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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1994. Drilling and Excavation Technologies for the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2349.
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Drilling and Excavation Technologies for the Future

Committee on Advanced Drilling Technologies

Geotechnical Board/Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems

Board on Earth Sciences and Resources/Commission on Geosciences, Environment, and Resources

National Research Council

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
1994

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1994. Drilling and Excavation Technologies for the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2349.
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the panel responsible for this report were chosen for their special expertise and with regard for appropriate balance among government, industry, and academia.

This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

Support for this study was provided by the Department of Energy (grant number DE-FG42-92R208008) and the Gas Research Institute. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed herein are those of the committee and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Energy or the Gas Research Institute.

Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 94-6677

International Standard Book Number 0-309-05076-6

Copies of this report are available from:
National Academy Press
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Box 285 Washington, DC 20055 800-624-6242 or 202-334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area)

B-330

Cover art by Shelley Myers, Project Assistant for the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, National Research Council. Myers' work is exhibited widely in the Washington, D.C. area and has won several area awards.

Copyright 1994 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1994. Drilling and Excavation Technologies for the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2349.
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COMMITTEE ON ADVANCED DRILLING TECHNOLOGIES

Ali S. Argon,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

(Chair since July 1993)

Neville G.W. Cook,

University of California, Berkeley

(Chair until July 1993)

George A. Cooper,

University of California, Berkeley

Michael M. Herron,

Schlumberger-Doll Research

Stephen E. Laubach,

The University of Texas, Austin

William C. Maurer,

Maurer Engineering, Inc.

James E. Monsees,

Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc.

D. Stephen Pye,

UNOCAL Corporation

Jean-Claude Roegiers,

University of Oklahoma

Eugene D. Shchukin,

Institute of Physical Chemistry RAS

Mark D. Zoback,

Stanford University

NRC Staff

Peter H. Smeallie, Study Director

Thomas M. Usselman, Senior Program Officer

Kevin D. Crowley, Program Officer

Jennifer T. Estep, Administrative Assistant

Judith L. Estep, Administrative Assistant

Amelia B. Mathis, Senior Secretary

Nathan L. Harshman, Research Aide

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1994. Drilling and Excavation Technologies for the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2349.
×

LIAISONS

The U.S. Department of Energy

Stephen Brocoum,

Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, Washington, D.C.

William J. Gwilliam,

Morgantown Energy Technology Center, Morgantown, West Virginia

Allan J. Jelacic,

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Washington, D.C.

Roy C. Long,

Yucca Mountain Project Office, Las Vegas, Nevada

William C. Luth,

Office of Energy Research, Washington, D.C.

John E. Mock,

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Washington, D.C.

Albert B. Yost II,

Morgantown Energy Technology Center, Morgantown, West Virginia

Gas Research Institute

Kent F. Perry,

Gas Research Institute, Chicago, Illinois

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Carl Peterson,

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Jeff Tester,

Energy Laboratory

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1994. Drilling and Excavation Technologies for the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2349.
×

GEOTECHNICAL BOARD

James K. Mitchell, Chair,

University of California, Berkeley

Clarence R. Allen,

California Institute of Technology

Joan (Jodie) Z. Bernstein,

Waste Management, Inc.

David E. Daniel,

University of Texas, Austin

William S. Gardner,

W.S. Gardner and Associates

James P. Gould, Partner,

Mueser, Rutledge Consulting Engineers

François E. Heuze,

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Charles C. Ladd,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

James E. Murff,

Exxon Production Research Company

Shlomo P. Neuman,

The University of Arizona

Thomas D. O'Rourke,

Cornell University

Reuben Samuels,

Parsons Brinckerhoff

Robert L. Schuster,

U.S. Geological Survey

Don W. Steeples,

The University of Kansas

NRC Staff

Mahadevan Mani, Director,

Division on Infrastructure, Energy, and Environmental Engineering

Peter H. Smeallie, Director,

Geotechnical Board (1990 through 1993)

Jennifer T. Estep, Administrative Assistant

Amelia B. Mathis, Senior Secretary

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1994. Drilling and Excavation Technologies for the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2349.
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COMMISSION ON ENGINEERING AND TECHNICAL SYSTEMS

Albert R. C. Westwood, Chair,

Sandia National Laboratories

Nancy Rutledge Connery, Consultant

Richard A. Conway,

Union Carbide Corporation

Gerard W. Elverum, Jr.,

TRW, Inc.

(Retired)

E. R. (Vald) Heiberg III,

J.A. Jones Construction Services Company

William G. Howard, Jr., Consultant

John McCarthy,

Stanford University

Alton D. Slay,

Slay Enterprises, Inc.

James J. Solberg,

Purdue University

Charles F. Tiffany,

Boeing Military Airplane Company (Retired)

John A. Tillinghast,

Tillinghast Technology Interests

Paul Torgersen,

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

George L. Turin,

Teknekron Corporation

John B. Wachtman, Jr.,

Rutgers University

William C. Webster,

University of California, Berkeley

Robert V. Whitman,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

NRC Staff

Archie L. Wood, Executive Director

Marlene R. B. Beaudin, Associate Executive Director

Dennis Chamot, Associate Executive Director

Robert J. Katt, Associate Director

Mary Frances Lee, Director of Operations

Sylvia Gilbert, Administrative Assistant

Susan Coppinger, Administrative Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1994. Drilling and Excavation Technologies for the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2349.
×

BOARD ON EARTH SCIENCES AND RESOURCES

J. Freeman Gilbert, Chair,

University of California, San Diego

Gail M. Ashley,

Rutgers University

Thure Cerling,

University of Utah

Mark P. Cloos,

University of Texas, Austin

Neville G.W. Cook,

University of California, Berkeley

Joel Darmstadter,

Resources for the Future

Donald J. DePaolo,

University of California, Berkeley

Marco T. Einaudi,

Stanford University

Norman H. Foster,

Independent Geologist

Charles G. Groat,

Louisiana State University

Donald C. Haney,

Kentucky Geological Survey

Andrew H. Knoll,

Harvard University

Philip E. LaMoreaux,

P.E. LaMoreaux and Associates, Inc.

Susan Landon,

Thomasson Partner Associates

Marcia K. McNutt,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

J. Bernard Minster,

University of California, San Diego

Jill D. Pasteris,

Washington University

Edward C. Roy, Jr.,

Trinity University

NRC Staff

Jonathan G. Price, Director

Thomas M. Usselman, Associate Director

William E. Benson, Senior Program Officer

Kevin D. Crowley, Program Officer

Bruce B. Hanshaw, Program Officer

Anne M. Linn, Program Officer

Lally A. Anderson, Staff Assistant

Charlene E. Anderson, Administrative Assistant

Judith L. Estep, Administrative Assistant

Shelley A. Myers, Project Assistant

Nathan L. Harshman, Research Aide

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1994. Drilling and Excavation Technologies for the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2349.
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COMMISSION ON GEOSCIENCES, ENVIRONMENT, AND RESOURCES

M. Gordon Wolman, Chair,

The Johns Hopkins University

Patrick R. Atkins,

Aluminum Company of America

Peter S. Eagleson,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Edward A. Frieman,

Scripps Institution of Oceanography

W. Barclay Kamb,

California Institute of Technology

Jack E. Oliver,

Cornell University

Frank L. Parker,

Vanderbilt University

Raymond A. Price,

Queen's University at Kingston

Thomas A. Schelling,

University of Maryland

Larry L. Smarr,

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Steven M. Stanley,

The Johns Hopkins University

Victoria J. Tschinkel,

Landers and Parsons

Warren Washington,

National Center for Atmospheric Research

Edith Brown Weiss,

Georgetown University Law Center

NRC Staff

Stephen Rattien, Executive Director

Stephen D. Parker, Associate Executive Director

Morgan Gopnik, Assistant Executive Director

Jeanette A. Spoon, Administrative Officer

Sandi S. Fitzpatrick, Administrative Associate

Robin L. Allen, Senior Project Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1994. Drilling and Excavation Technologies for the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2349.
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The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. On the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of the appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an advisor to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1994. Drilling and Excavation Technologies for the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2349.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1994. Drilling and Excavation Technologies for the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2349.
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PREFACE

Drilling involves a set of processes for breaking and removing rock to produce boreholes, tunnels, and excavations. Drilling is used extensively for resource extraction, for building civil infrastructure systems such as sewers and subways, for environmental remediation, and for scientific purposes. Efficient and effective drilling technologies are critical elements in a robust and healthy economy. Improvements in the fundamental technologies applicable to the drilling of rock will benefit the U.S. economy and strengthen the competitive position of the United States in the worldwide drilling, excavation, and comminution industries.

The Geothermal Division of the Department of Energy is one agency of the U.S. government that hopes to find better and less costly ways of penetrating rock in order to harness geothermal energy resources more efficiently. With this goal in mind, the Geothermal Division asked the National Research Council to establish a committee to examine opportunities for advances in drilling technologies that would have broad industrial, environmental, and scientific applications such as energy exploration and production, mining, tunneling, water well drilling, underground storage, and environmental remediation. The formal charge to the committee is given in Appendix A.

The Committee on Advanced Drilling Technologies began its work in February 1993, and met four times over the course of the study. In April 1993 the committee invited 42 experts on drilling to a workshop that elicited ideas on advanced drilling technologies. A list of the invited experts and other participants is given in Appendix B. Results from this workshop assisted the committee in its assessment of the areas in which improvements are possible.

This report of the committee provides an examination of the technical and scientific feasibility of substantial advances in drilling and related

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1994. Drilling and Excavation Technologies for the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2349.
×

technologies. In this report, the committee (1) examines concepts for new mechanical and nonmechanical drilling applications, including advances in the knowledge of tool-rock interaction; (2) identifies potential opportunities for research; and (3) makes recommendations on the scope and direction needed to realize these opportunities for improved methods of drilling.

The focus of the report is the physical systems used to create holes and tunnels in the subsurface. The report does not address other aspects of drilling related issues such as sample recovery and waste minimization. Although these are important issues, especially in environmental applications, they are outside the charge to the committee.

This study received direct support from the Department of Energy and the Gas Research Institute. The committee and staff gratefully acknowledge the support of each of these agencies.

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1994. Drilling and Excavation Technologies for the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2349.
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Drilling is a critical component in many segments of U.S. industry such as resource recovery (e.g., oil, gas, mining), civil infrastructure systems (e.g., sewers, highway tunnels, subways), environmental remediation, and for scientific purposes. Research undertaken for new and improved drilling systems and processes can have an enormous impact on U.S. productivity. This book provides an examination of the technical and scientific feasibility of substantial advances in drilling and related technologies. Concepts for new mechanical and non-mechanical drilling applications—including advances in knowledge of the tool-rock interaction—are reviewed, research opportunities are identified, and recommendations are made on the scope and direction needed to realize these opportunities for improved methods of drilling.

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