Advantages of Rotary Drilling Rigs Compared To Percussion Drills

1. Interchangeable Drill Heads:
   Rotary drilling rigs can adapt to different soil conditions by switching between various drill heads, such as bucket drills, core drills, and auger drills, making them suitable for soft soils, sandy layers, gravel, and even rock. Percussion drills, on the other hand, are mainly effective in hard soils or rocky layers and struggle in soft or unstable soils.

2. Adaptability to Complex Conditions:
   Rotary drilling rigs can work efficiently in complex soil conditions (e.g., silt, flowing sand) with the help of auxiliary tools such as mud walls, while percussion drills face difficulties or are even ineffective under similar circumstances.

3. Superior Borehole Quality

Rotary drilling rigs provide excellent borehole quality with stable hole walls.

1. High Verticality:
   Rotary drilling rigs use mechanical guidance during drilling, ensuring verticality and minimizing issues such as hole deviation or wall collapse. Percussion drills, due to their hammering method, are more prone to irregular or collapsed hole walls.

2. Effective Bottom Cleaning:
   Rotary drilling rigs are equipped to effectively clean residual soil at the bottom of the hole, providing a solid foundation for subsequent pile construction. In contrast, percussion drills require additional cleaning processes, complicating construction.

4. Higher Environmental Friendliness

With modern demands for eco-friendly construction, rotary drilling rigs significantly outperform percussion drills in reducing disturbances and noise.

1. Reduced Vibration and Noise:
   Rotary drilling rigs use a cutting and rotation method, resulting in lower vibration and noise levels, making them ideal for urban and residential areas. Percussion drills, with their repeated hammering, cause significant vibrations and noise.

2. Minimal Disturbance:
   Rotary drilling rigs often use a closed mud circulation system, effectively controlling slurry spillage and dust. Percussion drills, however, tend to cause more slurry splashes, impacting the surrounding environment.

5. Modernized Operations

Rotary drilling rigs are superior in terms of ease of operation and construction automation.

1. High Automation:
   Modern rotary drilling rigs are equipped with monitoring systems that provide real-time data on drilling depth, verticality, and speed, enabling smarter operation. Percussion drills, on the other hand, require more manual intervention, increasing labor intensity.

2. Flexible Maneuverability:
   Rotary drilling rigs are mounted on crawler chassis, making them easy to move and suitable for various construction sites. Percussion drills are less mobile and more challenging to relocate.

6. Higher Comprehensive Economic Efficiency

Although rotary drilling rigs have higher initial equipment costs, their efficiency and borehole quality lead to better overall economic benefits.

1. Reduced Construction Time:
   The rapid drilling capability of rotary rigs significantly shortens construction timelines, especially in large-scale projects, lowering indirect costs.

2. Minimized Rework Costs:
   The high-quality boreholes produced by rotary rigs reduce the risk of rework due to issues like hole collapse or deviation, making them more cost-effective than percussion drills.

Conclusion

In summary, rotary drilling rigs offer significant advantages over percussion drills, particularly in terms of construction efficiency, versatility, environmental friendliness, and borehole quality. While the initial equipment cost of rotary rigs may be higher, their comprehensive benefits make them a superior choice. As a result, rotary drilling rigs have become the mainstream equipment in modern pile foundation construction, especially for projects demanding high efficiency and quality.