Rock breaking mechanism of electrode bit in heterogeneous granite formation and its optimization

Electro-pulse-boring (EPB) technology is one of the most potential and nearly industrialized new rock breaking methods in geothermal drilling. However, the mechanism of EPB is not clear, and the structural parameters of EPB electrode bit are not well matched with the corresponding strata parameters and voltage parameters, which seriously hindered the commercialization process of this technology. Based on the dynamic electrical breakdown model (DEBM), a single electric breakdown of rock is realized by coupling the circuit field, the current field and the breakdown field. At the same time, considering the heterogeneity of rock, the three-dimensional numerical simulation of full-bit electrical breakdown using five kinds of electrode bits with different structures is con-ducted. From these five kinds of electrode bits, an electrode bit suitable for EPB is selected. Finally, the adaptability between the structural parameters and voltage parameters of the selected electrode bit is studied. The results show that the initiation and development of electrical breakdown are affected by the mineral composition, mineral quantity and mineral position of the rock. The petal-structural electrode bits with the same clearance between the high voltage electrode and all ground electrodes are more suitable for EPB drilling due to their higher chip removal function. Moreover, the minimum initial output pulse peak voltage, i.e., the adaptive voltage, of petal-structural electrode bit under different structural parameters is calculated by fitting, which is the best rock breaking voltage parameter. This research can provide reliable help for the design of EPB electrode bit, the optimization of structural parameters and voltage parameters of electrode bit to increase geothermal resources.