Geothermal Drilling For Heating And Cooling SystemsAll of the geothermal systems require drilling to be done into the earth surface to reach the heat source. The closed loop and open loops mechanisms along with the heat pump set up need to access the heat inside the earth surface in the case of heaters and the heat needs to be delivered to the heat sink inside the earth surface in case of the geothermal system used as a cooling mechanism. The geothermal system may also be used to produce electricity. There have been some concerns over the usage of the geothermal system for heating/cooling effects and generation of electricity. The first and foremost requirement of these systems is to have a favorable geological set up so that it becomes feasible to tap the heat energy beneath the surface of the earth. Secondly there is a requirement to drill a hole through the earth surface. Geologists have shown concerns over large scale drilling through the earth surface it could leave the earth weak from inside and even slightest of seismic activities could lead to serious damages. Concerns were also shown over the fact that heat which is tapped from beneath the surface of earth could be replenished or not. The heat is produced from the high temperatures present in the mantle of the earth. It is not exactly known what effects it could produce if the heat is taped at a high rate. All these uses require different levels of drills to be made to tap the heat energy stored beneath the surface of the earth. The drilling equipment primarily comprises of a tool for drilling into the surface of the earth which is rotated by a driving element which also provides the tool with a forward thrust in addition to the rotation. The tool comprises of two more elements. One of the elements is a hollow shaft with one of its ends joined to the driving element and the other element is a tubular body which in this case is known as the tool body. This tubular structure has two ends. One is a closed end and the other being an open one. The closed end comprises of the cutting edges and the open end allows the passage of the hollow shaft through it. The hollow shaft transmits the required drilling torque to the tubular body via a transmission system known as the variable configuration transmission system. There happens to be no direct contact between these two components but intermediate elements are connected between each of the main components. The closed end of the tubular body comprises of a ball joint. This joint is present at the very end of the tubular structure. A stabilizer is located at the other end of the tubular body which is directly opposite to the ball structure. The spherical connection is provided at the end so as to that the torque is transmitted from the hollow shaft to the tubular body known as the tool body in this case. |