• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.57-64
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• 2007

This study proposes a method to estimate drilling torque during ground boring with an aid of electrical energy required for rotating a boring-auger. Ground boring is commonly used in geotechnical engineering such as preboring precast pile installation, soil-cement grouting, ground exploration and so forth. In order to understand the correlation between required electrical energy to rotate the boring auger and the drilling torque, a small laboratory apparatus was designed and a pilot study was performed. The apparatus rotates common drill bits of $D=5{\sim}25mm$ in CBR specimens. The velocity of a bit is 19 RPM and predefined using a reduction gear which connects a main rotation axis to a 25 Watts AC electrical motor shaft. In the middle of drilling the motor current increments and the drilling torque were measured and the correlation between the current and the torque was obtained through linear square fits. Based on the correlation the acquired motor current during drilling was applied to predict the drilling torque in consequent testing and the prediction results were compared to the measured torque. The comparison leads a conclusion that the motor current during drilling using electrical power may be a good indicator to estimate/determine strength characteristics of the ground.