} } MINERAL EXPLORATION
The ins and outs of
downhole survey tools
Over the last 30 years downhole surveying instruments have advanced significantly, but the best ,s yet to
come. according to Mike Ayris and Rune Lindhjem .
T hirty years ago, a film based
multi•shot camera was capable
of recording up to two hours of
readings taken every two minutes.
Those were the days where all you
could do was hope that the film had
developed . I'm sure some readers
will remember the failed film single
shot discs littering the collar, and the
frustration that went with it.
Today the technology is very different,
with digital instruments recording and
saving survey data almost instantly and
at any interval.
Some modem gyros may even take
10 readings a second- an astonishing
1200 times more data.
Advances in microchip technology and
onboard processing power, with low
power consumption , has further led to a
miniaturisation of gyro instruments. One
of the smallest downhole gyros on the
market measures just 140mm long with
a 25mm outer diameter (including the
3V battery).
Where the gyro instruments previously
required a delicate spinning mass
sensor. prone to calibration issues.
today's instruments are made with
highly robust solid-state sensors,
making them ideal for the drilling
industry.
Types of down hole gyros
Downhole gyros can be divided into
two main categories: the 'north seeking'
gyros and the 'rate', or reference, gyros;
each come with their own benefits and
limitations.
The north seeking gyros find azimuth by
sensing the angular speed of the earth's
rotation.
Along with the gravitational field, it uses
this to calculate the orientation of the
instrument with reference to the earth's
axis of rotation.
In order to properly estimate the north
direction, the north seeking gyros must
be held stationary without any induced
vibration over a set period.
32 < AUSTRALASIAN DRILLING JUNE/JULY 2020
The time it takes to seek north may
be anything from two to 15 minutes,
increasing in accuracy over time.
Rate gyros primarily detect the rate
induced when the gyro itself moves or
changes orientation .
For that reason, they will sense the
deviation or change from the straight
line that occurs as the gyro moves down
the hole.
In order to display the correct trajectory
of the hole a reference direction must be
added to the azimuth data.
Usually the reference direction is the
starting azimuth, which may be provided
by a high precision fibre optic gyro or
dual GPS system positioned externally
on the drill rod .
Continuous gyros
So, what is a continuous gyro? In today's
mlling industry there is a selection of
both north seeking and rate gyros being
marketed as continuous i.e. they can
measure the hole from top to bottom An optional or complementary way to
without having to stop at regular intervals. compensate for the bias error is to rotate
This is done by utilising the principle of the survey instrument at a constant rate
rate gyros where the high sample rate during the surveying process.
capability makes it possible to continuously
track the small changes in trajectory. OHS has developed a patent pending
centraliser system designed to
II is worth noting that north seeking centralise and rotate the survey
gyros do not seek north in continuous instrument approximately 90 degrees
mode, but instead measure the rate of each 3m travelled , resulting in a zeroing
change in a similar way as a rate gyro. of bias error each 12m travelled.
Bias c ompensation While this type of rotation is especially
suitable for continuous surveys, where
When surveying continuously, it is
the time between stops is long, it is
particularly important to compensate for
also beneficial in multi-shot surveys to
internal and assembly bias errors.
correct for internal bias and increase
These types of errors can be associated surveying accuracy.
with sensor accuracy, build alignment
Lim its
and barrel straightness, and can cause
azimuth offsets and error build ups in Whereas the limitation of a rate gyro is
the survey data . obvious, as it does not measure true
direction, ii is important to understand that
Some compensation is typically done by
north seeking gyros also have several
stopping at regular intervals to perform
limitations, not found in rate gyros.
drift checks or seek north. However,
this is time consuming and does not Many of the north seeking gyros will
compensate for external factors like only perform optimally in near vertical
barrel straightness and centralization holes and quickly loose accuracy when
issues. approaching horizontal. This is an effect
www adia.com.au

of the sensor package being limited in
certain directions.
The accuracy of a north seeking gyro
will always be best near the equator and
decline the closer it gets to the north or
south poles. The reason is that the earth's
gravity direction and axis of rotation
becomes parallel at the poles, making it
more and more difficult, and in the end
impossible, to estimate the north direction.
The direction the north seeking gyro
is pointing has a certain effect on the
accuracy of the north estimate as well.
The most accurate data will be achieved
in near north-south direction, or parallel
with the earth's rotation axis, while
becoming more affected by sensor
inaccuracies when pointing east-west.
The effect of this is generally higher
when the hole is either far from vertical
or at a higher latitude.
Oownhole north seeking gyros are also
generally not recommended to be used
in place of an independent rig alignment
device, as they are not considered to
be as accurate as the fibre-op tic gyros
these devices use.
Gyro selection
No one gyro will be suitable for all
applications. For example: if the
application is to survey 32m production
upholes, then weight and ease of
handling would be a major consideration.
Similarly, for underground a rate gyro
system may be preferable due to
smaller size, along with the limitations in
north seeking gyros close to horizontal.
If drilling productivity is critical, then a
continuous gyro capable of surveying at
a minimum speed of 70m/min would be
ideal. For coring operations, an overshot
model will also help save time .
If price is a concern , north seeking gyros
are generally more expensive than rate
gyros.
If directional drilling, then sample
interval needs to be considered.
We recommend no greater than 3m
spacing between survey readings to
ensure dog legs are captured.
For vertical large diameter geotechnical
drilling , availability of proper
centralisation means is crucial.
If surveys will be performed by several
operators, ease of operation and
software is important.
Survey data should always be
processed through a series of quality
assurance checks, to ensure the
accuracy of data being handed over.
A cloud based data management
system is also ideal for simplifying the
data trans fer process and minimising
any input/output data errors. These
systems are now becoming more
commonplace in the downhole
surveying industry.
The future
Gyros are getting smaller, using less
battery power and becoming more
MINERAL EXPLORATION ( (
robust, allowing them to potentially
Measure While Drill (MWD).
The race is on to develop a true MWD
system within the mineral industry.
We are closer than ever to MWD , with
the overshot survey methods introduced
in recent years.
The challenge will be to fit a gyro within
the innertube or an extension of, and
record drill hole deviation whilst drilling
the hole.
As underground mines embrace high
speed WiFi, we will see the development
of real time communication between
geologists and drillers greatly improve.
Geologists from their desk anywhere in
the world could potentially track several
holes as they progress and alert the
underground drillers if any correcti ve
action is required.
Future technologies and innovations
are rapidly improving drilling productivity
and safety, and the best is yet to come.
Many of the north seeking gyros will
only periorm optimally m near vertical
holes and quickly loose accuracy
when approaching honzontal This 1s
an effect of the sensor package bemg
lim,ted m certam d,rect1ons
Photo DH$