Driving productivity with smart drilling at Hinkley Point C

Author:迈克·詹姆斯

A belief in doing things better continues to drive innovation at Hinkley Point C (HPC), the first of a new generation of European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) nuclear power stations being constructed in the United Kingdom. This vision isn’t simply a throw-away statement but echoes from every corner of one of the largest construction sites in Europe and is ingrained in the makeup of its people.

To obtain core samples and establish a safe foundation prior to construction of this mega project,geotechnical drilling需要。配备Leica Geosystems Solutions，HPCadapted cutting-edge geotechnical drilling– the first of its kind in the U.K. This methodological operation phase was led by Julian North, former senior geotechnical engineer at Kier BAM Joint Venture.

将机器控制引入岩土钻孔

Geotechnical drilling is performed before construction begins to prepare and analyse the site, determining soil stability and the geology of the site. Complex heavy construction works, like岩土技术钻井可从机器控制中受益匪浅， 哪个显示和positions tools according to reference, allowing operators to position the bucket or blade between the target grade.

Having overseen the geotechnical drilling operations at HPC, from the early ground works investigation and instrumentation drilling through to the main ground installation, North understands the通过机器控制的数字化操作的好处,“我们研究了潜在的风险，以及如何使每个人都更好地使岩土技术钻探的传统方法 - 机器控制符合这种信念。”

What North found was that positional control is vital to geotechnical drilling andhaving quick access to certain information in the field is crucial。“一个大优势是we do not need to do a topographical survey。We can go in using an excavation model into an area where we may not have been able to excavate before,”explained North.“Machine control saves vast amounts of engineering timE并确保更好地优化设备。”

North also highlighted the importance ofbenefits beyond machine optimisation,“健康和安全有一笔巨额的回报。大写remote-control systems限制了大型设备的噪音，灰尘和危害的限制。”

Stitch drilling to increase productivity

Stitch drilling is the process of钻一系列孔near one another (typically200 - 250毫米），造成一条弱点。使挖掘机更容易利用任何不连续性并撕掉完整的岩石。这项技术导致更快，更清洁的挖掘，最大程度地减少其余岩石质量的干扰。

Equipped withLeica Icon IRD3在两个钻机中的解决方案，操作员完成了超过40,000 linear metresof stitch drilling. North explained the benefits of this method,“随着岩石自然削弱，您可以使用较小的挖掘机，可用于更深的挖掘部分，在该挖掘中，较大植物的空间受到限制。”

由于针迹钻孔通常包括大量浅孔的钻孔，因此在单个孔上设置钻桅杆所花费的时间都有一个减少完成指定区域所花费的整体时间的重要意义。The use of Leica Geosystemsmachine control enabled the setup of the drillmast at the correct orientation and position, bringing not only significant savings but also reducing labour and engineering resources.

North witnessed howwell the machine operators adopted Leica Geosystems technology。“一旦他们使用了几天，那就是‘我不能回去。我不能做任何其他方式”。added North.“Themachine operators found the screen ideal for them to set the drill mast up。The engineers also loved it because they didn’t have to be out in a muddy site all the time, we could just drill in a line and didn’t have to worry about losing the finite positions.”

深入挖掘：发掘

The use ofmachine control allowed operators to do fewer drilling rigs more efficiently with less downtimewithout waiting for positions to be excavated or marked out. This efficiency released the drilling rigs to complete other drilling activities faster and with less supervision.

The complex components of deep excavation were made up of more than100个不同的施工平台，许多画廊，竖井和污泥。垂直岩石面的高度不到1 m to 38 m, so boundaries had to be designed to allow for the difference in elevation.

“所有面孔均用现场生产的钢纤维增强的喷涂混凝土处理发掘的48小时内提供防止风化的保护，”explained North.“Ground nails [metal bars] are then installed to provide global slope stability for surcharge loads that will be imposed by cranes.”

Geotechnical drilling and beyond

At HPC, digital construction, encompassing建筑工地的3D建模和visualising end-to-end construction project workflows是工具性的。“Every operation at Hinkley Point C is examined, to make it better in terms of safety, quality and productivity,”explained North.

对于这个施工阶段，将钻机定位以在使用机器控制正确的方向和位置带来大量的时间和资源节省while reducing exposure to dust, noise and equipment hazards.

According to North,机器控制通过在整个项目周期中转换实践来驱动生产力，例如在斜坡上取出地面指甲，例如铁路插条。“You have avirtual site layoutheld in the machine control system. There are alsohuge benefits with the control of instrumentation holes for site investigation。有一个可以使用机器控制的巨大机会。”