When it comes to drilling techniques, diamond drilling is regarded as a mechanism that poses many logistical challenges. A diamond driller utilises a drill with a diamond tip affixed to a hollow tube.
But, it is a challenging job to carry out the diamond drilling technique through the fractured ground. Multiple risks are associated with it. When drilling in the broken or highly fractured ground, you have a high risk of striking a large or void fracture. Also, there are high chances that your drill water breakthrough that fault.
Another common issue that you can generally encounter while operating in an underground drilling environment is that groundwater is often unpredictably confronted in the drill hole.
Again, exceptionally high flow rates and pressures are not considered unusual. In such a situation, you would be able to reap many excellent benefits by utilising an aqua guard. It is believed as a fantastic tool that one should keep handy while carrying out the diamond drilling job.
Aqua guard works effectively to limit the water by letting you cross high-pressure water inflow zones. Using this tool while using a diamond drill for your operations is strictly recommended.
If you are still confused about whether to employ this tool or not, then don’t be concerned anymore. We have designed this detailed guide to clear all of your related confusion. So, now, let’s have a close look at some of the key reasons why is it a good idea to install an aqua guard with your diamond drill:
Significant Benefits Of Employing An Aqua guard In Your Diamond Drilling Operations
● It Ensures More Safety
There are certain instances where it is found that working underground can prove to be dangerous. One of the main risks of working underground is that the water flows or emits from the hole at 1000PSI and 600 gallons per minute.
Not only that, but the professionals who are working at the site may experience that the temperature can go beyond 125 °F. All of these lead to hazardous working conditions. So, in such a situation, it becomes essential to ensure the safety of the workers.
Moreover, while recuperating core samples, there is again a high risk of the inner tube exiting the drill hole at an incredibly high speed. It is because of the excessive water pressure pushing the tube out of the drill string. Not only that, but it is tremendously hazardous to have uncontrolled descent or ascent of the inner tube assembly.
The water flow can further enhance the risk of slips and falls in the mines, injuring the crew members. Using an Aqua guard is always a good idea to successfully prevent such risks and problems. Then simply having a mine with a worksite covered in water can increase the risk of slips and falls. By using this fantastic tool, you would be able to ensure more excellent safety, which is again considered its best part.
● It Aids In Keeping Work Site Clean
While you are carrying out underground drilling, there are high chances that excessive water flow enters the mines. And, thereby, it causes a lot of hassles in the working area. It can again significantly damage the other equipment that is present at the location of the mine.
This additional water flow can result in erosion of roads which might further increase the problem. So, to successfully avoid such issues, you should make sure that the equipment, tools and other necessities of a drill site have not been soaked by groundwater unexpectedly. And you would be able to ensure this by using an aqua guard.
● It Decreases Downtime And Boosts Drilling Efficiency
If you encounter high flow groundwater and high pressure while drilling operations, it tends to have catastrophic outcomes. And it is something which can significantly hamper your drilling work.
Again, when the drillers have to cope with high-pressure water oozing out of the drill hole, it impacts both efficiency and time. If, time and again, you have to deal with high inflows and that too for many consecutive hours, then it ends up consuming a lot of your time. Alongside, it is stressful as well. Sometimes, the overall drilling operation may stop totally.
It would help if you considered inserting the Aqua guard into the core barrel whenever you find that the drilling operations have been slowed down or inhibited. The product valve does the partial limitation of the water flowing into the drill string whenever the positive pumping pressure is turned off.
It allows the tube to gain its locked position. Like a check valve, the valve again closes when the inner tube is retrieved using wireline coring methods. Furthermore, you will notice that the Aqua guard value will reopen when the inner tube is pumped back into the hole.
● It Aids In Improving Core Recovery In Challenging Situations
Getting good core recovery is difficult when the ground is fractured and contains sand and clay. If you have to deal with a high-pressure issue, the water gushes out of the borehole.
As a result, the completion of the hole can be significantly delayed. In mines, the conditions can worsen, and the drilling crews can even lose a hole or drill with zero core recovery. This sort of high-pressure groundwater can again wash away the core samples. In this condition, all you need is to use the aqua guard. It will dramatically reduce the water inflow and prevent the core from being washed away.
At The End!
So, one can conclude from this guide that the aqua guard is a fantastic product that effectively boosts the drilling performance and aids in making the lives of drillers much easier.
Have any further queries related to this? If yes, then feel free to ask CA Drillers. They are a reputed diamond drilling London company that focuses on using an aqua guard for underground mining. Get in touch with them today to know more.
