I have a project for LSU to build a reduced size oil drilling rig for classroom use. Rig is made and has instrumentation to mimic the real thing. Next phase is to make cores for it to drill through, simulating different type and layers of formation. Been playing with parrifin and cement combination but am looking for other ideas, like maybe some epoxy/aggragate that will offer different drilling rates. Bit is a 1" masonry bit, turning at speeds below 150 RPM. Cores are made up in 3" PVC pipe with a 1/8 hole cast through the center to provide a flow path for water to carry cuttings from hole. Any ideas for core materials will be appreciated. Thus far I have used cement/sand with varying levels of cement, and wax with bentonnite or sand. Both work but I need more hardness to vary drilling rates
Material suggestions needed
Jul 03, 2009
10 Replies
Stay with the cement or epoxy binder. Use different aggregates. If you want real hard use large granite stones. Limestone for real soft, etc.
Karl
Use a core bit to make some cuttings of real rock. Like shale, slate sandstone.
You could try going to a flooring/ceramic tile store and ask for some scraps of granite, slate, marble, and limestone tile. Use a 3" diamond hole saw to make disks that you could set at various levels in your concrete cores?
Thank you-all good suggestions. Because this is to be used in a classroom and Profs are in a hurry to be able to show different formations and their rate of progress I cannot go with materials that are too hard to penetrate in a short time. Also, I am somewhat limited to 50 to 75# weight on bit because all the top drive and carriage weighs is 51#. Top drive is a 1/3hp gear motor controlled by a VFD. Also the unit has a servo powered draw works to move the top drive up. Feedback from the whole operation is fed back to a PC monitoring all functions and controlling the draw works. Kinda of a neat toy and a good leaning tool for future Petroleum Engineers when you don't have a full scale drilling rig to play with.
I'm thinking fiberglass with sand as an aggragate may be worth playing with. Perhaps with pieces of paver tile or slices of brick embeded in the core as well. Maybe some ole pieces of transite siding if I can still locate some. Whatever I use has to have a 1/8' hole through it to allow my drilling fluid to come from the bottom to the top. Just too much work to use hollow drillbits and tubing to allow circulation from the top like a real rig.
[...]>> > Next phase is to make cores for it to drill through, [...]
Perhaps make up some sand/vermiculite/perlite mixes, bound with sodium silicate ("water glass").
I've seen molding cores that I think were made up with sand and sodium silicate hardened by CO2 exposure, that were a little softer than most sandstones.
Waterglass-have not heard that name in many years. Where would I find sodium silicate now? Any ideas?
This link showed up in a google search --
and then it linked to (eg) , probably local to you. shows pricing from quarts up to barrels. Can you get stuff from LSU chem labs?
lists lots of big suppliers, also and and
Used to be able to order it at drug stores. Karl
formatting link
has 40% sodium silicate in 1 and 5 gallon sizes.
----- Regards, Carl Ijames
Used to be able to order it at drug stores. Karl
Hardi Panel (hardi-plank, etc) has a consistency very similar to transite - maybe a little softer.
Joe
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