The Koci Drill, named after the late drill engineer Bruce Koci, was an electromechanical, single-barrel coring drill that was designed to operate in ice containing limited amounts of sand, silt and very small sedimentary rocks. The system included cutters with replaceable carbide inserts for drilling in mixed media ice. A non-coring rock bit and auger was used for penetrating through larger segments of rock and gravel. The drill bit was rotated via a rigid drill string by a surface-mounted electric motor mounted to a tower. Drill penetration was controlled by a feed system on the drill tower to account for varying ice conditions. The drill produced 76-mm (3-inch) diameter cores a few tenths of a meter long. The drill sustained significant damage during its last deployment in 2009-2010. Community enthusiasm is now focused on sub-glacial rock coring. To that end, IDP purchased two shallow off-the-shelf rock coring drills and has modified them to drill and core clean ice, mixed media and bedrock. The Koci Drill system has been retired as its function has now been replaced by the Winkie Drills.
Status
Decommissioned - The Koci Drill system has been retired as its function has now been replaced by the Winkie Drills.
Equipment Details
| Name | Koci Drill |
|---|---|
| Type |
Type
Rock Coring; Ice Coring/Augering
|
| Number in Inventory |
Number in Inventory
0
|
| Ice Core Diameter |
Ice Core Diameter
76-mm (3-inch)
|
| Rock Core Diameter |
Rock Core Diameter
76-mm (3-inch)
|
| IDP Driller Required? |
IDP Driller Required?
Yes
|
| Helicopter Transportable? |
Helicopter Transportable?
Yes
|
| Light Aircraft Transportable? |
Light Aircraft Transportable?
Yes
|
| Comments |
Documents
| Citation | Year |
|---|---|
| Charles R Bentley, Bruce R Koci, Laurent Augustin, Robin J Bolsey, James A Green, Jay D Kyne, Donald A Lebar, William P Mason, Alexander J Shturmakov, Hermann F Engelhardt, William D Harrison, Michael H Hecht, Victor Zagorodnov (2009) Chapter 4: Ice Drilling and Coring. Drilling in Extreme Environments: Penetration and Sampling on Earth and other Planets (eds Y. Bar-Cohen and K. Zacny), Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim, Germany, 221-308. doi: 10.1002/9783527626625.ch4. https://doi.org/10.1002/9783527626625.ch4 | 2009 |
| James A Green, Bruce R Koci, Jay D Kyne (2007) Koci drill for drilling in ice, sand and rock: drill requirements, design, performance, difficulties. Annals of Glaciology, 47, 105-108. doi: 10.3189/172756407786857677. https://doi.org/10.3189/172756407786857677 | 2007 |
Photos
The Koci Drill at Mullins Valley, Antarctica, during the 2008-2009 field season. Credit: Tanner Kuhl
The Koci Drill at Beacon Valley, Antarctica, during the 2008-2009 field season. Credit: Tanner Kuhl
A core from the Koci Drill drilled during the 2008-2009 field season in Antarctica. Credit: Tanner Kuhl
The Koci Drill being helicopter slung into Mullins Valley, Antarctica, during the 2008-2009 field season. Credit: Tanner Kuhl
Typical core from site MCI-08-003 in the Beacon Valley, Antarctica, showing alternating sand and ice bands. Credit: Tanner Kuhl
An ice core drilled with the Koci Drill from site MCI-08-004 in Beacon Valley, Antarctica, during the 2008-2009 field season. Credit: Tanner Kuhl
Project History
| 2009-2010 Antarctic - Ancient Buried Ice in Antarctica |
This Koci Drill is decommissioned, as the Winkie Drill has replaced its function.