The Rapid Air Movement (RAM) Drill was developed for use in creating shot holes for seismic geophysical exploration. It is a system in which high-velocity air drives rotating cutters and blows the ice chips from the hole. The cutting drill motor hangs on a hose that carries the air from the surface and is reeled out as the hole deepens. It has been used three times in West Antarctica, where it routinely achieved depths of 90 meters. The Askaryan Radio Array (ARA) project borrowed the drill for the 2010-2011 Antarctic field season to test methods of producing holes for radio antennae at South Pole, but could not get deeper than 63 meters at that location.
In 2017, IDP and community scientists finalized science requirements which drove substantial modifications and upgrades to the drill system to reduce its logistical requirements. IDP completed a conceptual design for the modified system known as the RAM 2, with scalable components for either shallow (~40 meter) deployments or for full 100 meter deployments. The modifications will serve to dramatically reduce the system weight from approximately 24,000 lbs. to about 8,000 lbs. and will allow for easier assembly and operations in remote areas.
Status (RAM 2)
IDP completed final assembly and in-house testing of the modified system in early 2018. A field test was then conducted near Raven Camp in Greenland in July 2018. Repairs and additional modifications were made prior to the drill’s deployment to Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica in September 2018. On Thwaites Glacier, the system will use the large compressors from the original RAM Drill to help ensure project success. The large compressors will be used to quantify the amount of air required to successfully drill to 100 meters. The smaller RAM 2 compressors will then be optimized to provide the necessary air flow.
Equipment Details
Name | Rapid Air Movement Drill |
---|---|
Type |
Type
Non-coring
|
Number in Inventory |
Number in Inventory
1
|
Max. Practical Depth |
Max. Practical Depth
95 m (the depth being limited by the length of the hose)
|
Hole Diameter |
Hole Diameter
100 mm
|
IDP Driller Required? |
IDP Driller Required?
Yes, 2 drillers
|
Drill Fluid Required? |
Drill Fluid Required?
No
|
Shipping Weight |
Shipping Weight
22,664 lbs |
Shipping Volume (Cube) |
Shipping Cube
2971 cube |
Comments |
Documents
Citation | Year |
---|---|
Chris J Gibson, Grant Boeckmann, Zachary Meulemans, Tanner W Kuhl, Jim Koehler, Jay A Johnson, Kristina R Slawny (2020) RAM-2 Drill system development: an upgrade of the Rapid Air Movement Drill. Annals of Glaciology, 1-10. doi: 10.1017/aog.2020.72. https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2020.72 | 2020 |
U.S. Ice Drilling Program (2020) Rapid Air Movement Drill 2 Operations and Maintenance Manual Configuration-1. 1-11. | 2020 |
Sridhar Anandakrishnan, Paul Winberry, IDPO (2017) Science Requirements: RAM Drill. | 2017 |
Chris J Gibson, Jay A Johnson, Grant Boeckmann (2017) Rapid Air Movement (RAM) Drill Upgrade Concept Overview. 1-18. | 2017 |
IDDO (2017) Rapid Air Movement (RAM) Drill Upgrade Conceptual Design Review. 1-26. | 2017 |
Rusheng Wang, Liu An, Pinlu Cao, Baoyi Chen, Mikhail Sysoev, Dayou Fan, Pavel Talalay (2017) Rapid ice drilling with continual air transport of cuttings and cores: General concept. Polar Science, 14, 21-29. doi: 10.1016/j.polar.2017.09.004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polar.2017.09.004 | 2017 |
Amber N Whelsky, Mary R Albert (2016) Firn permeability impacts on pressure loss associated with rapid air movement drilling. Cold Regions Science and Technology, 123, 149-154. doi: 10.1016/j.coldregions.2015.11.018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2015.11.018 | 2016 |
Photos
Testing of the RAM 2 Drill components at WAIS Divide, Antarctica, during the 2019/20 field season. Credit: Chris Gibson
IDP driller Mike Jayred tests the RAM Drill during the 2010-2011 field season for the Askaryan Radio Array project at South Pole. Photo: Michael DuVernois
IDP driller Mike Jayred tests the RAM Drill during the 2010-2011 field season for the Askaryan Radio Array project at South Pole. Photo: Michael DuVernois
The RAM Drill at WAIS Divide, Antarctica, during the 2009-2010 field season. The RAM Drill routinely attained depths of 90 meters during the season. Photo: John Fegyveresi
Project History
2010-2011 Antarctic - Instrument Development of the Askaryan Radio Array, A Large-scale Radio Cherenkov Neutrino Detector at the South Pole |
2009-2010 Antarctic - Amundsen Basin Seismic Project |
Weight of drill system in operation about 20,000 lbs