Estimating rock properties using sound levels produced during drilling

An attempt has been made in this paper to experimentally investigate the estimation of rock properties like compressive strength and abrasivity using sound levels produced during drilling. The investigation was carried out on a laboratory scale using small portable pneumatic drilling equipment used in hard rock drilling. For this purpose, a pneumatic drill setup was fabricated for drilling vertical holes. The compressive strength and the abrasivity of various rock samples collected from the field were determined in the laboratory. A set of test conditions were defined for measurement of sound level of the pneumatic drill. Also, with the help of the experimental setup, vertical drilling was carried out on the rock samples for varying thrust and air pressure values and the corresponding A-weighted equivalent continuous sound levels were measured. Results of this study indicate that sound level can be a promising tool in estimating rock properties during drilling.