Screw Anchor Consumable Tip for Mud and Clay Drilling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drilling while driving techniques fail to prevent the ingress of mud and clay into the foundation component when driving through soft materials, disrupting the drilling process and requiring time-consuming manual mitigation.
Innovation Solution
A foundation component with a consumable cone tip made of a material with a lower elastic modulus than the shaft, allowing the drilling tool to extend and clear obstructions automatically, combined with a drilling system that uses pressurized air to eject spoils and a controlled drilling tool deployment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If drilling through mud and clay using conventional foundation components, then the drilling tool can penetrate soft materials, but mud and clay fill up the foundation component encasing the drill bit and drill rod
Solution Approach 1:
The foundation component is segmented into a reusable shaft and a consumable tip. The consumable tip acts as a temporary barrier that prevents spoil ingress during drilling through soft materials, then is discarded after serving its purpose, allowing the drill bit to remain clear without requiring manual cleaning of the entire foundation component.
Solution Approach 2:
A consumable tip is introduced as a temporary, disposable element that performs the specific function of preventing spoil ingress during soft material drilling. This tip is designed to be consumed or discarded after use, protecting the expensive reusable drill bit and foundation component shaft from contamination without requiring permanent modifications to the main system.
2Ease of operation
If using a consumable cone tip with lower elastic modulus, then the drilling tool can extend and clear obstructions automatically, but the cone tip is consumed during the process
Solution Approach 1:
The consumable cone tip is designed as a low-cost, disposable component that is intentionally consumed during the drilling process. Its lower elastic modulus allows it to deform and break away when the drill bit encounters obstructions, automatically clearing the path without requiring manual intervention or complex retrieval mechanisms, while the loss of the tip itself is acceptable given its low cost and single-use nature.
Solution Approach 2:
The cone tip is made from material with a lower elastic modulus than the foundation component shaft, creating a deliberate parameter difference. This allows the tip to behave differently under stress - deforming and breaking more easily to clear obstructions - while the stronger shaft remains intact for reuse. The material parameter change enables the tip to serve its sacrificial function effectively.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If using pressurized air to eject spoils, then the inside of the component remains clear of sand, rocks, and soil, but this is only effective in rock and dry, hard soils not in mud and clay
Solution Approach 1:
The solution segments the drilling system into zones with different spoil management mechanisms. Pressurized air is used effectively in the upper zone for rock and dry soils where it works well, while the consumable tip provides physical barrier protection in the lower zone where mud and clay would otherwise ingress and block the drill bit, combining multiple approaches to handle different soil types.
Solution Approach 2:
The consumable tip acts as an intermediary barrier between the drill bit and the external environment. In soft materials where pressurized air cannot effectively eject spoils, this physical barrier prevents spoil ingress in the first place, compensating for the limitations of air ejection in certain soil conditions and enabling the system to handle a broader range of material types.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables continuous drilling and driving through mixed strata without manual intervention, ensuring efficient embedment by preventing spoil ingress and allowing real-time drill assist when needed.
Implementation Method 1
A foundation component with a consumable cone tip made of a material with a lower elastic modulus than the shaft, allowing the drilling tool to extend and clear obstructions automatically
Implementation Method 2
the emission of pressurized air from the impact end of the bit is sufficient to eject spoils so that the inside of the component remains clear of sand, rocks, and soil
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a foundation component having an elongated open shaft, an external thread form beginning at a first end and extending along the shaft, a driving coupler at a second end, opposite to the first end, and a cone received by the first end and extending from the first end. The cone is of a material having a lower elastic modulus than the elongated open shaft.