resistance to tool indentation (surface
hardness).

Fig. Sievers’ miniature drill test

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Department of Mining Engineering 52
 Drilling rate index (DRI)
• The Sievers’ J value (Sj) miniature drill test :
 The hole depth in the rock sample is measured after 200 revolutions in 1/10
mm.
 A mean value of four to eight test holes is used.
 The orientation of the rock specimen can affect test results.
 Therefore, the Sj value is always measured for holes parallel to rock foliation.
In coarse-grained rocks, care must be taken to ensure that a representative
number of holes are drilled in the different mineral grain types.

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Department of Mining Engineering 53
 Drilling rate index (DRI)
• The DRI is determined by the diagram.
• The DRI can also be seen as the
brittleness value corrected for its Sj value.

Diagram used to determine DRI

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Department of Mining Engineering 54
 Drilling rate index (DRI)
• A qualitative DRT drillability rating is
shown in Table
Rating DRI
Extremely low 21
Very low 28
Low 37
Medium 49
High 65
Very high 86
Extremely high 114
Qualitative DRI drillability

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Department of Mining Engineering 55
 Bit wear index (BWI)
• The BWI is assessed on the basis of two laboratory tests.
 The abrasion value (AV) test.
 Abrasion value cutter steel (AVS) test

• The abrasion value (AV) test

 The AV test constitutes a measure of the rock abrasion or ability to
induce wear on tungsten carbide. The development of the AVS test was
based on the AV test method. The same test equipment as for the AV
measures the AVS, but the latter uses a test piece of steel taking from a
TBM cutter ring.

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Department of Mining Engineering 56
 Bit wear index (BWI)
• The abrasion value (AV) test
 The AVS constitutes a measure
of rock abrasion or ability to
induce wear on cutter ring steel.
The abrasion powder used for
both the AV and AVS is normally
prepared by the use of test
material from the extractions
used to determine S20 and
should hence be regarded as
representative and homogenized
sample material.
Outline of the AV and AVS test

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Department of Mining Engineering 57
 Bit wear index (BWI)
• The abrasion value (AV) test
 AV is defined as the weight loss of the test piece in milligrams after 5-
min testing. AVS is defined as the weight loss of the test piece in
milligrams after 1 min of testing. The AV and AVS tests are normally
performed on 2–4 test pieces.

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Department of Mining Engineering 58
Classification or rock drillability by NTNU/SINTEF

Class S20 value (%) Sj value (mm/10) AV (mg) AVS (mg)

Extremely high ≥66.0 ≤2.0 ≥58.0 ≥44.0
Very high 60.0–65.9 2.1–3.9 42.0–57.9 36.0–44.0
High 51.0–59.9 4.0–6.9 28.0–41.9 26.0–35.9
Medium 41.0–50.9 7.0–18.9 11.0–27.9 13.0–25.9
Low 35.0–40.9 19.0–55.9 4.0–10.9 4.0–12.9
Very low 29.1–34.9 56.0–85.9 1.1–3.9 1.1–3.9
Extremely low ≤29.0 ≥86.0 ≤1.0 ≤1.0

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Department of Mining Engineering 59
CLASSIFICATION OF ROCK DRILLABILITY
Method of Impact Penetrate
• In 1980, Northeastern University, China (NEU), published their research
result of rock drillability classification using the method of impact
penetrate with two indexes of “specific impact penetrate work” and
“abrasion width of bit” and developed two sets of measurement
apparatus.

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Department of Mining Engineering 60
CLASSIFICATION OF ROCK DRILLABILITY
 Concept of impact penetrate-specific work (IPSW)
• The work consumed for impact
penetrate on a unit volume of rock
is called “impact penetrate-specific
work (IPSW).” It is the basic
physical quantity for the
percussion (rotary-percussion)
drilling of rock.

Relationship between impact work and IPSW

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Department of Mining Engineering 61
CLASSIFICATION OF ROCK DRILLABILITY
 Concept of impact penetrate-specific work (IPSW)
• There is a critical value of impact work (Ac) for the tested rock. When the
applied impact work (A) is less than a certain value (Ac), the value of IPSW
is not stable and varies greatly as the small impact force only produces a
scar and small powder cannot produce any chipping.
• When impact work (A) is greater than (Ac), IPSW reach a plateau. The
phenomenon tells us that the impact work as a main parameter of the test
apparatus must be greater than the critical value, Ac, of any rock to be
tested.

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Department of Mining Engineering 62
CLASSIFICATION OF ROCK DRILLABILITY
 Test apparatus- impact penetrate apparatus (IPA)
• The weight of hammer (5) is 4.0
kg. The hammer free fall height
along the guide rod (4) is 1.0 m.
The hammer impacts the body
(2) with an I-type bit connected
in the bottom and the bit chisels
the rock.

Impact penetrate apparatus

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Department of Mining Engineering 63
CLASSIFICATION OF ROCK DRILLABILITY
 Test apparatus- impact penetrate apparatus (IPA)
• After every impact, the bit is turned 15° by the top handle of the rod. The
diameter of the bit is 40 ± 0 and made with Type YG-11G tungsten
carbide insert. Insert angle is 110°.
• For measuring the abrasion of the bit, a new bit (or newly grinded bit)
must be used for every test. The rock face to be tested is placed
horizontally, and a shallow nest is previously prepared manually for
locating the tested bit.

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Department of Mining Engineering 64
CLASSIFICATION OF ROCK DRILLABILITY
 Test apparatus- impact penetrate apparatus (IPA)
• The net depth of the drilled hole, H, is measured and recorded after total
480 impacts for each rock specimen. The IPSW, a, can be calculated using
the following formula:
a impact penetrate-specific work (IPSW), J/cm3;
A total impact work of 480 freely falling of the hammer
J; V rock volume to be broken after 480 impacts, cm3;
N total impact times, n = 480;
A0 work of single impact, A0 = 39.2 J;
D actual hole diameter after drilling, d = 41 mm (bit diameter =
40 mm);
H net depth, mm.

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 65
CLASSIFICATION OF ROCK DRILLABILITY
 Test apparatus- impact penetrate apparatus (IPA)
• After the test of IPSW, the abrasion of the bit is measured as well. The
measurement is carried out using a reading microscope, expressed as “b”
in mm.

• In the system of rock drillability using the method of impact penetrant,

rock drillability is divided into seven classes and three categories
according to both the index of impact penetrant-specific work (IPSW) “a”
and the index of bit abrasion “b.”

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 66
CLASSIFICATION OF ROCK DRILLABILITY
 Test apparatus- impact penetrate apparatus (IPA)
Rock drillability classification by impact penetrant-specific work index “a”

Rock drillability classification by bit abrasion index “b”

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 67
DRILLING AND BLASTING TECHNOLOGY
Lecture No: 10 –DRILLING MACHINES-1
KAUSHIK DEY
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
IIT KHARAGPUR

68
CLASSIFICATION OF DRILLING MACHINES
 Classification on drilling manner
Within the large variety of excavations using explosives, numerous machines
have been developed which can be classified into two types of drilling
manners:

 Manual drilling

 Mechanized drilling

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 69
CLASSIFICATION OF DRILLING MACHINES
 Classification on drilling manner
 Manual drilling
• This is carried out with light equipment that is handheld by the drillers.

• It is used in small operations where, due to the size, other machinery cannot be
used or its cost is not justified.

• The modern handheld rock drills are developed trending to be lighter, more
convenient, and more efficient.

• Except the widely used pneumatic handheld drill, some new energy sources, like
hydraulic, electricity and internal combustion engine, are also developed.

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 70
CLASSIFICATION OF DRILLING MACHINES
 Classification on drilling manner
 Manual drilling

Handheld pneumatic rock drill Handheld hydraulic rock drill

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 71
CLASSIFICATION OF DRILLING MACHINES
 Classification on drilling manner
 Manual drilling

Internal combustion rock drill Handheld electric rock drill

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 72
CLASSIFICATION OF DRILLING MACHINES
 Classification on drilling manner
 Mechanized drilling
The drilling equipment is mounted upon rigs with which the operator can control all
drilling parameters from a comfortable position.

These structures or chassis can themselves be mounted on the wheels or tracks and
either be self-propelled or towable.

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 73
CLASSIFICATION OF DRILLING MACHINES
 Classification on drilling manner
 Mechanized drilling

Crawler rig for surface drilling Wheel-mounted rig for underground drilling
Dr. Kaushik Dey
Department of Mining Engineering 74
CLASSIFICATION OF DRILLING MACHINES
 Classification on drilling method
• The two most used mechanical drilling methods are rotary-percussion and
rotary.
 Rotary percussive
• Rotary-percussive drilling is the most classic system for drilling blasthole and
widely used in mining and civil engineering since the middle of nineteenth
century starting with steam power then by compressed air.

• The appearance of hydraulic power in the sixties of last century has given a new
boost to this method, complementing and widening its field of application.

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 75
CLASSIFICATION OF DRILLING MACHINES
 Classification on drilling method
 Rotary percussive
• According to the difference in the working modes of the major performances,
hammer impact and rod/bit rotary, the rotary-percussive drilling are classified
into two groups:

 Top hammer method including the newly developed COPOROD

 Down-the-hole hammer method (DTH), also known as ITH (in-the-hole).

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 76
CLASSIFICATION OF DRILLING MACHINES
 Classification on drilling method
 Rotary percussive
• Rotary-percussive drilling is based upon the combination of the following four
actions.

• Percussion:
• The piston inside the rock drill strikes the tail end of the rod or bit itself
and generates shock waves that are transmitted to the bit through the
rod (in top hammer) or directly upon it (DTH).

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 77
CLASSIFICATION OF DRILLING MACHINES
 Classification on drilling method
 Rotary percussive
• Rotation:
• The rotary mechanism rotates the rod (in top hammer) or tube (in COPROD)
or DTH hammer. With this movement, the bit is turned so that the impacts
are produced on the rock in different positions.

• Feed or thrust load:

• Feed force is required to keep the shank in contact with the drill and the
drill bit in contact with the rock. This ensures maximum impact energy is
transferred from the piston to the rock.

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 78
CLASSIFICATION OF DRILLING MACHINES
 Classification on drilling method
 Rotary percussive
• Flushing:
• Flushing is used to remove the rock cutting from the drill hole and to cool
bit. The flushing medium—air, water, mist, or foam—is forced to the bottom
of the drill hole through the rod’s flushing hole and the hole in the drill bit.

Basic action in rotary-percussive drill

Dr. Kaushik Dey
Department of Mining Engineering 79
CLASSIFICATION OF DRILLING MACHINES
 Rotary percussive - Top Hammer Drilling
• Top hammer drilling is the most widely used mode of rotary-percussive methods
from handheld to drilling rigs.

• Here, the impact energy is generated when the piston is striking the adapter (or
tail end of the rod in handheld drill).

• This energy is transmitted from the rock drill shank adapter drill rod
drill bit rock, where it is used for crushing.

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 80
CLASSIFICATION OF DRILLING MACHINES
 Rotary percussive - Top Hammer Drilling
• The top hammer method is primarily used for drilling in hard rock for hole
diameters up to 5 in (127 mm), and the main advantage is the high penetration
rate in good solid rock conditions.

• Handheld pneumatic rock drill is used for small hole diameters while rig
mounted hydraulic rock drill is commonly used for hole diameters above 1 5/8 in
(41 mm).

• Heavy hydraulic rock drill with an impact power of up to 40 kW is used for large
hole diameters up to 5 in.

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 81
CLASSIFICATION OF DRILLING MACHINES
 Rotary percussive - Top Hammer Drilling

Working principle of Top

hammer drill

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 82
CLASSIFICATION OF DRILLING MACHINES
 Rotary percussive - Top Hammer Drilling - Types
• The pneumatic top hammer
• It is equipped with valves (or piston itself in some handheld drills) to
change the direction of compressed air into the cylinder, so that the
compressed air pushes the piston with reciprocating strikes on the
adapter or the tail of the drill rod through which the shock wave is
transmitted to the bit where the chisel crushes rock.

• Along with each strike of the piston, the drill rod was rotated a certain
angle (5°–15°) by a spirally fluted rifle bar or by independent rotary
mechanism.

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 83
CLASSIFICATION OF DRILLING MACHINES
 Rotary percussive - Top Hammer Drilling - Types
• Pneumatic handheld drill

Operational parts
Pneumatic handheld rock drill of handheld drill

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 84
CLASSIFICATION OF DRILLING MACHINES
 Rotary percussive - Top Hammer Drilling - Types
• Hydraulic Rock Drill
• At the end of the sixties and beginning of the seventies, a great
technological advance took place in rock drilling with the development
of hydraulic hammers.

• These new, high-power rock drills not only doubled drilling capacities
but also improved the drilling environment.

• The introduction of hydraulics to rock drilling also led to improvements

in drilling accuracy, mechanization, and automation.

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 85
CLASSIFICATION OF DRILLING MACHINES
 Rotary percussive - Top Hammer Drilling - Types
• Hydraulic Rock Drill
• Although in the beginning hydraulic drill rigs were mostly used in
underground operation, but at present it has been widely used in both
underground and surface drilling except some very small projects and
places where hydraulic drill rigs cannot be used.

• But on the other hand, they also have some disadvantages: high initial
investment, more complex, and costly repairs than those for pneumatic
drills, requiring better organization and preparation of maintenance
personnel.

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 86
CLASSIFICATION OF DRILLING MACHINES
 Rotary percussive - Top Hammer Drilling - Types

• Working principle of the

hydraulic drill

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 87
CLASSIFICATION OF DRILLING MACHINES
 Rotary percussive - Top Hammer Drilling - Types

• Hydraulic rock drill and

its cross section

Dr. Kaushik Dey

Department of Mining Engineering 88