Apparatus and Method for Electrocrushing Rock
First Claim
1. A method of breaking a substrate using pulsed power comprising:
- providing an electrocrushing drill comprising a non-rotatable drill bit;
generating pulsed power with a spiker-sustainer pulsed power system;
generating at least one initial high voltage pulse;
generating at least one high current pulse;
providing an electric field in the substrate;
passing a resulting pulsed electric current through the substrate; and
breaking the substrate with the pulsed electric current.
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Abstract
The present invention provides for pulsed power breaking and drilling apparatuses and methods. The present invention comprises two pulsed power systems coordinated to fire one right after the other. The first pulsed power system, comprising a spiker, may create a high voltage pulse that breaks down the insulative properties of the substrate and may create an arc channel in the substrate. It is designed for high voltage but low energy, at high impedance. The second pulsed power system, comprising a sustainer, is designed to provide high current into the arc, but at low voltage, thus better matching the impedance of the arc and achieving much more efficient energy transfer.
124 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method of breaking a substrate using pulsed power comprising:
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providing an electrocrushing drill comprising a non-rotatable drill bit; generating pulsed power with a spiker-sustainer pulsed power system; generating at least one initial high voltage pulse; generating at least one high current pulse; providing an electric field in the substrate; passing a resulting pulsed electric current through the substrate; and breaking the substrate with the pulsed electric current. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A pulsed power drilling apparatus for breaking a substrate, the apparatus comprising:
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a spiker pulsed power system; a sustainer pulsed power system; a center electrode; a surrounding electrode; and said two pulsed power systems comprising a spiker-sustainer power system coordinated to fire one right after the other. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification