The Hydraulic Effects of Lost Circulation and the Implications for Contaminant Migration During Drilling

The impact of lost circulation during rotary drilling near an existing monitoring well cluster was evaluated by periodic measurements of water levels and contaminant concentrations at the well cluster. Due to regulatory concerns, changes in water levels or VOC concentration in the well cluster during drilling would trigger monitoring well redevelopment. The borehole was drilled approximately 30 feet northeast of four nested monitoring wells that screen Devonian and Silurian carbonate bedrock at depths of 15, 60, 130, and 190 feet. Following complete circulation loss at depths of 177 and 1 S3 feet in the borehole, a rapid decrease in water levels was observed in the upper three monitoring wells. The water level in the well that was screened through the lost circulation zones increased slightly.
Decreasing water levels in formations located above the point of circulation loss appear to occur in response to a sudden decrease in borehole fluid pressure caused by the flow of drilling fluid into the formation. The relative contribution of contaminated formation water lo the borehole can be estimated by using the time-drawdown relationship and estimates of transmissivity. At the point of circulation loss, significant dilution of contaminant concentrations occurs from the loss of drilling fluid into the contaminated zone. Contaminated formation water entering the borehole during periods of complete lost circulation may mobilize contaminants from upper lo lower formations. Lost circulation into a formation would be signaled by a water level increase in monitoring wells. The wells would subsequently require development to remove the volume of fluid lost to the formation, including both drilling fluid and contaminated formation water. Monitoring wells exhibiting declining water levels following lost circulation would not require development since drilling water has not entered the zones screened by these wells.     

The Resonant Sonic Drilling Method: An Innovative Technology for Environmental Restoration Programs

The resonant sonic drilling method offers unique capabilities to the environmental restoration market. By using a drill head that imparts high-frequency, high-force vibrations into a steel drill pipe, continuous, relatively undisturbed cores can be taken through virtually any formation. The resonant sonic method requires no mud, air, water, or other circulating medium for penetration: drills very fast; easily drills at any angle through formations such as rock, clay, sand, boulders, permafrost, or glacial till; and yields no cuttings in the drilling process. Case histories of projects using the method demonstrate excellent results but also indicate several problem areas with the method in its present state. Expanding research efforts to further develop the resonant sonic drilling method should help solve current drawbacks, and could produce a drilling technology for environmental work that significantly changes the way monitoring wells are drilled and constructed.     

Generation of Hydrogen Gas as a Result of Drilling Within the Saturated Zone

Hydrogen gas was discovered within the steel casing above standing water in a percussion-drilled borehole on the Hanlord Site in south-central Washington state. In situ measurements of the borehole fluids indicated anoxic, low-Eh (<-400 mV) conditions. Ground water sampled from adjacent wells in the same formation indicated that the ground water was oxygenated. H₂ was generated during percussion drilling, due to the decomposition of borehole waters as a result of aqueous reactions with drilled sediment and steel from the drilling tools or casing. The generation of H₂ within percussion-drilled boreholes that extend below the water table may be more common than previously realized. The ambient concentration of H₂ produced during drilling was limited by microbial activity within the casing-resident fluids. H₂ was generated abiotically in the laboratory, whereby sterilized borehole slurry samples produced 100 times more H₂ than unsterilizcd samples. It appears that H₂ is metabolized by microorganisms and concentrations might be significantly greater if not for microbial metabolism.     

The Effect of Three Drilling Fluids on Ground Water Sample Chemistry

Three monitoring wells were installed in borings that were constructed using water-based drilling fluids containing either (1) guar bean, (2) guar bean with breakdown additive, or (3) bentonite. These fluids were selected to observe their effect on the chemistry of subsequent water samples collected from the wells. The wells were installed to depths of 66 feet, 100.5 feet and 103 feet, respectively, in fine-to-medium sand and gravel outwash deposits near Antigo, Wisconsin. Drilling fluids were necessary to maintain an open borehole during well construction through strata containing cobbles and boulders.
The bentonite and guar drilling fluids caused temporarily elevated concentrations of chemical oxygen demand (COD) in ground water samples collected from the monitoring wells. Using standard development, purging and sampling procedures, elevated COD concentrations persisted for about 50 days for the well bored with the guar-with-additive fluid, 140 days for the bentonite well and 320 days for the guar well. Unfiltered ground water samples for all wells had greater concentrations of COD than samples filtered through a 0.45 micron filter. Sulfate concentrations also decreased with time in the guar-with-additive well and bentonite well, but not in the guar well.
The elevated COD concentrations are attributed to the large concentrations of oxidizable carbon present in the guar bean drilling fluid and in the organic polymers present in the bentonite drilling fluid. Well development and purging procedures, including borehole flushing, surging, bailing and/or chemically induced viscosity breakdown of the guar mud decreased the time before background conditions were achieved. Future research should evaluate the physical and geochemical interaction of different drilling fluid compositions with a variety of geologic matrices and drilling, well development and well purging techniques.     

钻柱振动信号特征及多次波成像

钻柱是连接地面和井底钻头及地层的通道,伴随着钻头旋转破岩产生的钻柱振动包含丰富的信息,通过分析在钻柱顶端采集的钻头振动信号能够获得钻头、钻具的工作状态以及所钻地层甚至钻头前方地层的岩性、地层压力等信息,进行井下诊断和钻前预测.钻柱是由具有不同横截面积的单元组成,截面变化引起的波阻抗差异使钻头振动信号沿钻柱传播时发生多次反射,形成钻柱多次波.利用单边反褶积自相关等方法对井场采集的钻柱振动信号进行了处理,得到了振动信号的特征、反射界面多次波成像和振动信号沿钻柱的传播速度以及钻柱的实际转速等,并与理论结果吻合较好,为钻柱振动录井和随钻地震技术研究打下了基础.     

Installation of Observation Wells on Hazardous Waste Sites in Kansas Using a Hollow-Stem Auger

Noncontaminating procedures were used during the hollow-stem auger installation of 12 observation wells on three hazardous waste sites in Kansas. Special precautions were taken to ensure that water samples were representative of the ground water in the aquifer and were not subjected to contamination from the land surface or cross contamination from within borehole. Precautions included thorough cleaning of the hollow-stem auger and casing, keeping drill cuttings from falling back into the borehole while drilling, and not adding water to the borehole. These procedures were designed to prevent contamination of the ground water during well installation.
Because the use of water during well installation could contaminate the aquifer or dilute contaminants already present in the aquifer, two methods of well installation that did not introduce outside water to the borehole were used. The first method involved using a slotted 3/4-inch coupling that was attached to the bit plate of the hollow-stem auger, allowing formation water to enter the auger, thereby preventing sand-plug formation. This method proved to be adequate, except when drilling through clay layers, which tended to clog the slotted coupling. The second method involved screened well swab that allowed only formation water to enter the hollow-stem auger and prevented sand from plugging the hollow-stem auger when the bit plate was removed.     

A New Multilevel Ground Water Monitoring System Using Multichannel Tubing

A new multilevel ground water monitoring system has been developed that uses custom-extruded flexible 1.6-inch (4.1 cm) outside-diameter (O.D.) multichannel HOPE tubing (referred to as Continuous Multichannel Tubing or CMT) to monitor as many as seven discrete zones within a single borehole in either unconsolidated sediments or bedrock. Prior to inserting the tubing in the borehole, ports are created that allow ground water to enter six outer pie-shaped channels (nominal diameter = 0.5 inch [1.3 cm]) and a central hexagonal center channel (nominal diameter = 0.4 inch [1 cm]) at different depths, facilitating the measurement of depth-discrete piezometric heads and the collection of depth-discrete ground water samples. Sand packs and annular seals between the various monitored zones can be installed using conventional tremie methods. Alternatively, bentonite packers and prepacked sand packs have been developed that are attached to the tubing at the ground surface, facilitating precise positioning of annular seals and sand packs. Inflatable rubber packers for permanent or temporary installations in bedrock aquifers are currently undergoing site trials. Hydraulic heads are measured with conventional water-level meters or electronic pressure transducers to generate vertical profiles of hydraulic head. Ground water samples are collected using peristaltic pumps, small-diameter bailers, inertial lift pumps, or small-diameter canister samplers. For monitoring hydrophobic organic compounds, the CMT tubing is susceptible to both positive and negative biases caused by sorption, desorption, and diffusion. These biases can be minimized by: (1) purging the channels prior to sampling, (2) collecting samples from separate 0.25-inch (0.64 cm) O.D. Teflon sampling tubing inserted to the bottom of each sampling channel, or (3) collecting the samples downhole using sampling devices positioned next to the intake ports. More than 1000 CMT multilevel wells have been installed in North America and Europe to depths up to 260 feet (79 m) below ground surface. These wells have been installed in boreholes created in unconsolidated sediments and bedrock using a wide range of drilling equipment, including sonic, air rotary, diamond-bit coring, hollow-stem auger, and direct push. This paper presents a discussion of three field trials of the system, demonstrating its versatility and illustrating the type of depth-discrete data that can be collected with the system.     

Drill-Through Casing Driver Drilling Method for Construction of Monitoring Wells in Coarse, Unconsolidated Sediments

Hole stability problems occurring during construction of monitoring wells in coarse, unconsolidated alluvium can be overcome by using a drill-through casing driver mounted on a standard top-head drive rotary rig. Steel casing is driven contemporaneously with drilling, providing continuous hole stability. Samples of aquifer material and ground water can be taken at discrete depths as drilling proceeds. Monitoring well completion is accomplished by: (1) using the steel casing as an open-ended piezometer; (2) installing a telescoping well screen; (3) plugging the casing end and perforating desired intervals, (4) installing one or more smaller diameter wells, and then (5) pulling back the steel casing. Advantages of this drilling method include maintenance of hole stability during drilling and well completion, faster borehole construction time than traditional methods in coarse alluvial deposits and other poorly sorted formations, and collection of representative samples of the geologic formations and ground water; additionally, drilling fluids are not required.     

Drilling and Constructing Monitoring Wells with Hollow-Stem Augers Part 1: Drilling Considerations

Hollow-stem augers are a widely used drilling method for constructing monitoring wells in unconsolidated materials. The drilling procedures used when constructing monitoring wells with hollow-stem augers, however, are neither standardized nor thoroughly documented in the published literature.
Variations in drilling procedures and techniques may occur as a result of the: (1) type of auger drill equipment and formation samplers used; (2) hydrogeologic conditions at the site, especially where heaving sands occur; and (3) known or suspected presence of contaminated zones, where there is a potential for the vertical movement of contaminants within the borehole.
In a saturated zone in which heaving sands occur, changes in equipment and drilling techniques are required to provide a positive pressure head of water within the auger column. This may require the addition of clean water or other drilling fluid inside the augers.
When monitoring the quality of ground water below a known contaminated zone, hollow-stem auger drilling may not be advisable unless protective surface casing can be installed. Depending on the site hydrogeology, conventional hollow-stem auger drilling techniques alone may not be adequate for the installation of the protective surface casing. A hybrid drilling method may be needed that combines conventional hollow-stem auger drilling with a casing driving technique that advances the borehole and surface casing simultaneously.     

Cryogenic Drilling: A New Drilling Method for Environmental Remediation

Cryogenic drilling is a technique developed at the University of California (UC), Berkeley, for drilling in unstable sediments of environmental monitoring, for characterizing, and for remediation wells, The method uses standard air rotary drilling techniques, but with cold nitrogen rather than ambient air as the circulating fluid in order to freeze and stabilize the borehole wall. Several laboratory and full-scale field tests have been performed. A.52-foot-deep (16 m) soil boring and 24 foot (7 m) monitoring well have been drilled as part of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Site Characterization Project. Continued testing and refinement of the equipment and operational method are in progress. The method has been proposed for use as part of the Department of Energy (DOE) weapons site cleanup at locations with unstable sediments such as Hanford, Sandia, and Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL).     

The Suction Side Sample Catcher in Ground Water Quality Sampling

A suction side sample collector (SSSC) is a contrivance installed hydraulically ahead of the intake port of a pumping device. This paper describes construction and operational details of SSSCs fitted to a submersible pump with packer for use in a 6-inch cased borehole, an air lift pump with packer for use in a 1-inch or 2.5-inch cased borehole, a bladder pump for use in a casing of 2-inch or greater diameter, and a jet pump with packer for use in a 2-inch cased borehole.
Each form of SSSC has been thoroughly tested in ground water quality sampling for volatile organic chemicals. Comparative data for samples collected with the SSSCs and conventional sample collecting gear are presented. The SSSC is demonstrated to be superior to other methods of collecting volatile organic chemical samples owing to its freedom from contamination by the pump delivery line and to its mode of collecting the sample from a position in the well remote from disturbance by the pumping technique.
SSSCs are conveniently decontaminated, easily transported, and can be used to deliver samples to the laboratory while still at formation pressure. The air-lift pumps, described in this paper for use with SSSCs in 1- and 2.5-inch casings, have pumping capacities greater than obtained by other methods that can operate in these small casings. Discharge rates of up to 2 gpm are routinely achieved with the 1-inch model and higher rates are common With the 2.5-inch model. The use of packers with these pumps reduces the time needed to replace the water in the casing with fresh water from the formation.     

随钻声波测井钻铤模式波衰减规律研究与隔声体设计

随钻声波测井技术近年来发展很快,这门技术的关键技术之一是随钻仪器的隔声设计,以保证在随钻条件下有效地测量地层的声波信号.针对普遍采用的刻槽隔声技术,本文利用三维有限差分弹性波场模拟对钻铤刻槽前、后的声波响应进行了数值模拟和理论研究.通过模拟结果的理论分析给出了钻铤波固有阻带分布规律与钻铤尺寸关系和钻铤波衰减频段与刻槽宽...     

Hydrogeology,Chemical and Microbial Activity Measurement Through Deep Permafrost

Little is known about hydrogeochemical conditions beneath thick permafrost, particularly in fractured crystalline rock, due to difficulty in accessing this environment. The purpose of this investigation was to develop methods to obtain physical, chemical, and microbial information about the subpermafrost environment from a surface‐drilled borehole. Using a U‐tube, gas and water samples were collected, along with temperature, pressure, and hydraulic conductivity measurements, 420 m below ground surface, within a 535 m long, angled borehole at High Lake, Nunavut, Canada, in an area with 460‐m‐thick permafrost. Piezometric head was well above the base of the permafrost, near land surface. Initial water samples were contaminated with drill fluid, with later samples <40% drill fluid. The salinity of the non‐drill fluid component was <20,000 mg/L, had a Ca/Na ratio above 1, with δ¹⁸O values ～5‰ lower than the local surface water. The fluid isotopic composition was affected by the permafrost‐formation process. Nonbacteriogenic CH₄ was present and the sample location was within methane hydrate stability field. Sampling lines froze before uncontaminated samples from the subpermafrost environment could be obtained, yet the available time to obtain water samples was extended compared to previous studies. Temperature measurements collected from a distributed temperature sensor indicated that this issue can be overcome easily in the future. The lack of methanogenic CH₄ is consistent with the high sulfate concentrations observed in cores. The combined surface‐drilled borehole/U‐tube approach can provide a large amount of physical, chemical, and microbial data from the subpermafrost environment with few, controllable, sources of contamination.     

隐伏活断层钻孔联合剖面对折定位方法

基于城市隐伏活断层钻孔联合剖面探测的多次实践,总结出一种优化的断层定位方法--对折法.其步骤为:首先实施剖面两端的钻孔,在确保断层在两孔间之后,在两孔中间位置布设第3孔;继续确定断层所在区段,然后在其间二分之一处布设下一钻孔,依次类推,逐渐限定出断层的准确位置.同时,引入孔间标志层位坡降这一量化指标替代落差分析,并归纳...     

Long-term temperature monitoring in a borehole drilled into the Nojima Fault, southwest Japan

Abstract Long-term monitoring of temperature distribution in an active fault zone was carried out using the optical fiber temperature-sensing technique. An optical fiber cable was installed in a borehole drilled into the Nojima Fault in Awaji Island, south-west Japan, and the temperature profile to a depth of 1460 m had been measured for 2.5 years (July 1997–January 2000). Although the obtained temperature records showed small temporal variations due to drifts of the measurement system all along the cable, local temperature anomalies were detected at two depths. One at around 80 m seems to correspond to a fracture zone and may be attributed to groundwater flow in the fracture zone. This anomaly had been stable throughout the monitoring period, whereas the other anomaly at around 500 m was a transient one. The water level in the borehole could be estimated from the diurnal temperature variations in the uppermost part of the borehole and may provide information on the hydrological characteristics of the fault zone, which is connected to the borehole through perforations on the casing pipe. Except for these minor variations, the temperature profile had been very stable for 2.5 years. The conductive heat flow calculated from this profile and the thermal conductivity measured on core samples increases with depth, probably resulting from errors in thermal conductivity due to sampling problems and/or from advective heat transfer by regional groundwater flow. Assuming that the middle part of the borehole (less fractured granite layer) is least affected by these factors, heat flow at this site is estimated to be approximately 70 mW/m².     

郑州老鸦陈断裂的探测与活动性调查研究

通过浅层地震勘探、钻孔联合剖面分析、野外地貌调查以及新地质年代测定等技术方法,对原先认定的郑州老鸦陈断裂的活动性开展调查. 其中,浅层地震勘探结果表明,该断裂仅存在于新近纪以前的地层,而在新近纪地层内均未发现该断层错断和活动迹象. 同时,地表的地质地貌调查亦发现ldquo;地貌陡坎rdquo;与老鸦陈断裂的位置不一致. 另外钻探和钻孔联合剖面的分析也表明,地表的陡坎仅发育在马兰黄土中, 其下地层平缓,没有错断现象,认为该陡坎的形成与老鸦陈断层没有关系,但可能与黄河改道变迁的侵蚀作用有关. 因此,老鸦陈断裂不属于活动断裂.      

A New System for Ground Water Monitoring

This paper describes a new system for ground water monitoring, "the BAT System," which includes the following functions: (a) sampling of ground water in most types of soils, (b) measurement of pore water pressure, and (c) in situ measurement of hydraulic conductivity. The system can also be used for tracer tests. The system utilizes a permanently installed filter tip attached to a steel or PVC pipe. Installation is normally performed by pushing the tip down to the desired depth. The filter tip can also be buried beneath a landfill. The primary feature of the new system is that the filter tip contains a self-sealing quick coupling unit, which makes it possible to temporarily connect the filter tip to adapters for various functions, e.g. water sampling and for measurement of pore pressure and hydraulic conductivity. The new technique makes sampling of both pressurized water and gas possible. Samples are obtained directly in hermetically sealed, pre-sterilized sample cylinders. Sampling of ground water and measurement of pore pressure can be repeated over a long period of time with undiminished accuracy. This technique is also well-adapted for taking water samples from different strata in a soil profile, in both the saturated and unsaturated zones. Actual installations range from 0.5 to 60m depth.     

The Disposable E-Log

A device was developed to make fine-scale in situ measurements of formation and ground water conductivity at depths up to 10 meters in unconsolidated shallow aquifers. It consists of a casing that is left in place ("disposable") and a probe that slides down the center of the casing making readings or taking water samples through screened slots. The device is inexpensive, designed to be jetted into place, and intended for use in monitoring situations where drilling rigs and wireline logs are impractical. It offers, in principle, 10cm resolution of the conductivities and the formation factor as a function of time.
Results from three of these units installed across a landfill plume near North Bay, Ontario, demonstrate the usefulness of these kinds of measurements in a monitoring study, and the problems that can be encountered in a highly contaminated environment.     

A New Valved and Air-Vented Surge Plunger for Developing Small-Diameter Monitor Wells

To properly develop 2-inch diameter monitor wells, large volumes of water, drilling fluids and fine-grained materials must be removed from the sandpack and surrounding formation over short periods of time. A valved and air-vented surge plunger has been designed which can be used to effectively develop 2-inch diameter wells. The valving and air-venting concepts for surge plungers are not new, but the design concepts had to be refined to facilitate their efficient use in 2-inch diameter wells.
Prototypes of the surge plunger have been field tested. The tests indicate that the design is both effective and durable as a result of its dimensions, configurations and materials. Important features of the surge plunger include: the dimensions and weight of the surge block; the thickness, layering, diameter and material of the valves and parts; and the method of attachment and design of the air-venting ports. This device is an important addition to the growing arsenal of equipment and tools for 2-inch diameter, standpipe monitoring wells.