Methods and systems for adaptive non-contact / contact boring
The systems and techniques described herein may allow for optimized boring through a variety of geologies. A plurality of different boring techniques may be utilized for boring through a geological formation, in order to suit the characteristics of various portions of the geological formation. The systems and techniques described herein includes determining geological features and adjusting operation of boring based on the geological features. In certain such embodiments, boring systems may include a bore head that includes a plurality of boring elements. Such boring elements may be contact and/or non-contact boring elements.
1 . A system comprising:
a bore head comprising a chassis, a contact boring mechanism and a non-contact boring mechanism selected from the group consisting of a jet engine, a plasma torch, a combustor, and a flame jet, wherein the non-contact boring mechanism is configured to retract away from a bore face when the contact boring mechanism is in operation;
a first sensor, configured to generate first data corresponding to a first boring parameter associated with boring operations of the non-contact boring mechanism;
a non-contact boring positioning element configured to advance and retract the non-contact boring element longitudinally, laterally, and/or vertically relative to the chassis and configured to tilt the non-contact boring element in pitch and yaw on the chassis;
a translational slot, wherein the contact boring mechanism and a non-contact boring mechanism slide within the translational slot to reposition vertically and/or laterally; and
a controller, communicatively coupled to the first sensor and configured to:
cause the non-contact boring mechanism to operate in a first manner,
receive the first data from the first sensor,
determine the first boring parameter from the first data, and
cause, based on the first boring parameter, the non-contact boring mechanism to operate in a second manner, different from the first manner.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the first boring parameter comprises a change in geology associated with the boring operations,
and
the controller is configured to select one or both the non-contact boring mechanism and the contact boring mechanism based on the change in the geology.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first sensor is configured to generate first data corresponding to the first parameter at the bore face.
4 . The system of claim 3 , further comprising a second sensor, configured to generate second data corresponding to a second boring parameter associated with the boring operations away from the boring face, wherein the controller is further configured to receive the second data from the second sensor and cause, based on the second boring parameter, the non-contact boring mechanism to operate in the second manner.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first sensor is selected from the group consisting of a temperature sensor, a speed sensor, a torque sensor, a pressure sensor, a power output sensor, a flow rate sensor, a conductivity sensor, a gas flow meter, an altimeter, a potentiometer, and a clearance sensor.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the contact boring mechanism is selected from the group consisting of a hammer drill, a rotary drill, a displacement bore, a trencher, a pipe jack, a pipe ram, a pneumatic drill, a horizontal auger bore, a guided auger bore, a tunnel boring machine, and a slurry drill.
7 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a rotating platform supporting both the contact boring mechanism and the non-contact boring mechanism.
8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the contact boring mechanism and the non-contact boring mechanism have different radial offsets on the rotating platform.
9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the second manner is different from the first manner in at least one condition selected from the group consisting of a power output, a stand-off distance, and a boring speed.
10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the system is configured to operate in a mixed geological environment that comprises two or more geological formations with one or more differentiating characteristics selected from the group consisting of hardness, abrasivity, intactness, soil type, groundwater concentration, void space, and geological type.
11 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the system is configured to bore one or more of a trench, a pit, a quarry, and a shaft.
12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first sensor is a temperature sensor configured to measure temperature of exhaust gases generated by the non-contact boring mechanism.
13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the first sensor is a temperature sensor configured to measure temperature of the boring operations, and
the controller is configured to detect a change in geology based on the temperature of the boring operations.
14 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first boring parameter is a spoil excavation rate.
15 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the first sensor comprises a visual camera,
the first data comprises visual data of spoil from the boring operations of the non-contact boring mechanism, and
the controller is configured to analyze the visual data and determine changes in spoil shape from the visual data.
16 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first boring parameter comprises a boring path direction change, and wherein the second manner comprises operating the non-contact boring mechanism to effect the boring path direction change.
17 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the bore head, the first sensor, and the controller are coupled to the chassis, and wherein the chassis is configured to propel the bore head, the first sensor, and the controller.
18 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising an offsite facility configured to receive spoil samples from the bore head and analyze the spoil samples, wherein the offsite facility comprises one or more analyzers selected from the group consisting of an x-ray diffraction (XRD) analyzer, a laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) analyzer, a laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) analyzer, a Raman spectrometer, a mass spectrometer, a scanning electron microscope, an energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometer, and an x-ray fluorescence analyzer.