Directional Drilling Steering Display for Target Roll Guidance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing directional drilling systems rely heavily on operator skill to interpret steering commands, leading to inefficiencies and inaccuracies in guiding the boring tool to a target location, as they lack intuitive visual feedback and adaptive steering guidance.
Innovation Solution
A system that generates and visually indicates rotate, push, and spin commands, along with a steering indicator and target indicator, to provide real-time guidance for the boring tool, allowing it to home in on a target position by adjusting its roll orientation and providing modified steering directions based on current orientations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If prior art steering systems are used, then the boring tool can be guided to a target location, but the operator must interpret complex steering commands from diverse sources, requiring high operator skill and judgment
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides continuous visual feedback through a display showing the boring tool's current position, target position, and calculated steering commands. The display updates in real-time as the tool moves, allowing the operator to see the direct relationship between controls and tool position without needing to interpret complex raw steering data from multiple sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary processing layer that takes raw steering commands from diverse sensor sources and translates them into simplified visual representations on the display. This intermediary layer consolidates complex information from multiple sources into a single intuitive interface, reducing the operator's cognitive load while maintaining accurate steering control.
2Adaptability or versatility
If steering commands are generated from multiple diverse sources, then comprehensive steering control is achieved, but the complexity of interpreting and coordinating these commands increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple diverse steering command sources into a unified display interface that presents consolidated steering information. By combining data from various sensors and control sources into a single coherent visual representation, the system maintains comprehensive steering control while simplifying the operator's task of coordinating multiple commands.
3Ease of operation
If the boring tool is steered using a beveled face on the drill head, then directional control is achieved, but the precision of steering is limited by the fixed angle orientation of the bevel
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables dynamic adjustment of the drill head's orientation by providing real-time visual feedback on the tool's current attitude and target orientation. This allows the operator to make precise, incremental adjustments to the beveled face angle during drilling, transforming a static fixed-angle system into a dynamically controllable one with higher steering precision.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method are used in conjunction with a system for performing horizontal directional drilling, the system including a drill string extending from a drill rig to a boring tool such that the boring tool is steerable based on a roll orientation. The system also includes an arrangement for generating steering commands for guiding the boring tool to a target position. Responsive at least in part to the steering commands, a display is configured to selectively indicate each of a rotate command, a push command and a spin command. A steering indicator is described which indicates a current roll orientation of the boring tool. A 3-D grid can be animated and centered on either a steering or target indicator. Rounding of a steering command ratio can limit the display of target roll orientations to only those that a given boring tool transmitter is capable of sensing and indicating.