Drill Bit Performance Investigation Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Drilling tools are extensively used in mining and quarrying industries. Even though working environments may be different for different drilling tools application, the basic working principle has extensive similarity. The markedly different physical properties of the drilled substance (rock, soil), the depth of drilling, the rotating speed of the drill and the overall performance characteristics of the air compressor are the main parameters which affect the performance effectiveness of the drill bit. It is fairly difficult to carry out detailed experimental investigations to predict the effects of all these parameters on drill bit performance. Hence it is advisable to use the state of the art fluid dynamics simulation package Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to establish parametric interdependence. The CFD software is used due to its ability to substantially reduce the lead times and costs of new designs and its flexibility to study systems where controlled experiments are difficult to carry out. In addition, CFD also gives opportunity to study systems under hazardous conditions and yields fairly in-depth details.