Friction of drill bits under Martian pressure

Abstract

Frictional behavior was investigated for two materials that are good candidates for Mars drill bits: Diamond Impregnated Segments and Polycrystalline Diamond Compacts (PDC). The bits were sliding against dry sandstone and basalt rocks under both Earth and Mars atmospheric pressures and also at temperatures ranging from subzero to over 400 °C. It was found that the friction coefficient dropped from approximately 0.16 to 0.1 as the pressure was lowered from the Earth's pressure to Mars' pressure, at room temperature. This is thought to be a result of the loss of weakly bound water on the sliding surfaces. Holding the pressure at 5 torr and increasing the temperature to approximately 200°C caused a sudden increase in the friction coefficient by approximately 50%. This is attributed to the loss of surface oxides. If no indication of the bit temperature is available, an increase in drilling torque could be misinterpreted as being caused by an increase in auger torque (due to accumulation of cuttings) rather than being the result of a loss of oxide layers due to elevated bit temperatures. An increase in rotational speed (to allow for clearing of cuttings) would then cause greater frictional heating and would increase the drilling torque further. Therefore it would be advisable to monitor the bit temperature or, if that is not possible, to include pauses in drilling to allow the heat to dissipate. Higher friction would also accelerate the wear of the drill bit and in turn reduce the depth of the hole.