Rock fragmentation mechanisms and an experimental study of drilling tools during high-frequency harmonic vibration

Resonance drilling is a new technology, still at the laboratory stage. It has great potential to improve rock fragmentation efficiency. We analyzed the amplitude-frequency characteristics of steady-state mechanical vibration excited by harmonic vibration in rocks and an apparatus was built to achieve high frequency vibration of rock. The influence of rock drillability, rotary speed, excitation frequency, and other parameters on the rate of penetration (ROP) in resonance drilling was analyzed. The results show that the rock drillability decreased with an increase in excitation frequency. When drilling with a large size drill bit, the ROP increased with excitation frequency. The ROP reached a maximum value at the resonant frequency of the rock. The ROP of the bit increased linearly with rotary speed when no vibration was applied on the rock and increased approximately exponentially when harmonic vibration was applied. In addition, the resonant frequency of the rock was changing during the process of rock fragmentation, so in order to achieve the desired resonance of the rock, it is necessary to determine an appropriate harmonic vibration excitation frequency.