EP3551828B1 - Method and system for determining a soil class - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a method and a system for determining a soil class.

When carrying out structural measures, it is important to make statements about the subsoil for the planned measures. This can be described according to the type, location and condition of soil, rock and groundwater. The information about the subsurface can help to avoid bad investments and prevent structural damage. The forces acting on the subsoil by the construction project or a structure can be taken into account in order to assess whether the type, location and condition of the soil, rock and groundwater conflict with the planned design of the construction project or whether measures need to be taken to secure the construction project. As a rule, the subsurface is explored by experts in geotechnics or engineering geology, whereby samples are taken and the samples analyzed. Such examinations or investigations are subject to appropriate qualifications and are time-consuming.

US 2013/000980 A1 discloses a system and method for determining soil properties. The process uses pressure cells, navigation sensors and an odometer. With regard to the odometer, it is described that it is designed to determine the length of the drill string and also to determine the propulsion, so that the US 2013/000980 A1 teaches the use of sensors that measure parameters.

US 2016/0069182 A1 discloses an apparatus and method in which measurements are taken during drilling to determine mechanical interfaces and mechanical properties along the earth bore. Data from sensors provided in a bottomhole assembly is used to determine the properties.

EP 1 942 247 A1 discloses a method and apparatus for creating a hole in the ground by displacement drilling. It is described that a particularly precise characterization of the drilled soil and thus a particularly precise determination of the load-bearing capacity is made possible by using the measured variables such as torque on the drill string, the penetration depth of the drill string per revolution and/or the penetration force of the drill string. This describes the recording or determination of measured variables by means of one or more recording devices on the drive device.

US 2012/0255781 A1 discloses an apparatus and method using a nozzle bit. It is described how to calculate a material removal rate, which results from multiplying the feed rate by the cross section of the earth bore. It is highlighted that the removal rate based on the volume allows better access than the removal rate based on the mass, since this consideration would also take into account the density of the rock, which would make the analysis more difficult.

US 2006/0212224 A1 discloses the determination of rock properties using measurements actually taken during drilling by a system that carries out measurements while drilling (MWD) systems.

The object of the invention is therefore to be able to determine a soil class more easily.

The task is solved by the subjects of the independent patent claims. Advantageous developments of the subjects of the independent patent claims are the subject of the respective dependent patent claims and result from the following description.

The core idea of the invention is to determine a soil class for an earth drilling to be carried out, in particular an earth drilling which is not primarily carried out to determine the soil class, but rather to pull in pipes and / or to replace lines or pipes. This doesn’t say sampling with a subsequent sample analysis in the foreground, but the parameters with which the earth drilling is created are used to determine the soil class. The parameters of the earth drilling device itself can be used to determine the soil class. The invention has recognized for the first time that when drilling a hole in the ground, it is possible to classify the soil or subsoil based on the machine's drilling data. A soil class can be determined from the knowledge of how the hole was drilled into the ground and the knowledge of which drilling tool was used.

The invention creates a method for determining a soil class according to claim 1.

The term “soil class” in the sense of the invention refers to a classification or classification of soils, in particular for structural purposes. Different classifications are possible, for example a classification according to grain sizes and grain size distribution, according to water content, according to plasticity and consistency, according to organic substance, according to strength, according to hardness and workability and/or according to solubility. In particular, a soil class can be a classification in which, as a result, a comprehensive classification of the soil, namely into two adjacent classes, is possible. In particular, a soil class can be a classification based on solubility and earth engineering properties; A classification of the soil classes can be based in particular on the basis of 18300 VOB/C "Earthworks" or on ÜNORM B2205 "Earthworks/works contract standard", in particular on the basis of DIN 18324 (VOB procurement and contract regulations for construction work - Part C: General technical contractual conditions for construction work (ATV) - horizontal directional drilling).

The term “earth drilling device” in the sense of the invention includes any device with which “earth drilling” can be carried out. An earth drilling device can be any device which moves a drill pipe, in particular with drill pipe sections, with a drill head in an existing or to be created channel in the ground in order to create or expand an earth bore, in particular a horizontal bore (HD), or to pipe lines or other long bodies in to pull in the soil. The earth drilling device can in particular be an HD device. An earth drilling device comprises a device driving a drill pipe, which works to displace soil, and introduces the drill pipe into the soil in a rotational and/or translational manner in the longitudinal axial direction of the drill pipe.

The term “HD” (horizontal drilling) in the sense of the present invention includes in particular any type of existing or to be created, preferably horizontal channels in a body, in particular earth channels including earth drillings, rock drillings or earth lines as well as underground or above-ground pipelines and water channels, which can be created or drawn in using an appropriate earth drilling device.

The term “drill head” in the sense of the invention describes a drilling tool attached to the end of a drill pipe, which is inserted into the earth borehole in front of the drill pipe connected to it. The drill head can have outlets for drilling fluid, whereby the drilling fluid can be used to soften the soil in front of the drill head of the earth drilling device and thereby improve the cutting effect of the drill head. A mixture of water and a mineral, in particular bentonite, and possibly some additives, which can also be mineral, can be used as the drilling fluid.

According to the invention, the type of drill head is selected as a parameter of the earth drilling device. This allows the first parameter in the form of the material used to drill the earth hole, in particular the type of drilling tool, which is reflected in the type of drill head, to be taken into account. The type of drill head can be a soft, medium, hard drill head, roller bit, fishtail bit, diamond bit, PDC bit, hybrid bit, eccentric roller bit, large hole roller bit, wing bit or impact drill bit. Taking into account the type of drilling tool, especially the type of drill head, complex information can be generated with which the classification of the soil is possible. For example, in easily soluble rocks, an "oversized" drill head can be inserted into the soil differently than a drill head specially adapted for the easily soluble rock.

According to the invention, the torque, the tensile/compressive force, the feed speed, the flushing rate and/or the rotation speed are selected as the operating parameters of the earth drilling device. As a result, a classification or determination of the soil class can be carried out from the current drilling data, such as the settings on the earth drilling device are selected in order to currently carry out the earth drilling. A complex consideration of part or all of the operating parameters together with the parameters of the earth drilling device is possible.

In a preferred embodiment, a signal from a sensor on the drill head is additionally used, whereby the signal can be assigned in particular to a pressure in the earth bore and/or a soil condition. This means that the pressure in the borehole and/or the nature of the ground can also be taken into account. All types of pressure sensors are possible as absolute or differential pressure sensors with different physical principles. Examples of this are piezoresitive, piezoelectric, capacitive and inductive pressure sensors as well as pressure sensors with Hall elements etc. Examples of sensors relating to ground conditions include: Seismic sensors; Sound pressure sensors for measuring ground-dependent structure-borne noise; Scratch sensors or acoustic geo scanners.

In a preferred embodiment, the location of the drill head is determined and the determined soil class is assigned to the location. This allows the soil class to be geographically assigned, which can be used, for example, to provide information about a construction project at a later date.

In a preferred embodiment, a database is created that provides an assignment of location and soil class, so that when a construction site is added, this database can be queried and appropriate measures can be selected. An assignment to commercially or freely offered maps (e.g. Google Earth) is possible.

The invention also provides a system for determining a soil class according to claim 5.

The system can in particular have a programmed control that processes commands or a logic-based control with which the parameters and/or operating parameters of the earth drilling device can be recorded in order to determine the soil class for the soil. For example, it is possible that the type of drilling tool can be entered by an operator or the drill head can be recognized by the system, for example using a sensor. The operating parameters of the earth drilling device in the form of machine data, such as torque, tensile/compressive force, feed speed, flushing rate and/or rotation speed, can be read from the earth drilling device when the earth drilling is created. A database may include the different operating parameters of the earth boring device and/or the parameters of the earth boring device and assign a soil class to a combination present in the database. A tuple having the operating parameters of the earth drilling device and/or the parameter of the earth drilling device can be assigned to a soil class. In a preferred embodiment, the evaluated or determined soil class can influence the machine control of the earth drilling device, for example to optimize the process of drilling the earth hole. It is also possible for fuzzy logic to be used to determine the soil class from the operating parameters of the earth drilling device and/or the parameters of the earth drilling device.

In a preferred embodiment, a sensor is arranged on the drill head and the signal from the sensor is used to determine the soil class. The sensor can be designed to determine the pressure in the earth bore. The sensor arranged on the drill head can also be a sensor for detecting the condition of the ground.

In a preferred embodiment, the system comprises a locating unit with which the location of the drill head can be determined, the unit linking a date assigned to the location of the drill head to the determined soil class.

The above statements, as well as the following description of exemplary embodiments, do not constitute a waiver of certain embodiments or features.

The invention is explained in more detail below using exemplary embodiments shown in the drawing.

The only figure shows a schematic, partially sectioned representation of an earth drilling device 1 with a drill pipe 2 and a drill head 3 attached to the front of the drill pipe 2. Using the earth drilling device 1, an earth bore 4 is drilled into the ground. A program 5, which runs in hardware of the earth drilling device 1, records the parameters of the earth drilling device 1 and the operating parameters of the earth drilling device 1. The program 5 can, for example, if for the operating parameters of the earth drilling device 1 a high torque, a high pressure force, a low feed rate was determined and for the parameter of the earth drilling device 1 that a roller bit is used, classify the soil into soil class "six".

Claims (7)

1. Method for determining a soil class, in which a soil borehole (4) is introduced into the ground by means of a soil drilling device (1) with a drilling head (3), wherein

   a) a parameter of the soil drilling device (1) and

   b) at least one operating parameter of the soil drilling device (1)

   are utilized in determining the soil class concerned, wherein the at least one operating parameter of the soil drilling device is selected from torque, tensile/compressive force, feed speed, flushing rate and/or rotational speed and represents the settings selected on the soil drilling device to perform the current soil drilling and the type of drilling head (3) is selected as the parameter of the soil drilling device (1).
2. Method according to Claim 1, wherein a signal from a sensor on the drilling head (3) is further utilized in determining the soil class.
3. Method according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the location of the drilling head (3) is determined and an assignment of the determined soil class to the location is performed.
4. Method according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein a database is created that provides an assignment of location and soil class.
5. System for determining a soil class comprising a soil drilling device (1) having a drilling head (3), and the system is configured to use at least one parameter and at least one operating parameter of the soil drilling device (1) to determine the soil class, wherein the at least one operating parameter of the soil drilling device is selected from torque, tensile/compressive force, feed speed, flushing rate and/or rotational speed and represents the settings selected on the soil drilling device to perform the current soil drilling and the type of drilling head (3) is selected as the parameter of the soil drilling device (1).
6. System according to Claim 5, characterized in that a sensor is arranged on the drilling head (3) and the signal from the sensor is also used to determine the soil class.
7. System according to Claim 5 or 6 comprising a locating unit with which the location of the drilling head (3) can be determined, wherein the unit links a datum assigned to the location of the drilling head (3) to the soil class determined.

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