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What is Sonic drilling?

Sonic drilling is a soil penetration technique that uses a high frequency of 150 Hz to penetrate soil layers. The oscillator in the drill head generates a high-frequency, resonating energy that is directed down into the borehole. During drilling, the resonating energy is combined with a rotating movement. This ensures an even distribution of the energy that acts on the drill bit and the drilling equipment.

The drilling operator can adjust the amount of sonic vibration generated by the drill head to the force required to optimally penetrate the soil and rock formations.

Sonic drilling benefits

Because of the reduced friction on the length of the drill string, sonic drilling needs less power to achieve the same effect as conventional drilling. This unique characteristic of sonic drilling prevents torsional forces on the drill string.  

Another benefit of applying sonic high frequency is the ease of retrieving the drill string, even in quick expanding clays or boulders and difficult conditions. All the drilling rods, casings and tooling are pulled faster and easier. The liquefaction and inertia effects enable you to collect long and continuous samples. Due to the vertical high-frequency movement, the drill string stays extremely straight with very little deflection. 

When do you need a Sonic drill rig?

There are situations where you want to avoid the usage of drilling mud, air, or even water while drilling. Since Sonic drilling does not necessarily require air or drilling mud while drilling, it is the preferred method for geotechnical, geo-construction and environmental applications.

There are also special projects where sonic drilling can and has run dry in overburden conditions, which is often preferable. Environmental projects can realise significant cost savings using the Royal Eijkelkamp Sonic drilling method because these projects can require a substantial amount of time, and consequently money, to properly dispose of investigation derived waste. In a mining project, specifically a leach pad, adding water or air is a disturbance that can influence the mechanical properties of the soil. In extreme cases it can cause erosion, which could lead to a failure such as a partial landslide.