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Theoretical and experimental study on cutting temperature in the presence of drilling fluid during ice-core drilling

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 January 2024

Zhuo Chen
Affiliation:
Polar Research Center, Jilin University, No. 938 Ximinzhu Str., Changchun City 130061, China
Pinlu Cao
Affiliation:
Polar Research Center, Jilin University, No. 938 Ximinzhu Str., Changchun City 130061, China College of Construction Engineering, Jilin University, No. 938 Ximinzhu Str., Changchun City 130061, China
Han Wang
Affiliation:
Polar Research Center, Jilin University, No. 938 Ximinzhu Str., Changchun City 130061, China
He Yang
Affiliation:
Polar Research Center, Jilin University, No. 938 Ximinzhu Str., Changchun City 130061, China
Qilei Yin*
Affiliation:
College of Construction Engineering, Jilin University, No. 938 Ximinzhu Str., Changchun City 130061, China
*
Corresponding author: Qilei Yin; Email: yinqilei@jlu.edu.cn
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Abstract

Warm ice at temperatures close to the pressure melting point is often encountered in deep ice-core drilling. The heat generated by rotary cutting can melt ice chips, which seriously threatens the safety of drilling if the chips refreeze on the drill bit or barrel. Lowering the cutting heat is an effective method to reduce the melting of ice chips. In this study, a general theoretical model was established based on heat transfer theory and the cutting mechanism to calculate and analyze the cutter temperature during the circulation of the drilling fluid. The model was validated by a series of experiments, which demonstrated reasonable agreement between the calculated data and experimental results, with a maximum error of <16%. The factors that contribute to the rise in the cutter temperature during warm ice drilling were investigated. Results suggest that the drilling fluid has excellent cooling performance, and its type and flow rate have minimal impact on the cutter temperature. To mitigate the cutter temperature rise, maximizing the rake angle and thermal conductivity of the cutter, while minimizing the rotation speed of the drill bit, cutting depth, cutter width and friction coefficient between the ice and cutter is recommended.

Information

Type
Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of International Glaciological Society
Figure 0

Figure 1. Drilling problems in warm ice drilling. (a) Drill bit accumulated with ice during warm ice drilling, Dome C, Antarctica. (b) Refrozen chips adhered to the cutter, NorthGRIP-2 borehole. (c) Refrozen chips of subglacial water on cutter mounts at depths of 3035.22 m, Dome Fuji.

Figure 1

Figure 2. Mechanical and heat transfer models of a single cutter: (a) cutting model of the drill bit, (b) simplified cutting model of a single cutter and (c) mechanical analysis of a single cutter. See main text for an explanation of the quantities shown.

Figure 2

Figure 3. (a) Schematic and (b) image of the measurement apparatus: (1) motor; (2) drilling fluid; (3) reservoir; (4) guideway; (5) ice; (6) pipe; (7) cutter; (8) electric draw stem; (9) base frame; (10) ice chip; (11) screen; (12) pump.

Figure 3

Figure 4. (a) Layout and (b) image of the cutter thermoresistor: (1) cutter; (2) sensor probe; (3) silicone grease; (4) insulation glue; (5) sensor wire.

Figure 4

Figure 5. Preparation procedure of ice samples with 100 mm in diameter and 400 mm in length.

Figure 5

Table 1. Thermal properties of the cutter, ice and drilling fluid

Figure 6

Table 2. Experimental parameters

Figure 7

Table 3. Cutter parameters

Figure 8

Figure 6. Test to determine the temperature of the ice sample.

Figure 9

Figure 7. Temperature measurement curve of the ice sample at −10°C: (a) freezing time and (b) cooling time.

Figure 10

Figure 8. Variation of cutter temperature increase with time during the cutting process: (a) rake angle of the cutter, (b) rotation speed of the drill bit and (c) penetration rate of the drill bit.

Figure 11

Figure 9. Comparison of test and theoretical calculation results with drilling fluid at −10, −15, −20 and −25°C, respectively: (a) rake angle of the cutter, (b) penetration rate of the drill bit and (c) rotation speed of the drill bit.

Figure 12

Figure 10. Model cutting heat and temperature rise vs rake angle of the cutter (−10°C): (a) cutting heat and (b) temperature rise of the cutter.

Figure 13

Figure 11. Model cutting heat and temperature rise vs penetration rate: (a) cutting heat and (b) temperature rise of the cutter.

Figure 14

Figure 12. Model cutting heat and temperature rise vs rotation speed of the drill bit: (a) cutting heat and (b) temperature rise of the cutter.

Figure 15

Figure 13. Model temperature rise vs type and flow rate of drilling fluids: (a) type and flow rate of drilling fluids and (b) flow rate of drilling fluid.

Figure 16

Figure 14. Model cutting heat and temperature rise vs cutter width: (a) cutting heat and (b) temperature rise of the cutter.

Figure 17

Figure 15. Model cutting heat and temperature rise vs thermal conductivity of the cutter: (a) cutting heat and (b) temperature rise of the cutter.

Figure 18

Figure 16. Model cutting heat and temperature rise vs friction coefficient between ice and the cutter: (a) cutting heat and (b) temperature rise of the cutter.