Drilling technology in mining industry.docVIP

Acta Montanistica Slovaca Ro?ník 11 (2006), ?íslo 2, 113-118 Drilling technology in mining industry Loafi Messaoud 1 Abstract The fundamental problem in rock working is the breakage of fragments out of the face of a solid rock wall rock. Mechanically, this can be done only by forcing a tool into the rock surface, after the manner of an indenter is commonly used in the testing of surface hardness. Since the process breaks rather than cuts the solid rock into small fragments of assorted sizes, it can be regarded as the essential one in crushing. As in the crushing processes generally, energy volume relationships are therefore of interest. The specific energy, defined as the energy requierd to excavate an unit volume of rock is a useful parameter in this context and many also take it as an index of the mechanical efficiency of rock-working processess. In drilling data from a number of sources, its minimum value appears to be very roughly correlated with the crushing strength of the medium drilled in for percussive-rotary. The implications of this are discussed Key words: drilling technology, rockpercussive rotary Introduction Drilling and drilling technology play a major role in the Algerian mining industry. In fact, it would be fair to say that the optimization of drilling parameters is an integral part of the economic success or failure of any mining operation. Operators and manufacturers are continually exploring ways of reducing costs and increasing the productivity by enhancing drill penetration rates and decreasing the perforation drill bit wear. Drilling and rock cutting are the basic concerns in all underground and surface mining operations as well as in the oil petroleum industries (Bullock, 1984). In open cut operations, the need to be competitive with world markets places a strong demand on the excavation techno