Air Rotary Drilling Method

Aquifer Drilling & Testing, Inc. offers both truck and track mounted air rotary drilling rigs.  Borehole advancement by air rotary drilling is achieved in a similar fashion as mud rotary drilling with the exception of using mud.  This method utilizes air as a circulating medium to; cool the drill bit, bring drill cuttings to the surface and maintain borehole integrity. When drilling with a conventional air rotary system, the cuttings are removed from the borehole using high annular pressure created by an air compressor at the surface. The air that is circulated also acts to cool the drill bit as it circulates from inside the drill rod and out and around the bit.  Borehole advancement is achieved by rapid rotation of a drill bit which is mounted at the end of drill pipe.  The drill bit "cuts" the formation into small pieces (cuttings) which are removed by circulating air (created at the surface using a compressor) through the drill pipe, out the drill bit and up the annulus between the borehole and drill pipe.  The air is also used to cool the drill bit.  Once the air and cuttings return to the surface they are captured in a cyclone where the cuttings drop out the bottom.  Standard split-barrel and thin-wall sampling are not utilized with this method.  A broad range of coring equipment is supported for consolidated rock.