Geol Rundsch (1997) 86: 426 - 438, Offprint 426

with Contributions to "Prediction in geology", Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, February, 22nd-24th 1996

Original Paper

K. Thuro

Drillability prediction - geological influences in hard rock drill and

blast tunnelling

Abstract* Usually the main subject in preliminary si-
te investigations prior to tunnelling projects is the pre-
diction of tunnel stability. During the last years in
conventional drill and blast tunnelling, problems have
occured also connected to the accurate prediction of
drillability in hard rock. The drillability is not only de-
cisive for the wear of tools and equipment but is - a-
long with the drilling velocity - a standard factor for
the progress of excavation works. The estimation of
drillability in predicted rock conditions might bear an
extensive risk of costs. Therefore an improved pre-
diction of drilling velocity and bit wear would be de-
sireable. The drillability of a rock mass is determined
by various geological and mechanical parameters. In
this report some major correlations of specific rock
properties and especially geological factors with mea-
sured bit wear and drilling velocity are shown.
Drilling velocity is dependent on a lot of geological
parameters: Those principal parameters include join-
ting of rock mass, orientation of schistosity (rock an-
isotropy), degree of interlocking of microstructures,
porosity and quality of cementation in clastic rock, de-
gree of hydrothermal decomposition and weathering of
a rock mass. Drilling bit wear increases with the equi-
valent quartz content. The equivalent quartz content
builds the main property for the content of wear-rele-
vant minerals. For various groups of rock types dif-
ferent connections with the equivalent quartz content
could be detected. In sandstone bit wear is also depen-
dent on porosity or the quality of the cementation. Fi-
nally an investigation program is submitted, which
helps to improve the estimation of rock drillability in
planning future tunnel projects.
Key words: Drillability Drilling rate, Bit wear,
Destruction work, Anisotropy, Joint spacing,
Equivalent quartz content, Porosity
Drilling equipment - technical introduction
For drilling blastholes in hard rock, today the rotary
percussive drilling is standard in underground mining
and tunnelling, providing maximum performance un-
der most circumstances (Cohrs 1988). The hydraulic
drill hammer is a combination of a rotary drilling ma-
chine and a percussive drill and uses a separate rotary
and percussive mechanism.
Whereas percussive drilling is controlled by jerkily
moving of the drilling rod with only a loose contact of
the drilling bit to the bottom of the borehole, rotary
percussive drilling is characterized by continuous ro-
tation - comparable to rotary drilling. By means of
high feed pressure (12 - 20 kN), lying more than a de-
cade above those in percussive drilling, the drilling bit
is always tight to the bottom of the borehole. Since the
torques are much stronger, crushing work is carried
out also by shearing between the impacts.
Fig. 1 Operation of rotary percussive drilling and the main machi-
ne parameters

Regarding just the procedure, the rotary percussive

drilling is superior to the rotary drilling and the per-
K. Thuro cussive drilling (Feistkorn 1987). The hydraulics faci-
Lehrstuhl fr Allgemeine, Angewandte und Ingenieur-Geologie, litate an optimum energy transfer from the percussive
Technische Universitt Mnchen
D-85747 Garching, Germany
mechanism to the drilling rod. Parameters are the
Fax: +49 89 289 14382
e-mail: thuro@ mineral.min.chemie.tu-muenchen.de

technical specifications of the drill hammer, flushing
system and the design of the drilling bit (Fig. 1).
Fig. 2 Drilling rig: Atlas Copco Rocket Boomer H 175 with 3
booms and service platform
Typical tunnelling rigs consist of a diesel-hydraulic
rubber-wheeled tramming carrier, carrying up to three
booms with hydraulic drifter feeds and rock drills. The
range comprises units for hydraulic drilling with a se-
lection of of different carriers, booms, feeds, and rock
drills (Fig. 2).
Fig. 3 Hydraulic boom BUT 35 of the AC-Rocket Boomer H 175.
Centre-mounted feed with double rotation devices, which makes it
possible to position the feed vertically on both sides of the boom,
with accurate parallel holding, roof drilling and cross-cuts
For example the COP 1440 hammer (20 kW impact
power) mounted on the AC Rocket Boomer H 175 is
the most popular hydraulic rock drill presently in use.
Features such as rapid and exact boom positioning
with roof drilling and cross-cuts are performed with
the BUT 35 boom shown in Fig. 3.
427
Fig. 4 Typical button drill bits with six, seven, eight and nine but-
tons and different flushing systems mainly used in hard rock
Fig. 4 shows typical button bits used in underground
excavation in rotary percussive drill rigs. The drilling
bit is the part of the rig which carries out the crushing
work. The bit consists of a carrier holding the actual
drilling tools: buttons of hard metal (wolfram carbide
with a cobalt binder, MOHS hardness 9). Possible
sorts of button types and their main characteristics are
shown in Fig. 5.
Button Types Characteristics
! "non aggressive" shape
! minimum drilling rates
! low bit wear
spherical ! excavation mainly
by impact
! "aggressive" shape
! moderate drilling rates
(semi-) ! moderate bit wear
ballistic ! excavation mainly
by shearing / cutting
! "very aggressive" shape
! maximum drilling rates
conical ! high bit wear
(ballistic) ! excavation mainly
by shearing / cutting
Fig. 5 Button types of drilling bits used for rotary percussive dril-
ling and their main characteristics
The shape of the button and the design of the bit (ge-
ometry and arrangement of buttons, flush holes and
draining channels) have a strong influence on bit wear
and drilling performance. In Fig. 6 drilling rates rela-
tive to the average of the quickest bit type are plotted
comparing 6-, 7-, 8- and 9-button bits. For example,
using ballistic 9-button bits, a maximum penetration
performance has been obtained in (tough) quartz phyl-
lite of the Innsbruck area. This impression is less
distinctive in brittle rock types as can be seen in
limestone from the German Muschelkalk. The highest
drilling rates in this limestone have been archieved u-
sing an 8-button bit, giving an optimum between but-
ton stress and button area in brittle rock.
 428

quartz phyllite (Innsbrucker Quarzphyllit)

105 Geological Parameters Machine Parameters
Rock & Rock Mass Drilling Rig
100
mechanical tunnelling percussive

95 rock properties, performance drill hammer,

drilling rate [%]

rock mass drilling velocity power transfer,

90 conditions drilling bit

85 Drillability
80 wear of drilling tools
drilling bit wear
75

70 Working Process
6 x 45 s 7 x 45 s 8 x 45 s 8 x 45 b 9 x 45 s 9 x 45 b excavation system & logistics,
button bit type operation & maintenance of the tunnelling rig
limestone (Muschelkalk)
105 Fig. 7 Illustration of the term "drillability" and the main influen-
cing parameters.
100

95 mineral composition equivalent quartz content

mineral
micro fabric porosity / cementation
drilling rate [%]

90 elastic/plastic behaviour destruction work

85
80
75
70
6 x 45 s 7 x 45 s 8 x 45 s 8 x 45 b
button bit type
Fig. 6 Drilling rates in quartz phyllite and limestone depending on
the button type and drilling bit. 9 x 45 b = 9 button type, 45 mm,
b ballistic; s spherical
Parameters of Drillability
Drillability is a term used in construction to describe
the influence of a number of parameters on the drilling
rate (drilling velocity) and the tool wear of the drilling
rig. As could be seen in the technical introduction,
drillability is - first of all - influenced by the machine
parameters of the chosen drilling rig. Therefore, only
tunnel projects with the same drilling equipment can
be used for drillability studies (Thuro 1996). The in-
teraction of the main factors is illustrated in Fig. 7.
Apart from technical parameters, especially the ge-
ological parameters will basically influence the dril-
ling performance and the wear of the drilling rig (Fig.
8). The specific characteristics of rock material and
rock mass may be at least partly put into figures with
the help of mechanical rock properties. But rock mass
conditions also highly depend on the geological histo-
ry, weathering conditions, hydrothermal decom-
position and the structure of discontinuities. Therefo-
re, one has to go through three levels of investigation:
mineral - rock type - and rock mass - meaning also
three levels of dimension!
rock
mechanical rock properties compressive strength
Young's modulus
tensile strength
ratio of compressive and
tensile strength
rock density
rock mass conditions anisotropy
rock mass
discontinuities spacing of discontinuities
9 x 45 s 9 x 45 b status of weathering
hydrothermal decomposition
Fig. 8 Geological parameters: General view of the characteristics
of mineral, rock and rock mass
The last important factor influencing drillability is the
working process itself. Firstly, smooth operation and
permanent maintenance of the tunnelling rig con-
tributes to a successful drilling performance. Second-
ly, a high penetration rate at the tunnel face does not
automatically lead to a high performance of the tunnel
heading (Thuro and Spaun 1996a). Therefore, it is a
matter of understanding the entire excavation system
before applying expertise to the investigation of drilla-
bility.
The necessity of drillability studies
But why is prediction of drillability necessary? The
following figures will show the effects of increased
drilling time on the performance of the tunnel heading.
As an example, the excavation works of the Altenberg
Tunnel in Idar-Oberstein are presented as circle dia-
grams in Fig. 9 - in calculation (left side) and during
final construction (rigth side; Thuro 1996).
As can be seen from the drilling segment, the entire
drilling time of one round has increased nearly three
times from calculation to final construction. The time
for charging of the explosives during construction has
increased five times as compared with calculation. Fi-
nally, the time for excavating one entire round has be-
 429

been doubled, as can bee seen by the bigger diameter Fanglomerate composition

of the construction circle, and heading performance quartzite

has been cut in half. weathered
volcanic
support 67 min 40% rock
Calculation 18%
27%

25% drilling
36% 62 min 22%
10%
8% 10%
mucking
support 157 min volcanic rock
90 min charging vein quartz
20 min
schist
compressive strength [MPa]
31%
0 100 200

33% quartzite
Construction 16% 33%

drilling
mucking 20% 167 min vein quartz
79 min

charging
102 min volcanic rock

Comparison: Calculation Construction swellability of the weathered volcanic rock swellability

40 30%
very high

equivalent Ca-montmorillonit content

drilling rate 2.5 m/min 1.3 m/min
30 20%

net drilling time 60 sec 121 sec high

swelling [%]

round length 4.2 h 8.4 h
heading performance 13.3 m/day 7.6 m/day
Fig. 9 Working round in the Altenberg Tunnel in calculation and
final construction. Effects of increased drilling time on the perfor-
mance of the tunnel heading
The reason for this fatal fault in prediction is evident
in Fig. 10: The composition of the fanglomerate
(Waderner formation, Rotliegend) coming up along
the entire length of the tunnel. The fanglomerate is
composed of quarzite, vein quartz and schist of the
Hunsrck range and volcanic rock of the Idar-Ober-
stein volcanic area. But about one half of the volcanic
rock has already been deeply weathered and decom-
posed to a clay-siltstone with swelling minerals ran-
ging from high to very high swellability. The range of
the compressive strength of the components ranges
from over 250 MPa (quartzite) to nearly zero
(completely weathered volcanic rock). This was the
reason for stucked drilling rods, blocked water flu-
shing, collapsed boreholes and - above all - bad
drilling and blasting conditions during running
excavation
That is why
works.
drillability is not only decisive for the
wear of tools and equipment but is - along with the
drilling velocity - a standard factor for the progress of
excavation works. The estimation of drillability in
predicted rock conditions might bear an extensive risk
of costs. Therefore an improved prediction of drilling
velocity and bit wear would be desireable.
20 10%
moderate
5%
low
10
no swell-
0% ability
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
swelling time [h]
Fig. 10 Composition of the fanglomerate (Waderner formation),
compressive strength of the components and swelling ability of the
weathered, decomposed volcanic material
Monitoring and classification of drilling rates and bit
wear
To get information on the correlation between drilling
rate, bit wear, mechanical rock properties and geologi-
cal parameters, extensive field studies and laboratory
work was carried out. Until now, nine tunnel projects
in Germany, Austria and North India have been follo-
wed more or less extensively, measuring drilling rates
periodically during running excavation works.
Furthermore, rock samples have been analysed to get
mechanical rock properties of representative sections
(Thuro 1996). Based on engineering geological map-
ping of the tunnels, mean values of 25 different rock
types or homogeneous areas were taken for correlation
analysis. In this way, drilling progress and bit wear
could be connected with some of the main rock para-
meters.
Before going into a detailed analysis of drillability
parameters, a classification of drillability is given,
contributing up-to-date experience. Firstly, a drill-
 430

ability classification should rely on values easily ob- case studies in 9 tunnel projects in Germany, Austria
tained on the site. Secondly, the parameters should be and overseas (North India) were plotted into the chart
expressive and provide a good resolution of drilling ra- in Fig. 11.
te and wear characteristic. The system proposed here The investigations were carried out using a 20 kW
is based on net drilling velocity, measured at the tun- borehammer (Atlas Copco COP 1440). The matrix
nel face and drilling bit wear recorded as the bit life- was based on the experience, that high drilling rates (3
span. - 4 m/min) and low bit wear (1500 - 2000 m/bit)
should be described as "fair" drillability. The drilling
drilling velocity rates range from 1 meter per minute to about 5 meters
per minute. The bit life-span ranges from 50 meters to
over 2,000 meters per bit. Therefore drillability ranges
borehole depth meters in our classification from extremely poor to easy.
drilling rate =
net drilling time minutes Mechanical rock properties
The most frequently used rock properties are the un-
drilling bit wear
confined compressive strength, the Youngs modulus
and the tensile strength. As a derived rock property,
total boremeters meters the ratio of unconfined compressive strength and ten-
bit life-span = sile strength often is designated as toughness (or britt-
number of drill bits bits leness) of a rock material. Many authors tend to take
one or more of those properties as main parameters of
drillability (Schimazek & Knatz 1970, Wanner 1975,
Formula 1 Determination of drilling velocity and drilling bit wear Habenicht & Gehring 1976, Blindheim 1979, Movin-
The drilling performance is taken as the drilling ve- kel & Johannessen 1986). Thus extensive rock testing
locity or drilling of one simple borehole. The drilling has been carried out based on the ISRM suggested me-
bit wear is taken as the bit life, which means the total thods (Brown 1981, ISRM 1985) to gain re-
of boremeters drilled with one bit (Formula 1). presentative mean values of the properties of the dril-
To get an impression of how wide values of bit led rock types.
wear and drilling rates may vary, mean values of diffe- Regarding the drilling rig, the drilling process is
rent rock types or homogeneous areas derived from 25 fundamental for the choice of the investigation pa-
Bit Wear
extremely high

moderate
very high

y
very low

bilit
illa
high

low

Dr
5
et no ea
edy rm sy very high
in al
bta
4 to
no
Drilling Velocity

high
drilling rate [m/min]

3
po
o r medium
2
ve
ry et
po dy low
or ine
ex bta
1 tr oto
po eme n
or ly very low
percussive drill COP 1440 - 20 kW
0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 [m/bit]

sandstones limestone & marl phyllites & gneiss

conglomerate & quartzite quartz-mica-schist
fanglomerate marble amphibolite
Fig. 11 Classification diagram enclosing 25 case studies of different rock types or homogeneous areas derived from 9 tunnel projects
 431

rameters. In Fig. 12 the crushing mechanism is illustra- pre-failure-section post-failure-section

ted. Coming from studies by high-speed photography
and analysis of thin sections of rock below the area of
failure point
disc cutter tools of tunnel boring machines, three main UCS
destruction mechanisms could be detected (Ozdemir et
unconfined
al. 1977, Wang et al. 1978, Blindheim 1979). Those

stress
compression
test
results can be generalised and transferred on the crush-
ing process below the buttons of a drilling bit.
destruction work

penetration
Wz= d

rotation rotation strain

drilling bit
Fig. 13 Estimation of the specific destruction work Wz from the
button 3 button
stress-strain curve of a rock sample under unconfined compression.
1
3 UCS unconfined compressive strength

In Fig. 14 drilling rates of the previously mentioned

2 2
1 crushed rock powder 2 radial cracks
Fig. 12 Crushing process in rotary percussive drilling. Destruction
mechanism under the bit buttons
Around the contact of the button a new state of stress
is induced in the rock, where four important de-
rock material is plotted against destruction work inc-
2 luding clay-siltstone, sand- and limestone, conglome-
rate, marl, marble, schist and different cristalline rock.
10 mm
The destruction work proved to be a highly significant
3 detached fragments parameter for correlation with the drilling performan-
ce. The chart indicates the close correlation between
drilling velocity and destruction work.
5
standard deviation

struction mechanisms can be distinguished: 4

drilling rate [m/min]

1) Under the bit button a crushed zone of fine rock

powder is formed (impact). 3

2) Starting from the crushed powder zone, radial

cracks are developed (induced tensile stress). 2

3) When stress in the rock is high enough (if enough

1
cracks exist parallel to the bottom of the bore-
hole), larger fragments of the rock can be sheared y=5.49-0.60ln x y(n-1)=0.28m/min n=23 R2=89%

off between the button grooves (shear stress). 0

0 100 200 300 400 500
4) In addition to the mechanisms above stress is in- destruction work [kJ/m3]
duced periodically (dynamic process).
sand- & claystone limestone & marl phyllite & gneiss
Examining the drilling mechanism it is obvious, silicic dolomite marble
conglomerate &
that besides compressive and tensile strength (percus- fanglomerate
sive process) and shear strength (bit rotation) the e-
lastic characteristics of rock material is of crucial im- Fig. 14 Drilling rates, correlated with destruction work of 23 rock
types. The correlation is very good
portance. To be precise, the bit always drills through
pre-cracked rock (see Mller-Salzburg 1963: 104). In contrast to the described connection, correlations
Therefore the so-called specific destruction work Wz between the conventional mechanical rock properties
has been introduced (Thuro 1996, Thuro & Spaun (unconfined compressive and tensile strength, Young's
1996a,b), as a measurement for the quantity of energy, modulus and the ratio of unconfined compressive
required for destruction of a rock sample or - in other strength and tensile strength "toughness") and drilling
words - the work, necessary to build new surfaces (or rates show less significance (see Thuro and Spaun
cracks) in rock. As a product of both - stress and strain 1996 b).
- destruction work represents the work of shape alte-
ring including the post failure section (Fig. 13).
 432

compressive/tensile stress
Geological parameters
shear stress shear stress
Although mechanical properties allow prediction of
drilling performance to be more precise, geological in-
fluences are even more decisive for drilling velocity as
well as for the bit life. There are several geological in-
fluences though only some can be mentioned here:
1. anisotropy - orientation of discontinuities related to
the direction of testing or drilling
2. spacing of discontinuities
3. mineral composition - equivalent quartz content
4. pore volume - porosity of the micro fabric
Hydrothermal decomposition of rock material very
often shows the same effects as the status of weathe- testing
arrangements
ring. Some of the possibly connected problems have
already been discussed in this paper. UCS TS UCS TS

Anisotropy Fig. 15 Drilling process according to different orientations of folia-

tion (after Spaun and Thuro 1994).
Of course, rock properties and drilling rates are also
highly dependent on the orientation of weakness pla- high tensile stress low tensile stress
nes related to the direction of testing or drilling. This
has been discussed in detail by Thuro & Spaun (1996,
also see Spaun and Thuro 1994).
When the direction of drilling is at right angles to 100 100
drilling rate
the orientation of foliation (Fig. 15, left side), rock
material is compressed at right angles but sheared pa-
indirect tensile strength [%]

rallel to it. Although cracks will develop radial to com- 75 75

drilling rate [%]

pression, the cracks parallel to the bottom of the
borehole will be used for chipping. Usually in this ca-
se the highest drilling velocities are obtained, because 50 50

of the favourable schist orientation. Drilling is control-

led by the shear strength of the foliated rock material. graph equation tensile strength
y = a + bcos x
The minimum destruction work causes large sized 25 25

chips and a maximum drilling performance (Fig. 16). 90 75 60 45 30 15 0

If the drilling axis is oriented parallel to foliation
(Fig. 15, right side), compression also is parallel but
shear stress is at right angles. It should be clear, that
fewer cracks will develop for reasons of higher
strength at right angles to foliation. Drilling is control-
led by the tensile strength parallel to the foliation pro-
ducing small-sized fragments and a minimum drilling
performance (Fig. 16).
It is certain, that in the parallel case, rock proper-
ties are the highest and drilling rates are low. In addi-
tion, blasting conditions are often related to drilling.
Thus, if the tunnel axis is parallel to the main foliati-
on, drilling and blasting conditions are supposed to be
very poor.
As a further result of anisotropy, problems may oc-
cure when drilling direction is diagonal to the tunnel
axis: When the angle between drilling and tunnel axis
is acute-angled, drifter rods are deviated into the dip
direction of foliation, if obtuse-angled, into the normal
direction of foliation. In any case, drill tracks may be
seen as curves and produce distinct borehole deviation
and a geologically caused overbreak.
dip angle of foliation
Fig. 16 Drilling rate and tensile strength plotted against the
orientation of foliation
Spacing of discontinuities
Of course, drilling rates are also dependent on spacing
of discontinuities in rock mass. Discontinuities are, as
a law, weakness planes in rock mass - thus Mller-
Salzburg (1963) talks about rock mass as "broken
rock". The spacing of joints could also be described as
"joints per meter" and is another parameter for the pre-
cracking of rock.
In the chart of Fig. 17 the influence of discontinui-
ties is not visible, if the spacing is large against the
dimensions of the borehole. When the joints get clo-
ser, the drilling velocity increases up to the double.
But the connected problem is borehole instability, cau-
sing hole collapses and timeconsuming scaling of the
established blasthole. By this means, the efforts of fast
drilling, especially in fault zones, may be rendered u-
seless very soon.
 433

limestone (middle Muschelkalk)

% the Mohs hardness is known, the abrasiveness of mine-
5
200 rals can be estimated by this chart with satisfactory
accuracy (within a half degree of Mohs hardness).
180
drilling rate [m/min]

4
spacing large 160
against dimension equivalent quartz content
of borehole 140

A R
3 n
120
collapse of equ = i i
boreholes 100
i=1
common
2
80
0,6 cm 2 cm 6,3 cm 20 cm 63 cm 200 cm A - mineral amount [%]
R - Rosiwal abrasiveness [%]
extreme

medium
closely
closely

closely

widely

widely
n - number of minerals
zone
fault

very

very
joint spacing Formula 2 Determination of the equivalent quartz content
Fig. 17 Correlation between drilling rate and joint spacing in li-
mestone of the middle Muschelkalk
9
Equivalent quartz content
8
Having discussed some factors influencing drilling ra- quartz
7
tes, parameters for predicting the drilling bit wear are Mohs hardness
now mentioned. As a leading parameter, the wear of 6

drilling bits has been examined in different rock types. 5

Other tools such as drifter rods, couplings and shank 4
adapters have a life-span on average ten times the one 3
of button bits and thus are not suitable. 2
Technical parameters are not really suitable for
1 y = 2.12 + 1.05ln x y(n-1)= n=24 R2=95%
drillability studies though there are about 200 hardness
tests for rock characterization (Atkinson 1993, West 0

1989, Brook 1993, Nelson 1993). Much of them have 1 10 100 1000
Rosiwal abrasiveness
been introduced for a special purpose and have not
been developed further. Only few have gained interna- Fig. 18 Correlation between Rosiwal abrasiveness and Mohs hard-
tional attention such as the drilling rate index DRI ness, enclosing 24 different minerals (excluding diamond)
(Selmer-Olsen and Blindheim 1970) or the Cerchar ab- Bit Wear
rasivity index CAI (Valantin 1973, Suana and Peters 2500
very low
1982).
2000
The point is, there is no single physical property in defects of binder,
bit life-span [m/bit]

hydrothermal porosity low

existence to quantify and describe hardness as if it decomposition
1500
is the uniaxial compressive strength for stress. Also a
moderate
lot of petrographic parameters such as rock texture and 1000
mineral fabric have been discussed to be used for pre- high
dicting tool wear and drillability (Howarth and Row- main graph
500
very high
lands 1987). But the performed structural methods are
extremely h.
very time consuming and thus have not been applied in 0

practice. 0 20 40 60 80 100
equivalent quartz content [%]
It is clear, that tool wear is predominantly a result
of the mineral content harder than steel (Mohs hard- sandstone limestone & marl phyllite & gneiss
fanglomerate & crystalline rock marble
ness ca. 5.5), especially quartz (Mohs hardness of 7). conglomerate hydrothermaly decomposed

To include all minerals of a rock sample, the equiva-

Fig. 19 Bit life of different rock types correlated with the equiva-
lent quartz content has been determined in thin secti-
lent quartz content enclosing 42 case studies in 8 tunnel projects
ons by modal analysis - meaning the entire mineral
content refering to the abrasiveness or hardness of The method of determining the equivalent quartz
quartz (Formula 2). Therefore each mineral amount is content is wide-spread among tool manufacturers, en-
multiplied with its relative Rosiwal abrasiveness to gineers and engineering geologists for preliminary site
quartz (with quartz being 100%, Rosiwal 1896, 1916). investigations prior to tool wear problems.
An appropriate correlation between Mohs hardness In Fig. 19 the bit life of different rock types is cor-
and Rosiwal abrasiveness is given in Fig. 18. When related with its equivalent quartz contents. It is visible
 434

dry density [g/cm ] 3

that bit wear raises mainly with increasing equivalent
2 2,1 2,2 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,6 Bit Wear
quartz content. But obviously some kinds of rock have
2000
their own curves: (a) sandstones, especially those with hydrothermally
decomposed low
higher porosity, often corresponding with a defect in
the silicic cementation; and (b) hydrothermally de- 1500

bit life-span [m/bit]

composed crystalline rock. defect binder moderate

In each of those special rock types the interlocking 1000

of the grains in the microfabric is "disturbed". There- inc
r
por easin high
osi g
fore, for purposes of prediction, each rock type must ty
compact
500
be discussed individually. In Fig. 20 a rock family - very high
something like a "normal facies" - of limestone, marl, y=174+60?x y =136m/bit n=8 R =90%
extremely h.
(n-1)
2

conglomerates, together with phyllites and marbles has 0

25 20 15 10 5 0
been built to be described by a logarithmic regression porosity [%]
curve.
For the chosen rock family the relation is very clo- Fig. 21 Correlation of bit life-span and porosity (dry density) in
sandstones
se and may be used for a forecast of bit wear, when the
equivalent quartz content is determined by a thin sec- dry density [g/cm ] Drilling velocity
3

tion modal analysis. 2 2,1 2,2 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,6

7-button bits
limestone, marl, conglomerates, phyllites, marbles Bit Wear 6
2500 clay-silt-stone COP 1440 - 20 kW
y=3131-624ln x y(n-1)=144m/bit n=22 R2 =95% very low 5 very high
2000
drilling rate [m/min]

low 4
bit life-span [m/bit]

high
1500
standard deviation 3
moderate moderate
1000
2
high low
500 1
very high
y=1.83+0.12x y(n-1)=0.12m/bit n=8 R2=98% very low
extremely h.
0 0

0 20 40 60 80 100 25 20 15 10 5 0
porosity [%]
equivalent quartz content [%]
Fig. 22 Correlation of drilling rates and and porosity (dry density)
Fig. 20 Bit life-span of limestone, marl, conglomerates, together in sandstones
with phyllites and marbles and corresponding equivalent quartz
content

Porosity and binder defects

For sandstones and decomposed rock other relation-
ships must be discussed. The expected connection is
also detected when plotting the porosity of sandstones
instead of the equivalent quartz content into the dia-
gram (Fig. 21). Porosity is measured here as a function
of dry density of rock material and ranges from a com-
pact (dense) to a totally decomposed silicic binder-free
fabric.
There seems to be a correlation between the porosi-
ty of the rock and technical parameters, such as bit
wear (Fig. 21), drilling rates (Fig. 22) and - naturally -
mechanical rock properties such as unconfined com-
pressive strength (Fig. 29) and destruction work (Fig.
30). Although the number of cases in each chart is
quite low, the good correlation coefficient suggests a
close connection. The data were collected in the
Schnrain Tunnel near Wrzburg, where mainly rock
of the middle und upper Bunter sandstone has been en-
countered and in the Achberg Tunnel nearby Unken in
the Werfen sandstone formation.
 435

Fig. 23 Hard, quartzitic Bunter sandstone with a very dense and Fig. 26 Small hexahedric granules of silicic cement growing on
compact fabric. No pores can be seen and the fracture runs through quartz grains (picture length approx. 0.1 mm)
each individual quartz grain ("intragranular failure"; picture length
approx. 1 mm)

Fig. 24 Hard Bunter sandstone with a less dense fabric. Fracturing Fig. 27 Clayey binder of the decomposed Bunter sandstone sho-
is dominated by intergranular (grain-to-grain) failure. Larger hexa- wing kaolinite crystals growing in the twinning lamellae of a plagi-
hedric quartz crystals growing on grains are developing out of oclase crystal (picture length approx. 0.1 mm)
small granules of silicic binder (picture length approx. 1 mm)

Fig. 25 Hydrothermally decomposed Bunter sandstone, characteri- Fig. 28 In the grain gaps, small calcite rhombohedrons are growing
sed by a porous fabric with a clayey binder in replacement of the as secondary binder (picture length approx. 0.14 mm)
original, silicic cement (picture length approx. 5 mm)
 436

dry density [g/cm3] compressive

strength
shown where fracture is characterized by intragranular
2 2,1 2,2 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,6
after ISRM failure.In Fig. 24, a hard Bunter sandstone with a hig-
120
her porosity is visible, suggesting a fabric less dense
unconfined compressive strength [MPa]

y=168-53ln x y(n-1)=8,1MPa n=8 R2=95% very high

100 than before. The silicic cement does not fill every gap
between the quartz grains but the cementation is more
80
high than just a grain-to-grain binding (intergranular failu-
60 re). The small granules of silicic cement are also he-
xahedric, as can bee seen by increased enlargement in
40 moderate Fig. 26. The hydrothermally decomposed Bunter sand-
20 clay-silt-stone stone of Fig. 25 is characterised by a porous fabric
low
very low with a clayey binder. Clay has replaced the original
0
silicic cement. The rock has changed its colour from
25 20 15 10 5 0
porosity [%] originally red to a flat whitish-grey, thus indicating
hydrothermal activity dating from a fault zone
Fig. 29 Correlation of unconfined compressive strength and poro-
sity (dry density) in sandstones ("Harrbacher Sprung") in the Schnberg Tunnel. The
contact of the grains is not solid anymore but only we-
dry density [g/cm3] akly cemented and the surface of the grains looks
2 2,1 2,2 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,6 "dirty".
250
In Fig. 27 the clayey binder of the decomposed
y=327-103ln x y(n-1)=30kJ/m3 n=8 R2=83%
Bunter sandstone is visible, showing kaolinite crystals
200
growing in the twinning lamellae of a plagioclase crys-
destruction work [kJ/m3]

150
tal. The small flakes probably are fed into the grain
gaps by circulating ground water.
100
In the grain gaps, small calcite rhombohedrons
grow as secondary binder (Fig. 28). It looks like the si-
50
clay-silt-stone
licic binder has been removed from the sandstone to-
gether with the red colour, leaving behind some clayey
0 material and calcitic cement.
25 20 15 10 5 0
porosity [%]
Conclusion
Fig. 30: Correlation of destruction work and porosity (dry density)
in sandstones After all these observations, it is clear, that neither la-
boratory and field testing alone, geology alone, nor
The fabric of the different stages of porosity (or dry
experience alone and equipment design and operation
density) can be visualized by raster electron micro-
expertise alone can lead to the point where drillability
scope photography. In Fig. 23 a very dense and com-
is anything like a clearly defined formula.
pact fabric of a hard, quartzitic Bunter sandstone is
Firstly, with the discovered correlation charts for

Investigation Program

preliminary site investigations engineering geological mapping anisotropy

rock & soil description and classification spacing of discontinuities
quantitative description of discontinuities status of weathering
on basis of IAEG and ISRM standardization hydrothermal decomposition

mechanical rock properties sampling out of drilling cores destruction work

if possible, out of an investigation tunnel compressive strength
Young's modulus
tensile strength
ratio of compressive /
tensile strength
rock density / porosity
" influence of anisotropy
or other factors

petrographic description mineral composition equivalent quartz content

micro fabric degree of interlocking

Fig. 31 Proposal of an investigation program for preliminary site investigations


mechanical and petrographic rock properties, it should
be possible to predict drilling rates and bit wear for the
examined rock types in a satisfactory manner. But be-
sides rock properties, the main problem is the variety
of geological phenomena, which cannot be put into
figures and rock properties.
Nevertheless in preliminary site investigation the
most important thing to do is simple and basic geolo-
gical mapping. This sounds simple. But it is extremely
necessary to keep in mind all the parameters possibly
influencing drilling performance. Secondly, it is very
important to prepare all rock and soil descriptions in a
way engineers are able to understand. Only in such a
manner is it possible to raise the level of geological
contribution to underground construction, and the ent-
ire excavation system must be understood before
applying geological expertise to the solution of expec-
ted or developing drillability problems
In Fig. 31 an investigation program for preliminary
site investigations is presented, which should help to
improve the estimation of rock drillability in planning
future tunnel projects, trying to integrate all discussed
knowledge bases.
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