Patent Application
20090028721
The invention fits within the Technology field, comprised of devices and/or systems used to dewater boreholes drilled for bench-blasting in quarries and mines.
Water, coming from rain and ground filtration, accumulates very frequently inside boreholes. The presence of water inside a borehole is a serious problem that causes difficulty in loading explosives, reduces their performance and substantially increases the cost of blasting, since the use of more expensive water-resistant explosives is needed.
This invention intends to provide the user of explosives for bench-blasting (in quarries, mines, public works, etc.) with a useful and easy-to-use technical solution that also reduces the possibility of the water extraction system getting stuck, or lost inside the borehole.
All the inventions included in this field of technology can be classified into two main groups:
As a result of the Report of the State of the Art and Previous Examination elaborated by the OEPM, Inventions U.S. Pat. No. 3,647,319 (in forward D1) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,971,437 (in forward D2) are mentioned as the two closest ones to the Invention proposed in this document. Other inventions mentioned by the OEPM were DE 4005574 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,672,392B2. Pursuant to the previous classification, D2 would be a Continuous System.
Inventions Ref: 397942, D1, ES 2253970, and the present invention P200600704, would be classified as Discontinuous Systems. Within this group, there is a special mention for the sub-group made up of those systems using the physical principle of Pneumatic Displacement as the means to displace water from the borehole. Inventions Ref. 397942, D1, and P200600704 are included in this sub-group. Attention is also drawn to the existence of another sub-division within this Group, made up of those inventions using a vacuum circuit alternately with a compressed-air circuit. This specific design incorporates important operative improvements, despite the resultant major complication in the final design of the invention. Another differentiating feature is that only the Invention P200600704 described in this document can be included in this sub-division. Inventions DE 4005574A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,672,392B2 are not related to this specific Technology field (boreholes dewatering) and, therefore, cannot be included in the classification above.
According to what is stated in the original description document of D1, there are substantial differences between the above-mentioned invention (D1) and P200600704, that give this invention substantial operative advantages:
1. A constant clearance is left between the dewatering system and the borehole along its whole length, reducing the risk of the extraction system becoming stuck or lost inside the borehole.
In P200600704, the body of the pump consists of a double hose (1)+(15) with a constant external section. This double hose is inserted into the borehole from a hose reel placed in proximity to the borehole, and it covers its entire length. Thus, a sufficient clearance is left between the internal walls of the borehole and the external face of the hose.
This clearance is kept constant, without any bulges, throughout the length of the borehole.
In contrast, D1 is described as a tubular body (tube) closed at its top end, and inserted into the borehole. It remains connected to the outside by means of two pneumatic hoses with a smaller diameter than that of the tubular body. Therefore, this design, does not maintain a constant clearance between the dewatering system and the borehole along its full length, having a critical point located in the aperture created by the intersection between the tubular body and the two hoses that hold it from the outside. Experience and practice show that those systems that cannot leave a constant clearance between the device and the inner walls of the borehole are very prone to becoming stuck in its interior, resulting in the loss of the device as it cannot then be retrieved.
2. Invention P200600704 uses a flexible hose to confine the volume to be pressurized through the use of a hermetically sealed cap that is placed on the outside of the borehole and any vertical protrusion from the borehole. There is a clear benefit in using a flexible hose because it is easier to extract the hose despite encounters with any obstacles on its way to the surface.
By contrast, D1 uses a rigid tube that, due to the normal conditions of drilling, can never have a length exceeding two or two and a half meters. Since a borehole is never completely straight, it is very difficult to repeat the action of insertion and extraction of the tube. This forces Invention D1, to keep its closing cap located inside the borehole.
The introduction of a Vacuum phase as a part of the dewatering cycles is a fundamental innovation that has not been considered in any previous invention in this field of Technology. This Vacuum phase brings a substantial improvement in the performance of dewatering cycles. This improvement becomes significant in the final cycles, when a smaller volume of water remains in the interior of the borehole, and would normally be very difficult to extract.
Invention D2, mentioned in the Report of the Preliminary Study (OEPM), (U.S. Pat. No. 3,971,437) in 1976, describes a system similar to the Invention Ref 397942, as it also produces an effect of hermetic sealing against the walls of the borehole. This is done by means of a bladder that is filled with compressed air. Therefore, this cannot be considered to represent any system equivalent to P200600704 (thus excluding its inventive applicability).
In summary, Inventions DE 4005574 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,672,392 B2 cannot be included within this Technology field as they can never be used to dewater boreholes for bench-blasting:
Description of the Parts that Constitute the Invention.
The constituent parts of the invention are detailed below in order to facilitate the understanding of the invention, its working principle and its possible use by an expert in the field.
The constituent parts of the invention are:
1. A Main Hose (1) characterized by:
An example is explained below in order to ensure an optimal understanding of the functioning of Invention P200600704. Please note, in order to facilitate the explanation below, the term HOSE will include the components: Main Hose (1), Interior Hose (15), Closing Element (30), Foot Valve (3), Filter (13) and Protective Element (14) as together they constitute a flexible tubular body that is introduced into the borehole.
Consider a borehole drilled at a diameter of 127 mm. The water level inside the drilled hole is 10 meters (this is equivalent to approx. 127 liters (12.7 l/m)). The Main Hose (1) is 30 m in length, its outside diameter is 70 mm, its inside diameter is 60 mm, having a thickness of 5 mm. The Interior Hose (15) is also 30 m in length, its outside diameter is 32 mm and its inside diameter is 24 mm. The linear volume of the interior of the HOSE is 2.5 l/m. The invention P200600704 incorporates a Compressor (17) (400 l/min and pressure limited to 6 bar) and a Vacuum Pump (18) of 4001/min of suction up to a maximum extraction of 0.4 bars (Approx. 6 m of water depth).
Once the vehicle carrying the system P200600704 is positioned in the proximity of the borehole, the process starts by introducing the HOSE partially into the collar of the borehole. Then, by operating the hose reel, the HOSE will go down into the borehole so that, within approximately 15-20 seconds, its end will reach the bottom of the borehole, going through the water level.
The first cycle begins while the HOSE is going into the borehole. The position of the Master Control (8) should be either “0 (Off)” or “I (Suction)” (Position “I” is recommended in order to reduce the overall time of operation by overlapping the introduction of the HOSE and the suction of water by vacuum). In Position “I” valve keys (26) and (28) remain open so that water being sucked up is able to get into both the Main Hose (1) and the Interior Hose (15). Within a few seconds after starting the suction, the interior of the HOSE will be at a pressure of 0.4 bars. (Pressure Gauge (29) will show this value). This is equivalent to 6 additional meters of water inside the HOSE, and the water will reach a total depth of 16 m (10 m (hydrostatic)+6 m (vacuum). Therefore, the volume ready to be extracted in the first phase of Extract will be 40 liters of water (V=16 m×2.5 l/m). Setting the Master Control (8) into Position “II (Extract)” (valve keys (26), (27), (28) closed; valve key (25) opened), the air coming from the compressor (18) enters the Principal Hose (1) across the connection (4) placed in the Closing Element (2). In its journey the air has followed the route: (23)+(20)+(36)+(7)+(35)+(4)+(2)+(1). In this position (Position II) the compressed air penetrates the cavity between the interior hose (15) and the main hose (1), closing the Foot Valve (3) and displacing the water up the interior hose (15) towards the surface along its route: (15)+(12)+(5)+(33)+(6)+(34)+(19)+(24)+(38). After approximately 40-50 seconds with the Master Control (8) set in Position II (see
Alternating the phases of Vacuum and Extract through several cycles will achieve a complete dewatering of the borehole. In the worked example, the borehole will be absolutely dry after five cycles (See the attached picture summarizing the example).
Once the borehole has been dewatered, the HOSE is coiled back into the Hose Reel (9). Overlapping the introduction of the HOSE with the first phase of Vacuum, and the withdrawal of the HOSE with the last phase of Extract can save at least 15% of the total time of the process.
It has to be mentioned that, in this Invention, the process can be “reversible” by connecting (33) to (36) and (35) to (34), (i.e. interchanging connections (4) and (5)) in such manner that the same dewatering effect will be achieved but, in this case, the compressed air will be driven through the Interior Hose (15) while the water will be displaced up across the annular gap between the Main Hose (1) and the Interior Hose (15).
A set of drawings is attached, with the sole purpose of facilitating comprehension of the descriptions of the Invention and its operation.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| P200600704 | Mar 2006 | ES | national |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/ES2007/070052 | Mar 2007 | US |
| Child | 12210192 | US |
