Drilling rig: failure modes and monitoring solutions

A drilling rig is a machine used for drilling into the ground or into rocks when they are extremely rigid or require deep drilling. There are three main drilling techniques:

• Percussive: the equipment drills by striking and rotating a drill bit. It then injects cleaning fluids (air or water). The drill is generally powered by compressed air, although it can also be powered by fuel.
• Rotopercussive: carried out using a high frequency, so that the drill can wear away the rock as it rotates. Its operation follows the sequence of steps below: 1) Percussion; 2) Rotation; 3) Forward pressure; 4) Cleaning fluid; 5) Percussion.
• Rotary: A drill bit containing a wedge-shaped part, called a directional blade, is responsible for directing the drilling. Drilling continues with the coupling of rotating drill rods.

Failure modes in drilling rig components

Combustion engine faults

This component is responsible for transforming thermal energy into mechanical energy, providing the driving force needed for the asset to function. The failure modes observed are:

• Oil filter: A clogged or broken oil filter can also be one of the causes of combustion engine failure, as its function is to prevent impurities from damaging the engine.
• Fuel filter: Leaks or blockages in the fuel filter can cause engine problems, greatly increasing the vehicle’s fuel consumption.
• Air filter: Problems with this element, such as blocked or poorly attached hoses, can be one of the causes of engine failure. This filter is essential for the health of the engine and, when not operating correctly, can cause it to lose its efficiency.

Battery faults

This component is responsible for generating power for the vehicle’s other electronic components. The most common failure mode linked to this component is discharging, preventing it from starting.

Cooling faults

As the component responsible for regulating and controlling the engine’s temperature, it can fail when the coolant is low, or when there is damage to the hoses, whether due to clogging, wear or poor fastening, or when there is damage to the water pump.

Service and rear brake failures

It is a fundamental component whose function is to reduce the speed of the vehicle or keep it stationary, carrying out this process safely by properly distributing the braking force between the wheels. It can fail due to misalignment or maladjustment of the pin, poor fixing or poor contact of the brake chamber or damage to the safety valve.

Solution for monitoring autonomous drilling rigs

As with any industrial asset, the key to ensuring that equipment is always working properly is the continuous monitoring of health indicators. However, in the case of off-highway vehicles, this proves to be a very difficult task. But why?

• Difficulty of access: The structure of a drilling rig is very closed and protected, guaranteeing the robustness of the equipment. Other points are at height. All of this makes the manual data collection process difficult and often leaves points inaccessible for data reading. In this case, Dynamox’s remote sensing solution offers security, as the professional does not need to be close to the asset to take the readings. Dynamox vibration and temperature sensors continuously monitor the health indices of these assets without the need for a professional nearby. In addition, the devices are IP66 / IP68 / IP69 / EX certified, further contributing to the safety of operations.

• Exposure to risk: Due to the size, load and constant transit of these vehicles, as well as other factors, the inspection activity can expose inspectors to risk. In addition, in order to collect some information, such as vibration data, the vehicle must be in operation.
• Standardizing data collection: Another challenge in monitoring off-highway vehicles is to standardize data collection so that the data is valid for comparison and follow-up.

To solve these problems, Dynamox offers small, robust sensors that are installed on the drill rig. And along with Gateways, continuous data can be obtained remotely, without putting the inspector at risk.

And to solve the problem of standardizing collections, Dynamox developed the DynaTrigger.

DynaTrigger is a system that works as a “Gateway trigger”, mainly applied to autonomous drilling rigs. It triggers data collection when an external signal is sent to the Gateway. In this way, collection is carried out at the most appropriate time, synchronized with the operation of the asset.

Data collection synchronized with the equipment’s operation generates high repeatability (with the asset in the same operating conditions) and, above all, makes it possible to monitor trends and the evolution of faults. Check out the difference a collection with DynaTrigger makes:

Success case in monitoring drilling rigs at Vale

The Dynamox ecosystem is made up of solutions that improve asset health and performance monitoring. Companies that invest in this partnership quickly realize the positive impact of this choice.

Vale, for example, avoided the loss of almost USD12.4 million by monitoring 15 autonomous drilling rigs, as well as reducing workers’ exposure to risks by more than 2,700 minutes.

In the image below, there are some of the other benefits of using Dynamox solution presented by the Vale team.

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