Performance of large-diameter pneumatic down-the-hole (DTH) hammers: A focus on influences of the hammer structure

Pneumatic down-the-hole (DTH) hammer has been extensively used in air drillings through hard and ultra-hard geological formations. Numerical modeling can offer close observation on the working behaviors by visualizing internal pressure status as well as provide reliable performance predictions for large-diameter DTH hammers to which conventional empirical and experimental approaches cannot be applied. In this study, CFD simulations coupled with dynamic meshing are utilized to simulate the air flow and piston movement inside the large-diameter DTH hammers. The numerical modeling scheme is verified against a theoretical model published in literature. Effects of structural parameters on hammer performance, including piston mass, piston upper-end diameter, piston groove diameter, and lengths of intake and exhaust stroke in both front and rear chambers, are analyzed in detail by virtue of sets of numerical simulations. The simulations suggest that changing the intake stroke of front chamber has a negligible influence on hammer performance while increasing the piston groove would lower all the four indicators of hammer performance, including impact energy, impact frequency, maximum stroke, and air consumption rate. Changing the other structural parameters demonstrates mixed effects on the performance indicators. Based on the numerical simulations, a large GQ-400 DTH hammer has been designed for reduced air consumption rate and tested in a field drilling practice. The air drilling test with the designed hammer provided a penetration rate 1.7 times faster than that of conventional mud drilling.