Patent Publication Number: US-2010122846-A1

Title: Boring green-hydro, cryo vertical drilling

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Hydrocarbon Harvesting from Coal, Shale, Peat, and Landfill Seams U.S. application Ser. No. 11/903,346, PCT/US2008/010744; and Hydrocarbon Harvesting from Methane Hydrate Deposits and Shale Seams, U.S. application Ser. No. 12/217,915 include aspects of this invention. Both patents and this application are DuBrucq inventions. The closest prior art application is for water cutter use in horizontal drillings, Cutting Heads for Horizontal Remote Mining System by Jeff Schwoebel, U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,418 issued Apr. 2, 2002 and filed Nov. 13, 1998. For removing the center stone, U.S. Pat. No. 5,780,763 of Schimmel, Bement, DuBrucq (Glenn F. jr.) and Klein can be applicable. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     Man makes such drama out of piercing the earth, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, when the process could be a gentle removal of the material in the path of entry. This discovery gives one method to do this quietly and with little disturbance of the surface. 
     One of the costliest and messiest parts of oil exploration and extraction is drilling. Vertical drilling employs hammers or routers with lots of fuel-powered machinery to make it function. Were there a way to concentrate the function to the lowest point in a hole being drilled, and do a repeatable several step process including the cutting, the brittlizing, the cracking, and the collecting of the broken material, the process could be quieter and the material removed used elsewhere or recycled in the process. 
     Water jet cutters provide a tool with little hardware which cuts with water and sometimes grinding grit mixed in which can remove material from the margins of the intended hole. Liquid Nitrogen can then freeze and brittlize the material to be removed and either breaking off the center rock or using punctuating dissonant sound or pistol shots shatter the rock to be removed. The debris can be separated. Rock and powdered stone is sold and water and grinding grit recycled. In contrast to the drilling rig and heavy truck to remove refuse, this delicate system reduces costs to approximately one hundredth that of the drilling rig. Equipment can be hand carried to the required hole location disturbing a small space. On leaving, the environment is nearly undisturbed. 
     The method is defined for dealing with ground water eruptions. When the hole is flooding, as a temporary fix, Liquid Nitrogen can be applied to freeze the water and rock until the mortar mix is ready. One applies the mortar by dropping it in the hole to fill in as the ice melts with the curing heat of the mortar. This seals the region of the hole from further water invasion. Mortar cures under water so further flooding is not a factor. Once solid, but not fully cured, excess water can be drawn out of the hole and the water jet cutter set to continue drilling through the mortar section and on into the rock layers. It may take several cycles of this mortar application to breach the ground water region. This method of sealing prevents further water invasion for both for the drilling process and for the purpose of the hole being drilled, in the case of the inventor&#39;s work, fuel extraction from oil shale, coal, peat and landfill seams and coal mine fire control. 
     This drilling method functions in forested or active agricultural locations over rich mineral or fuel reserves or just do a clean job of drilling water wells on landscaped yards without disturbing the beauty of the grounds and leaving forest areas undisturbed. 
     2. Discussion of the Related Art 
     Schwoebel&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,418 uses water cutters used to cut rock. Horizontal drilling does not require the clearing difficulties and separation of materials as described in the present application. Two DuBrucq applications, Ser. Nos. 11/903,346 and 12/217,915, use cryogenic brittlizing of rock and dissonant sound vibrations to shred rock formations. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a method of using a water jet cutter to define and cut the circumference of the vertical shaft once the topsoil and non-rock layer of the ground is drilled with a hand auger and lined with a cylindrical pipe with the interior dimension at or larger than that of the shaft to be bored. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, that after the maximum depth of the water jet cut circumference is achieved, that the material in the center is cryogenically brittlized with Liquid Nitrogen and shattered with dissonant sound or a pistol shot shattering the rock and other material or the center stone is broken off at the base. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, the water, grit and powdered stone is collected with a Venturi pump and water and grit recycled and powdered stone sold. The debris of shattered rock is collected and carried to the surface in nets on hoisting lines having a digging loop on the end of the probe to collect the rock fragments in the nets. Solid center stones are raised using a strap below the top and three hoisting lines. 
     In yet another aspect of the present invention, motion of cutting head(s) is achieved by small angle displacement from perpendicular to the circumference cut desired of one or more of the cutting heads, not necessarily the plurality of all cutting heads, such that a tilt one way enacts slow motion in one direction and a cause of change of the tilt to the other direction enacts slow motion in the other direction. This allows motion of 120 degrees or more back and forth eliminating the twisting of continuing screw motion which would require complicated means to accommodate turning. 
     In yet another aspect of the present invention, the debris, water and grit are separated using a screen sieve to separate the rock from the liquid and grit, the grit separated because it is quick to separate from powdered stone, and the water separates out as the powder slowly settles. The water is then filtered before it is recycled in the water cutter and the grit is washed to be clear of powdered stone. 
     In yet a final aspect of the present invention, the problem of ground water invasion of the hole is handled by, first, applying Liquid Nitrogen to freeze the invading water and rock; second, apply wet, fresh mixed mortar made with only cement and sand to work its way into the sides of the drilling at the leak point; and, third, as the curing heat melts ice holding back the water, the mortar fills in the crevasses replacing water. Once this is set, but not fully cured, the water cutter can continue cutting through the mortar and lower rock formation continuing the drilling process. It may take several rounds of mortar application to close a deep zone of ground water penetration. 
     These and other advantages and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and accompanying drawings, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals represent like parts throughout, and in which: 
         FIG. 1   a  is a cross-sectional view of the shaft being drilled with the dual head water cutter installed on a center pipe of one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 1   b  is a top view of the shaft being drilled with the dual head water cutter installed illustrated in  FIG. 1   a.    
         FIG. 1   c  is a bottom-up view of the drilling head and evacuator peering through the rock being removed. 
         FIG. 2   a  shows the motion means to make the water jet cutters move to cut a circumference of the outer boring circular wall. 
         FIG. 3  shows Liquid Nitrogen cooling to produce brittle material in the drill shaft. 
         FIG. 4   a  shows the dissonant sound method of breaking up the drill center rock. 
         FIG. 4   b  shows a pistol method where a bullet enters the brittle rock and shatters it. 
         FIG. 4   c  shows a shaped charge method of cracking off the center rock whole from the rock formation being drilled. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates one method of removing the rock material at the center of the drilling having the rock segment removed whole. 
         FIG. 6  shows a gathering means of rock debris from a shattered center of the drilling enabling removal of the fragments from the hole. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates the invasion of the drilling by tapped ground water. 
         FIG. 8   a  shows the freezing of the invading waters and rock with Liquid Nitrogen. 
         FIG. 8   b  shows the application of mortar which flows into the crevasses where the ground water is sourced. 
         FIG. 8   c  shows the melting ice giving way to the flowing mortar. 
         FIG. 9  shows the water jet cutter cutting through the inserted mortar and on through the rock below. 
         FIG. 10  shows the environmental imprint of the use of this method of drilling on the surface of the ground at the site of the hole being drilled. 
         FIG. 11  shows the grounds prior to drilling. 
         FIG. 12  shows the initial hole drilled with an augur through the soil layers. 
         FIG. 13  shows the sleeve insert through the soil layers and the drill insert to cut the rock layers below. 
         FIG. 14  shows the accommodation of deep drilled holes using this method. 
         FIG. 15   a  defines water well boring to find ground water. 
         FIG. 15   b  defines insitu fuel extraction uses of the boring green process 
         FIG. 15   c  defines assaying minerals and rock types of uses. 
         FIG. 16  shows security lines to insure every part used can be drawn to the surface insuring that the boring is not cluttered with loose components. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Turning now to the drawings and initially to  FIGS. 1   a - 1   c,  a method of drilling or boring vertically with water jet cutters with a cutting head at the junction of vertical bore and rock yet to penetrate is shown from the side  FIG. 1   a;  from the top  FIG. 1   b,  and from the bottom  FIG. 1   c  looking through the rock formation. The water jet cutting heads  1  are mounted on radial arms  11  emerging from the center pole  13 . The heads are fed with high pressure water  4  via the pressure hoses  10  mounted in the superstructure  12  of the boring head. To increase the cutting capability of the water  4 , grit  41  can be added to the pressured driven water. To clear the water  4  and grit  41 , evacuation tubes  14  suck up the water  4 /grit  41 /powdered stone  20  mix. The cut in the rock  20  made by water jet cutters  1  produces powdered stone  21 . The cut  19  increases in width as the distance from the water jet cutter  1  increases or the vertical boring deepens. To insure constant diameter of the hole created, the water jet cutter heads  1  are tilted inward to keep the bore constant. 
     Accumulating water  4  prevents the water jet cutter  1  from functioning in cutting rock. Evacuation of the water/grit/powdered rock mix  42  is achieved with evacuators  14  pulling the mix into the system with vacuum provided by a Venturi pump  15  such that a vessel  16  collects the mix  42 . Once the vessel  16  is full, an empty vessel moves into the collecting place  17  and the full vessel  16  is sealed  18  and pulled up the boring  20  to the surface. It is emptied and returned to the drilling site as the next empty  17  unit to be refilled and again pulled to the surface. Once separated, the water and grit are recycled. 
     As each cutting period is prolonged, the height of the center stone  22  increases. When the cut depth  21  is too deep, the process stops so as to remove the center stone  22  either as a unit broken off at the bottom using a shaped charge or as a pile of rubble exploded by sound dissonance, a pistol bullet applied while the rock is brittle with cold. 
       FIG. 2  shows the means of motion to make the water jet cutters move to cut a circumference of the outer boring circular wall where shown here two of the water jet cutters  1  swivel holding one of two angles, equal in number of degrees to the left  102  or to the right  103  of perpendicular. The change of tilt is made when the motion upper extension  100  of the water jet cutter head  1  encounters the stable pin  101  affixed to the pole  13  causing the change of tilt direction from left to right. This changes the motion direction of the superstructure  12  allowing the cutters to trace the circumference  20  being cut to be traced in the other direction. This sets the course of the water jet cutters  1  back and forth deepening the boring  23  around the center stone  22 . The evacuators (drawn smaller so not to cover other parts)  14  move with the water cutter assembly  12  pulling the water  4 , grit  41 , and powdered stone  21  from the bottom of the cutting circumference  20 . 
       FIG. 3  shows the second procedure. Once the efficient depth of the cut is reached, water jet cutter tooling is extracted from the boring. A slow flow unit  31  is placed in the top of the hole with a sieve unit  33  above the center stone. A dewar  35  holds four liters of liquid Nitrogen  30  which flows into the slow flow unit cup  34  which empties into the sieve  33  causing the Liquid Nitrogen  30  drops to evaporate into super cold Nitrogen gas  3 . Nitrogen evaporates at the bottom of the boring cooling the center stone  22  to brittleness. Several dewars of Liquid Nitrogen may be needed to achieve the degree of cold sufficient to easily break off the center stone at the base of the cut  20 . 
       FIG. 4   a  shows the center stone  22  broken by dissonant sound application caused by two sound sources  51 ,  52  tuned close but yet out of tune to rattle the rock. It shatters the brittle center stone  22 . 
       FIG. 4   b  shows fracturing the center stone  22  with a pistol shot where the bullet  53  penetrates the brittle stone shattering it. 
       FIG. 4   c  shows cracking the base of the center stone  22  to remove it as a single entity using a angled spatula  54  to set in place a shaped charge  55  at the stone  22  base. 
       FIG. 5  shows the hoisting line  56  to remove the whole center stone  22  once cracked off the base by the shaped charge  55 . The hoisting line  56  attaches to the harness  57  which fits around the center stone  22  just under the top. Since the stone is a cone shape with the widest part on top, the harness  57  will work since the diameter of the boring  23  is not much larger than the diameter of the top of the center stone. Three hoist lines  56  will keep the center stone vertical to be slipped up the boring to be removed. 
       FIG. 6  shows means to gather fragments  24  of the center stone  22  when shattered. The net bag  58  with a rigid edge loop  59  is turned and maneuvered to collect fragments  24 . With several bags mounted in the rigid edge, the center bag  58  when full is drawn to the surface by a hoisting line  56  attached to the opening. Further maneuvering of the next bag on the rigid edge collects more of the fragments  24  in remaining bags  58 . 
       FIG. 7  illustrates invasion of the boring  23  by ground water  6 . This prevents use of the water jet cutter  1  because of the resistance of the water to the fast water jet and grit. 
       FIG. 8   a  shows freezing the water, ice  60 , using the slow flow device shown in  FIG. 2  which stops the flow of water in the space of the boring  23 . 
       FIG. 8   b  shows the heat created by dropping Calcium metal pellets on the wet center stone heating the water in the boring and the center stone to melt the ice in the boring and adjacent wall. The lightness of the released Hydrogen will lift it to the surface. The resulting substrate Ca(OH)2, Calcium hydroxide, adds to the mortar formation. 
       FIG. 8   c  shows application of mortar  61  to the melt and ice  60  formed further outside the boring and center stone  22  area. Mortar flows displacing the water to fill the boring  23  and the boring wall  25 . It should penetrate the crevasses in the rock sufficiently to block further water flow. Because cement, the setting component of mortar, will set in water, it will flow into the crevasses  26  in the boring wall  25  blocking the in-flow of water. This mortar plug will form while there is ice deep in the crevasses  26 . Curing in a conforming solid at the bottom of the boring, the mortar holds groundwater  6  back during the curing process. Once cured, it can be cut by the water jet cutter leaving the extent of the mortar flow into the rock crevasses in place and holding. 
       FIG. 8   d  shows the resulting mortar  61  seal in the boring wall  25  and the water jet cutter  1  operating cutting through the mortar  61  inside the boring  23 . If further cutting again exposes the ground water  4  and the boring  23  floods again, the procedure here illustrated is repeated again, and maybe yet again, until the boring  23  integrity holds and the only water in the boring is that from the water jet cutter. 
       FIG. 9  shows the mortar seal  61  preventing ground water  6  flooding while the boring  23  continues deeper with the water jet cutters  1  working and the water  4 , grit  41  and powdered stone  21  mix  42  being draw out of the cut  20  by evacuation tubes  14 . 
       FIG. 10  illustrates surface clutter  8  at a boring site with the pole segments  13  stacked, the barrels  16  for mix  42  separation, the water compressor  81  with the high pressure water lines  10 , a rack for the water cutter heads  1  in the radial arms  11 , evacuation tubes  14  and Venturi pump assembly  15 , extra collecting jars  17  and seals  18 . The water jet cutter water  4  and grit  41  are recycled. Powdered stone  21  is sold. Note there is little cause to destroy trees or major growth. Branches may need trimming to allow the building of the vertical pole  13  and equipment is lowered into the boring. All parts lowered into the boring are secured by hoisting lines making the action a bit of a puppet show, which prevents blocking of the boring hole by stray, untethered equipment. 
       FIG. 11  shows the drilling location before boring activities start. 
       FIG. 12  shows the initial boring process as it passes through soil using an auger  7  pulling the top soil and subsoil dirt from a hole an inch or more wider than the intended deep boring  23 . The soil  70  removed is collected on plastic sheet, bagged and removed. 
       FIG. 13  shows the sleeve insert  71  positioned from the surface to the depth of the initial rock formation  2  encountered. 
       FIG. 14  shows deep boring accommodations using this method. The pole  14  has increased number of segments held together with Swagelok snap fittings for ease of assembly and dissembly as the water jet cutter superstructure  12  is placed in the boring and removed for the center stone  22  removal. A plumb line use can insure the verticalness of the boring  23 . The pressure lines  10 , hoist lines  56 , sieve unit  33  lines, and a shaped charge  54  setting spatula and activation wires all are longer to accommodate the depth of the boring. 
       FIG. 15   a  shows the application of this boring technology to drill a water well, where once groundwater  6  is accessed the task is complete. 
       FIG. 15   b  shows the application of this boring technology to drill the shaft hole and auxiliary holes for insitu fuel extraction where the shaft boring  23  is eighteen inches and the auxiliary borings  23  are six inches diameter. 
       FIG. 15   c  shows the accommodation of this boring technique for assaying the rock and mineral content of the location. Here the center stone  22  is analyzed with each extension of the boring  23 . Using the shaped charge to undercut the center stone  22 , allows bringing the whole rock sample to the surface. These can be numbered and preserved to demonstrate the defined sequence of materials in the vertical boring. 
       FIG. 16  shows a method of securing each component of the boring and extracting practices by attaching a line  9  to each separable component allowing recovery of the situation were any unforeseen dissembly to occur in the boring  23 . The attachment point  90  to each component is chosen to dangle the loose component vertically so it hangs when free of other components and only attached to the line  9  so they can be lifted one at a time from the uppermost to the lowest hanging item from the boring. This method allows clearing the hole for resumption of the boring process. Pole segments  13  are tied at the upper end. Superstructure, the water cutter assembly,  12  is tied at an end so it hands long vertically. These lines  9  are identified and operate one or more at a time on the reel assembly  91  at the surface. The lines are protected by casements  92 , one for the cutting equipment  93 , shown in  FIGS. 16   a  and  16   d , and one for the center stone evacuating equipment  94 , shown in  FIGS. 16   b  and  16   c . When cutting, the evacuating equipment and the security lines  94  for that operation are on the surface. When evacuating, the cutting equipment and their security lines  93  are on the surface. 
     Many changes and modifications could be made to the invention without departing from the spirit thereof. The scope of some of these changes can be appreciated by comparing the various embodiments as described above. The scope of the remaining changes will become apparent from the appended claims.