Cuttings Discharge Systems For Reverse Circulation Drilling

When the cuttings make it to the surface they are ideally moving somewhere  between 6,000 – 12,000 ft/min.  To direct the spoils into a discharge hose or containment unit it is essential to change direction somewhere around 150-180 degrees.  In a reverse circulation system this is the most heavily worn piece of tooling as air, sand and gravel continually follow the same path around the corner causing severe wear and fatigue.  Without thoughtful design, manufacturing and heat treatment it is obvious that standard elbows are ineffective.  For this reason Holte has developed some breakthrough systems over the last several months to allow for much longer continuous operation between replacement.  We then took it a step further and added the ability to quickly change wear pieces by removing only several bolts without having to remove entire flange assemblies and cumbersome hoses.  This innovative system ensures cuttings remain contained in sensitive areas and costly downtime for replacement is avoided throughout the job.