Hydraulic drilling apparatus and method

In a hydraulic drill head:

• a plenum chamber of circular cross-section, means for introducing a pressurized drilling fluid into the plenum chamber so that the fluid whirls rapidly about the axis of the chamber, an axially directed discharge nozzle which receives the whirling fluid from the plenum chamber and discharges a thin wall conical shell of the fluid, and a plurality of additional nozzles spaced circumferentially about the discharge nozzle in fluid communication with the plenum chamber for delivering high velocity jets of the fluid which intersect the conical shell of fluid from the discharge nozzle.

In a hydraulic drill head:

• means for providing a whirling mass of pressurized fluid, a rotor which is rotated about its axis by the pressurized fluid and has at least one longitudinally extending bore inclined obliquely to the axis for receiving the pressurized fluid and delivering a jet of fluid which sweeps about the axis in a circular manner as the rotor turns.

In a method of drilling a borehole in the earth with a hydraulic drill head at the distal end of a tubular drill string to which a pressurized fluid is applied, the steps of:

• producing a whirling mass of the pressurized fluid, and introducing the whirling fluid into a discharge nozzle in such manner that the fluid spins helically within the nozzle and emerges therefrom as a high velocity cutting jet in the form of a thin conical shell for cutting into the earth.

In a method of drilling a borehole in the earth with a hydraulic drill head at the distal end of a tubular drill string to which a pressurized fluid is applied, the steps of:

• producing a whirling mass of the pressurized fluid, and introducing the whirling fluid into an axially extending discharge nozzle in such manner that the fluid spins helically within the nozzle and emerges therefrom as a thin wall conical shell of fluid for cutting into the earth.

In a method of drilling a borehole in the earth with a hydraulic drill head at the distal end of a tubular drill string to which a pressurized fluid is applied, the steps of:

• producing a whirling mass of the pressurized fluid, applying the whirling fluid to a rotor within the drill head to turn the rotor about the axis of the drill head, and discharging the fluid from the drill head through a bore in the rotor inclined obliquely to the axis of rotation.

In a hydraulic drill head:

• an axially extending chamber having inlet and discharge ends, a plurality of radial vanes extending longitudinally of the chamber with inlet end portions generally parallel to the axis of the chamber and distal end portions oblique to the axis for causing pressurized fluid applied axially to the input end of the chamber to whirl rapidly about the axis at the distal end of the chamber, and a nozzle at the distal end of the chamber for receiving whirling fluid and discharging the fluid as a thin wall conical shell.

In a hydraulic drill head:

• an axially extending chamber having inlet and discharge ends, an axially extending vane mounted within the chamber and being twisted about the axis of the chamber for imparting a whirling motion to pressurized fluid passing between the inlet and discharge ends of the chamber, and a nozzle at the discharge end of the chamber for receiving the whirling fluid and discharging the fluid in a thin wall conical shell.

In hydraulic drilling apparatus:

• a drill head having an internal chamber, a discharge nozzle through which pressurized fluid is discharged from the chamber, and at least one flow directing vane for imparting a helical motion to the pressurized fluid within the discharge nozzle, the flow directing vane being movable axially relative to the discharge nozzle to control the manner in which the fluid is discharged from the nozzle.

In hydraulic drilling apparatus:

• a drill head having an internal chamber, a discharge nozzle through which pressurized fluid is discharged from the chamber, and at least one flow directing vane for imparting a helical motion to the pressurized fluid within the discharge nozzle, the flow directing vane being adapted for rotation about the axis of the discharge nozzle to control the amount of helical motion imparted to the fluid.

In a method of drilling a borehole in the earth with a hydraulic drill head at the distal end of a tubular drill string to which a pressurized fluid is applied, the steps of:

• directing a pressurized fluid past at lease one flow directing vane to impart a circular motion to the fluid and thereby produce a whirling mass of pressurized fluid, introducing the whirling fluid into a discharge nozzle in such manner that the fluid spins helically within the nozzle and emerges therefrom as a jet for cutting into the earth, and moving the flow directing vane in an axial direction relative to the discharge nozzle to control the shape of the jet which emerges from the nozzle.

In a method of drilling a borehole in the earth with a hydraulic drill head at the distal end of a tubular drill string to which a pressurized fluid is applied, the steps of:

• directing a pressurized fluid past at lease one flow directing vane to impart a circular motion to the fluid and thereby produce a whirling mass of pressurized fluid, introducing the whirling fluid into a discharge nozzle in such manner that the fluid spins helically within the nozzle and emerges therefrom as a jet for cutting into the earth, and rotating the flow directing vane about the axis of the discharge at a controlled rate to control the circular motion imparted to the fluid.

In a hydraulic drill head:

• an axially extending chamber having inlet and discharge ends, a plurality of radial vanes extending longitudinally of the chamber with inlet end portions generally parallel to the axis of the chamber and distal end portions oblique to the axis for causing pressurized fluid applied axially to the input end of the chamber to whirl rapidly about the axis at the distal end of the chamber, and a nozzle at the distal end of the chamber for receiving whirling fluid and discharging the fluid as a thin wall conical shell, the radial vanes being movable between different axial positions relative to the nozzle for controlling the manner in which the fluid is discharged from the nozzle.

In a hydraulic drill head:

• an axially extending chamber having inlet and discharge ends, a plurality of radial vanes extending longitudinally of the chamber with inlet end portions generally parallel to the axis of the chamber and distal end portions oblique to the axis for causing pressurized fluid applied axially to the input end of the chamber to whirl rapidly about the axis at the distal end of the chamber, a nozzle at the distal end of the chamber for receiving whirling fluid and discharging the fluid as a thin wall conical shell, and means comprising a pair of relatively rotatable throttle plates having flow control apertures adapted to be selectively positioned in or out of registration with the nozzle for controlling the amount of pressurized fluid applied to the vanes and thereby controlling the discharge of the fluid from the nozzle.

In a hydraulic drill head:

• an axially extending chamber having inlet and discharge ends, a plurality of radial vanes extending longitudinally of and being rotatable about the axis of the chamber with inlet end portions generally parallel to the axis of the chamber and distal end portions oblique to the axis for causing pressurized fluid applied axially to the input end of the chamber to whirl rapidly about the axis at the distal end of the chamber, means for controlling the rate of rotation of the vanes to control the rate at which the fluid whirls about the axis, and a nozzle at the distal end of the chamber for receiving whirling fluid and discharging the fluid as a thin wall conical shell.

In a hydraulic drill head:

• an axially extending chamber having inlet and discharge ends, an axially extending vane mounted within the chamber and being twisted about the axis of the chamber with a rate of curvature which increases toward the distal end of the chamber for imparting a whirling motion to pressurized fluid passing between the inlet and discharge ends of the chamber, and a nozzle at the discharge end of the chamber for receiving the whirling fluid and discharging the fluid in a thin wall conical shell.

In a hydraulic drill head:

• an axially extending chamber having inlet and discharge ends, an axially extending vane mounted within the chamber and being twisted about the axis of the chamber for imparting a whirling motion to pressurized fluid passing between the inlet and discharge ends of the chamber, and a nozzle at the discharge end of the chamber for receiving the whirling fluid and discharging the fluid in a thin wall conical shell, the vane being axially movable relative to the nozzle to control the manner in which the fluid is discharged from the nozzle.

In a hydraulic drill head:

• an axially extending chamber having inlet and discharge ends, an axially extending vane mounted within the chamber and being twisted about the axis of the chamber for imparting a whirling motion to pressurized fluid passing between the inlet and discharge ends of the chamber, a nozzle at the discharge end of the chamber for receiving the whirling fluid and discharging the fluid in a thin wall conical shell, and a pair of relatively rotatable throttle plates positioned coaxially of the chamber and having flow control apertures adapted to be selectively positioned in or out of registration with each other for controlling the amount of fluid passing through the chamber and thereby the discharge of fluid from the nozzle.

In a hydraulic drill head:

• an axially extending chamber having inlet and discharge ends, an axially extending vane mounted within the chamber for rotation about the axis of the chamber and being twisted about the axis of the chamber for imparting a whirling motion to pressurized fluid passing between the inlet and discharge ends of the chamber, means for controlling the rate of rotation of the vane to control the whirling motion imparted to the fluid, and a nozzle at the discharge end of the chamber for receiving the whirling fluid and discharging the fluid in a thin wall conical shell.