Engineering:Plasma deep drilling technology
Plasma deep drilling technology is one of several different variants of recently explored new drilling technologies which would be able to substitute conventional, contact-based rotary systems. These new technologies, including plasma deep drilling, water jet, hydrothermal spallation or laser, are matter of active research. Only a very small number of companies have embraced plasma-drilling method, e.g. GA Drilling, headquartered in Bratislava, Slovakia.
High-energetic electrical plasma
High-energetic electrical plasma is a technology currently being developed in deep drilling applications to address many issues related to drilling in water environment or in the production of boreholes with a wide range of diameters.
Physical principle of electrical plasma
An electric arc is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces an ongoing plasma discharge, resulting from a current flowing through normally nonconductive media such as air or gas. An arc discharge is characterized by a lower voltage than a glow discharge, and relies on thermionic emission of electrons from the electrodes supporting the arc. The electric arc is influenced by factors such as: the gas flow, inner and outer magnetic fields, and construction elements of the chamber which confines the arc. The development of highly effective plasma torches to be used as a source of the thermal plasma demands a deep understanding of the wide spectrum of processes taking place in the discharge chamber.
Advantages of Plasma deep drilling technology
- Higher drilling energy efficiency
- Continuous drilling process without replacement of mechanical parts
- Constant casing diameter
- Effective transport of disintegrated rock
See also
- GA Drilling
- New drilling technologies
- Drilling rig
- List of plasma (physics) articles
- Oil well
- Research Centre for Deep Drilling
References
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2006) "The Future of Geothermal Energy"
- Celim Slovakia (2011) "Arc Discharge, Plasma Torch (different approaches)"
- Pierce, K.G., Livesay, B.J., Finger J.T. (1996) "Advanced Drilling System Study"
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