A. Boreholes Drilling
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
CHAPTER 8 Boreholes A BOREHOLE DRILLING 1 Drilling for water 266 5.3.3 Removal of a drill pipe 291 1.1 Exploration 266 5.3.4 Common problems 292 1.2 Exploitation 266 5.3.5 Analysis of cuttings 1.3 Examples of borehole costs 267 and signs of water 293 2 Drilling techniques 267 5.4 DTH percussion drilling 293 2.1 Rotary drilling 267 5.4.1 Adjustment and lubrication 2.2 Down-the-hole hammer drilling 268 of the DTH hammer 293 2.3 Borehole parameters 269 5.4.2 Installation of the hammer 294 2.3.1 Rotation, pressure and lifting force 270 5.4.3 Drilling process 294 2.3.2 Drilling fluids 271 5.4.3.1 Starting the hole 295 2.3.3 Rotary drilling mud 271 5.4.3.2 Advance 295 2.3.4 Air in DTH drilling 272 5.4.3.3 Addition and removal 2.3.5 Drilling guidelines 273 of drill pipes 295 3 Lightweight drilling rigs 274 5.4.4 Difficulties and possible solutions 296 3.1 ACF-PAT 201 kit 274 5.4.5 Analysis of cuttings, signs of water 3.2 ACF-PAT 301 kit 275 and flow calculation 296 3.2.1 Technical characteristics 276 6 Borehole equipping 297 3.2.2 Working principle 277 6.1 Permanent casing 297 3.3 ACF-PAT 401 PTO kit 279 6.1.1 Choice of casing and screen 297 3.4 Other lightweight drilling rigs 279 6.1.2 Casing fitting 298 4 Borehole design 282 6.2 Gravel pack and grouting 300 4.1 Choice of casing 282 6.2.1 Gravel pack 300 4.2 Pre-casing 284 6.2.2 Grouting 301 4.3 Usual configurations 284 6.2.2.1 Preparation of the grout 301 5 Borehole drilling 286 6.2.2.2 Placing the grout 301 5.1 Choice of technique 286 7 Development 301 5.2 Site preparation 286 7.1 Borehole cleaning 302 5.2.1 Installation 286 7.2 Development processes 302 5.2.2 Mud pits 287 7.2.1 Air-lift development 302 5.2.3 Preparation of drilling mud 289 7.2.2 Other development techniques 304 5.2.4 Removal of cuttings 7.2.3 Pumping 305 in the DTH technique 290 7.3 Instantaneous flow 305 5.3 Rotary drilling 290 8 Monitoring and borehole report 305 5.3.1 Starting 290 9 Surface works 306 5.3.2 Advance: adding a drill pipe 290 This chapter is a practical guide to standard drilling techniques and implementing drilling pro- grammes in places with a hydrogeological potential that are accessible with light drilling machinery. The performance of this type of machinery makes it very versatile, and suitable for difficult contexts of humanitarian operations. Three machines have been developed by ACF in collaboration with a Thai manufacturer (PAT, see Annex 11A): 8A. Boreholes. Borehole drilling 265 – ACF-PAT 201 is a light and fairly inexpensive machine, but limited to unconsolidated sedi- mentary formations; – ACF-PAT 301 is used to drill boreholes in consolidated or unconsolidated formations; – ACF-PAT 401 is a more powerful machine than the ACF-PAT 301 with simpler implemen- tation logistics. Over the past few years, PAT have continued to improve these models on their own. 1 Drilling for water 1.1 Exploration In a difficult hydrogeological context (for example, with little or no alluvial aquifer, or in the presence of multi-layered aquifers with some saline water levels), it is advisable to drill prospection boreholes. These indicate the presence and quality of groundwater and the nature of the aquifer, and allow calibration of the readings taken during geophysical exploration. Generally such boreholes are narrow, with small-diameter casing (43 to 100 mm). After the prospection phase they are either main- tained as piezometers, or blocked up and abandoned. Simple pumping tests verify the presence of water. 1.2 Exploitation The work carried out enables an underground aquifer to be reached and exploited, even if it is situated at great depth (more than a hundred metres). In ACF’s programmes, most boreholes are equipped with handpumps to provide drinking water to rural and/or displaced populations. In some countries, national regulations impose boreholes rather than wells (for the preserva- tion of groundwater quality). In addition, boreholes are particularly appropriate in the following cases: – pollution of shallow aquifers (poor bacteriological or physicochemical water quality); – digging wells is too long or costly to meet the needs of the populations (displaced people’s camps); – geological context which does not allow well-digging, due to formations that are too hard or too deep; – impossible to maintain an emergency water treatment station (not taken on by the community); – boreholes which allow rapid response to urgent needs. However, a certain number of technical, financial and logistical factors must be taken into account before beginning a borehole programme, in order to ensure its feasibility: – the hydrogeological potential of the zone must be assessed by a preliminary study to deter- mine the type of drilling rig required, the foreseeable flows and the chances of success. These may be low, so this must be provided for in the action plan; – the choice of pump to be installed (manual or electric submersible), depending on the hydro- geological potential and the required flow; – the possibility of finding a drilling rig in working order locally, or the need to import it (air, sea and/or land transport); – local technical skills (driller, mechanic, geologist). It is possible to train a driller in drilling techniques, but can it take some time at the beginning of the programme. Normally the use of an ACF-PAT 201 (see Section 3) does not present problems; – time required for import and starting (1 month minimum); – local means of transport from site to site. 266 III. Water supply 1.3 Examples of borehole costs Since 1991, ACF has drilled more than 4 000 exploitation boreholes equipped with hand- pumps in Asia (Cambodia, Myanmar) and Africa (Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Mozambique, Angola, Ethiopia, Honduras, Guatemala, Chad), using ACF-PAT 201, 301, 301T and 401 rigs. In Cambodia, the cost of a 30-m borehole equipped with a handpump (suction pump type VN6) is USD 300 (equipment only). In Guinea, the cost of an equipped borehole with an average depth of 40 m, using a Kardia handpump (USD 2 500), amounts to USD 4 000 (equipment). A programme of 30 boreholes at an average depth of 40 m with an 80% success rate, taking into account the depreciation of one ACF-PAT 301 rig, corresponds to a cost of USD 7 000 per borehole. As a comparison, a borehole drilled by a contractor, without a pump, can be costed as follows: – in Haïti, 35 m deep, 8” diameter: USD 8 500; – in Mali, 120 m deep, 6” diameter: USD 12 000; – in Angola, a programme of at least 10 boreholes at a depth of 60 m: USD 8 000 with cable- tool drilling rig, and USD 13 000 with a rotary drilling rig; – in Southern Sudan / Uganda, at a depth of 50 m and with a 6” diameter: USD 12 000-15 000. 2 Drilling techniques Several techniques of drilling for water have been developed to suit the type of borehole requi- red and the geological context. Cable-tool drilling is the oldest technique. It is conceptually simple, and is especially useful in coarse sedimentary formations (gravels, pebbles), which are excellent reservoirs. This technique is not covered in detail in this book. Material removed is lifted to the surface mechanically, using a cylindrical bailer or scoop (Beneto-type machines). Rotary and ‘down-the-hole’ (DTH) hammer techniques are the most widely used and are the most suitable in drilling for water. Certain rotary drills are very large and can drill down to several hundred metres. For the lightweight machinery used by ACF, the ACF-PAT 201 model comes only in a rotary version, whereas the ACF-PAT 301 and 401 are DTH models (combined rotary and percussion). 2.1 Rotary drilling The rotary technique (Figure 8.1) is used only in unconsolidated sedimentary formations with lightweight machinery (high-power rotary machines such as that used for oil drilling can however work in hard formations). A rotary drill bit, known as a tricone bit, is driven from surface level via drill pipes. The drill bit works by abrasion of the ground, without percussion, using only rotation and pressure. This is pro- vided by the power of the machine but, above all, by the weight of the drill pipes above the drill bit: when drilling large boreholes, weighted drill pipes, are used for this purpose. At the bottom of the hole, the drill bit cuts away pieces of ground (cuttings). The circulation of a liquid, the borehole drilling mud, brings the cuttings up to the surface. The drilling mud is injec- ted down the centre of the hollow drill pipes (or drill string) to the level of the drill bit and returns to the surface via the annular space between the drill string and the sides of the hole. While it is rising, the drilling mud covers the borehole sides and stabilises them (cake). This drilling mud is made up of water, a clay (bentonite) or a polymer, usually polycol. It moves in a closed circuit: when it arrives at the surface, it is channelled into a series of pits which allow the cuttings to settle, and it is then re-pumped and injected under pressure down the drill string.