The Foro 400 Drill is an electromechanical ice coring drill that retrieves 98 mm (3.86-inch) diameter x 1-meter-long ice cores to approximately 400 meters depth. The Foro 400 Drill is a recently completed redesign of the 4-Inch Drill design. The sonde shares many of the same components with the Foro 1650 Drill and Foro 3000 deep drill system to maximize component interchangeability and minimize the number of unique components that have to be maintained. The main difference with the sonde is the core barrel. The Foro 1650 and Foro 3000 deep drill have a dedicated chips chamber located after the motor section followed by the core barrel. The Foro 400 Drill shares the same core barrel design as the 4-Inch Drill, where the cuttings are collected above the core inside the core barrel. This is a simpler design and better suited for removing the core barrel from the drill vertically like the 4-Inch Drill currently does. Unlike the 4-Inch Drill, the Foro 400 Drill’s sonde is watertight and submersible.
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| 4-Inch Drill | Foro 400 Drill | |
| Winch Capacity | Up to 400 m of 13 mm ø Kevlar Cable | Up to 470 m of 5.7 mm ø steel armor cable |
| Ice Core Diameter | 104 mm | 98 mm |
| Hole Diameter | 145 mm | 126 mm |
| Ice Core Length | 1 m | 1 m |
| Pressure Rated Sonde | No | Yes |
| Winch Speed | 0.5 m/s | 0.76 m/s |
| Power Requirements/Source | 220V, 5 kW generator | 220V, 5 kW generator |
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|---|---|---|
| 4-Inch Drill | Foro 400 Drill | |
| Drill | 87 kg (192 lbs) | 64 kg (141 lbs) |
| Winch with Cable | 297 kg (655 lbs) | 123 kg (271 lbs) |
| Tower Assembly | 61 kg (135 lbs) | 52 kg (115 lbs) |
| Control System | 52 kg (115 lbs) | 35 kg (77 lbs) |
| Total System Weight | 497 kg (1096 lbs) | 274 kg (604 lbs) |
| Shipping Weight (complete system including crates, spares, and tools) | 1,180 kg (2600 lbs) | 816 kg (1800 lbs) |
Equipment Details
| Name | Foro 400 Drill |
|---|---|
| Type |
Type
Ice coring
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| Number in Inventory |
Number in Inventory
1
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| Max. Practical Depth |
Max. Practical Depth
400 m
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| Ice Core Diameter |
Ice Core Diameter
98 mm (3.85 inches)
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| Ice Core Length |
Ice Core Length
1 m
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| IDP Driller Required? |
IDP Driller Required?
Yes
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| Drill Fluid Required? |
Drill Fluid Required?
No
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| Helicopter Transportable? |
Helicopter Transportable?
Yes
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| Light Aircraft Transportable? |
Light Aircraft Transportable?
Yes
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| Shipping Weight |
Shipping Weight
1800 lbs |
| Shipping Volume (Cube) |
Shipping Cube
200 m system can be broken down so individual pieces weigh less than 100 lbs and are under 6 ft3 |
| Comments |
Documents
| Citation | Year |
|---|---|
| U.S. Ice Drilling Program (2021) Foro 400 Drill Operations and Maintenance Manual. 1-42. | 2021 |
| Mary R Albert, Kristina R Slawny, Grant Boeckmann, Chris J Gibson, Jay A Johnson, Keith Makinson, Julius Rix (2020) Recent Innovations in Drilling in Ice. Chapter 6 of Advances in Terrestrial Drilling: Ground, Ice and Underwater, Bar-Cohen and Zacny, eds., 157-220. https://www.routledge.com/Advances-in-Terrestrial-Drilling-Ground-Ice-and-Under… | 2020 |
| Jay A Johnson, Matthew J Kippenhan (2017) DISC Drill vs. Foro 3000 Drill Analysis. 1-24. | 2017 |
| IDDO (2015) Foro Drill System Preliminary Engineering Design Review. 1-26. | 2015 |
Photos
The drill tent for the Foro 400 drill in use for its first time at Allan Hills, Antarctica, during the 2019/20 field season. Credit: Elizabeth Morton
Foro 400 drill system inside the drill tent at Allan Hills, Antarctica, during the 2019/20 field season. Credit: Tanner Kuhl
Driller Elizabeth Morton operates the Foro 400 Drill at Allan Hills, Antarctica, during the 2019/20 field season. Credit: Tanner Kuhl
Testing of the Foro 400 set-up at the Physical Sciences Laboratory in Madison, WI. Credit: IDP-WI
Testing of the Foro 400 set-up at the Physical Sciences Laboratory in Madison, WI. Credit: IDP-WI
Testing of the Foro 400 set-up at the Physical Sciences Laboratory in Madison, WI. Credit: IDP-WI
Testing of the Foro 400 set-up at the Physical Sciences Laboratory in Madison, WI. Credit: IDP-WI.
The Foro 400 Drill's control box designed for operation in cold and wet conditions. Controls are laid out for use while wearing gloves. The LCI-90i line control meter displays line tension, payout, speed, core length, and weight-on-bit. An internal siren and light on the faceplate alert the operator if the anti-torque is slipping downhole. Credit: Jay Johnson
The Foro 400 Drill's control box designed for operation in cold and wet conditions. Controls are laid out for use while wearing gloves. The LCI-90i line control meter displays line tension, payout, speed, core length, and weight-on-bit. An internal siren and light on the faceplate alert the operator if the anti-torque is slipping downhole. Credit: Jay Johnson
The sled, winch, and tower base for the Foro 400 Drill. Credit: Jay Johnson
Shipping weight listed above includes all spares and shipping cases. For ultra-lightweight deployments, where spares and shipping cases can be left at a base camp, the weight of the winch, tower, one control box and one sonde is estimated at 604 lbs.