Adaptive collaring using rock fracture indication

Abstract

A hole fracture indicator system and method for adaptively auto-collaring boreholes for a drilling machine in a rock formation is provided. The method includes the steps of initiating rotation of a drill bit of the drilling machine; receiving, in real time, measurement-while-drilling (MWD) data from one or more sensors of the drilling machine during drilling of the borehole; drilling until a fracture start in the borehole is determined; marking the fracture start; when an amount of fracture and location of the fracture in the borehole is determined, determining how much water is needed to fortify a wall of the borehole at the fracture; and initiating collaring of the borehole at the fracture start by initiating watering of the rock formation upon determination of the start of the fracture.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A hole fracture indicator system for a drilling machine forming boreholes in a rock formation including at least one processing core, at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with the at least one processing core, cause the system at least to:
 initiate rotation of a drill bit of the drilling machine;   receive, in real time, measurement-while-drilling (MWD) data from one or more sensors of the drilling machine during drilling of the borehole;   drill until a fracture start depth in the borehole is determined;   mark the fracture start depth;   when an amount of fracture and location of the fracture in the borehole is determined, determine how much water is needed to fortify a wall of the borehole at the fracture; and   initiate collaring of the borehole at the fracture start depth by initiating watering of the rock formation upon determination of the start of fractured area.   
     
     
         2 . The hole fracture indicator system of  claim 1 , further arranged to determine a fracture indicator of the rock formation based on the MWD data, wherein if the fracture indicator is less than a predetermined limit, drilling is continued, and wherein if the fracture indicator is greater than the predetermined limit, a fracture start depth is measured and stored by the control system. 
     
     
         3 . The hole fracture indicator system of  claim 1 , wherein the data includes at least one set of data values representative of the rock hardness of the rock formation along a hole created by the drill bit interacting with the rock formation in real time. 
     
     
         4 . The hole fracture indicator system of  claim 1 , where the MWD data includes inclination of the drill bit, direction of the drill bit, downhole weight on drill bit, and downhole torque of the drill bit. 
     
     
         5 . A hole fracture indicator system for a drilling machine forming boreholes in a rock formation comprising:
 a control system associated with the drilling machine and arranged to implement collaring of a borehole, the control system being arranged to monitor one or more drilling parameters of the drilling machine, the control system including at least one processor, and at least one memory including computer program code;   one or more sensors associated with the drill string of the drilling machine, the one or more sensors being arranged to generate measurement-while-drilling (MWD) data that relates to physical properties of the rock formation; and   water injection system operatively connected to the drill string, the water injection system being operated by the control system to provide water to a drill bit of the drilling machine to collar an opening and wall of the borehole.   
     
     
         6 . The hole fracture indicator system of  claim 5 , wherein the MWD data includes inclination of the drill bit, direction of the drill bit, down hole weight on the drill bit and downhole torque of the drill bit. 
     
     
         7 . The hole fracture indicator system of  claim 5 , further comprising a drill feed system connected to a drill string of the drilling machine and operated by the control system to raise and lower the drill bit in the borehole. 
     
     
         8 . The hole fracture indicator system of  claim 5 , further comprising a drill motor system connected to a drill string of the drilling machine and operated by the control system to rotate the drill bit. 
     
     
         9 . A method for adaptive auto-collaring boreholes for a drilling machine in a rock formation, the method comprising the steps of:
 initiating rotation of a drill bit of the drilling machine;   receiving, in real time, measurement-while-drilling (MWD) data from one or more sensors of the drilling machine during drilling of the borehole;   drilling until a fracture start in the borehole is determined;   marking the fracture start;   when an amount of fracture and location of the fracture in the borehole is determined, determining how much water is needed to fortify a wall of the borehole at the fracture; and   initiating collaring of the borehole at the fracture start by initiating watering of the rock formation upon determination of the start of the fracture.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising determining a fracture indicator of the rock formation based on the MWD drilling data, wherein if the fracture indicator is less than a predetermined limit, drilling is continued, and wherein if the fracture indicator is greater than the predetermined limit, a fracture start depth is measured and stored by the control system. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein if the determined fracture indicator is not greater than the predetermined limit, collaring is initiated. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the step of determining the fracture indicator of the rock formation based on the MWD drilling data occurs throughout a depth of the borehole. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising determining an end of the fracture. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising determining if the borehole needs additional support by continuing the collaring operation. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising drilling past a depth of the fracture and returning to the start of the fracture to water the wall again. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising creating dust to concrete a wetted area. 
     
     
         17 . A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer program code, which, when executed in a data processor performs the method according to  claim 9 .