Are you really using the bucket drill correctly?

Hello everyone, today I'd like to talk about the application of bucket drills in specific construction projects. In rotary drilling operations, the bucket drill serves as the most fundamental and commonly used drilling tool for rocky geological conditions. Its working principle involves cutting rings to release the confining pressure of the rock, thereby achieving the purposes of crushing and coring.

Bucket drills are typically used in rock coring and drilling residue compaction construction techniques. Depending on the geological strata, they come in various forms, including the cutter bucket drill, roller cone bucket drill, double-layer bucket drill, trident bucket drill, and so on. The trident bucket drill is more frequently applied in gravel strata, while the double-layer bucket drill is better suited for pebble strata (with the inner and outer diameters customized according to pebble size). However, for strata such as pebble and gravel layers, depending on the particle size, small-diameter (generally ≤1200mm) piles can also attempt to use cutter bucket drills for compaction and residue retrieval (subject to specific geological conditions).

In complex working conditions, how can we maximize the effectiveness of drilling tools and improve drilling efficiency? The key lies in selecting the appropriate drilling tools and pairing them with suitable cutting teeth based on rock strength and soil properties. This approach can achieve significant results with minimal effort.

Moreover, the drilling speed is significantly influenced by the operator's skills. An experienced operator can directly contribute to enhancing construction efficiency.

For medium-weathered, slightly-weathered, hard rock, and bedrock strata, cutter bucket drills are essential. They utilize step-cutting and ring-cutting to release the confining pressure of the rock, ultimately achieving coring and hole formation.

Naturally, when encountering highly compressed bedrock that severely wears down the cutter teeth, causing slow drilling progress, switching to a roller cone bucket drill can significantly boost drilling efficiency. Although roller cones are costly, they offer long service life and high construction efficiency, reducing the need for frequent cutter replacement and increasing pure drilling time.

Throughout the coring process, it is recommended to increase the height of the bucket drill body to enhance the chances of successful coring. Depending on the pile diameter, small-diameter bucket drills are typically used for direct coring, while large-diameter bucket drills employ a staged coring and crushing approach. With the continuous expansion of drilling machine models and advancements in construction techniques, the current maximum single-pass coring diameter is 1600mm (based on our company's collected data). For even larger diameters, a two-step process of first coring and then ring extraction will be adopted.