The DTH hammer is a working device for DTH drilling rigs. It is widely used in metallurgy, coal, chemical industry, mining, water conservancy, hydropower, highway, railway, national defense, construction, and other engineering hole-forming operations. With reliable working performance, it is today’s ideal equipment for drilling and blast holes. However, the structural performance parameters of the DTH hammer have an essential impact on its drilling efficiency, service life, energy consumption, and other aspects. How to optimize the structural performance parameters of DTH hammers is an issue worth exploring.

Working principle of DTH hammer

During the working process of the DTH hammer, the high-pressure gas drives the piston in the hammer to perform high-frequency reciprocating motion. The kinetic energy generated by this movement is transmitted to the tail of the drill bit in the form of stress waves so that the drill bit obtains a definite impact energy. The carbide button distributed on the drill bit head impacts the rock at the bottom of the hole under the action of the drill bit’s impact power, causing the rock to become volumetrically broken. At the same time, the cuttings are brought out of the hole by gas with a certain pressure and velocity to reduce repeated rock fragmentation.

Structural performance parameters of DTH hammer

The structural performance parameters of DTH hammers include hammer size, impact energy, impact frequency, impact waveform, etc. The impact energy refers to the impact energy of the hammer at a certain point in time. It is related to factors such as the size and internal structure of the hammer. The impact frequency refers to the number of impacts of the hammer per unit of time, which is related to the internal structure of the hammer, drive mode, and other factors. The impact waveform refers to the shape of the shock wave output by the hammer, which is related to factors such as the internal structure of the hammer and the output medium.

How to optimize the structural performance parameters of the DTH hammer

Material selection

The material of the hammer has a significant impact on its performance. To improve the impact energy and service life of DTH hammers, high-strength and wear-resistant materials can be used to increase the durability and reliability of the equipment. At the same time, the lightness of the DTH hammer should also be considered.

Structural design

The structural design of the DTH hammer also has an essential impact on its performance. Optimize the internal structure design of the DTH hammer to reduce internal friction and energy loss. Adopt a new piston design to improve the reciprocating motion efficiency of the piston.

Process improvement

The process is an essential part of manufacturing hammers and improving the DTH hammer’s performance by improving the manufacturing process. For example, adopt advanced processing equipment and process methods to improve machining accuracy and surface quality of parts. Adopt wear-resistant materials and surface treatment technology to improve the wear and corrosion resistance of the DTH hammer.

Surface treatment

Surface treatments can change the physical and chemical properties of the hammer’s surface, thereby improving its performance. For example, the use of hard coating technology, coated with a layer of carbide materials on the surface of the hammer to increase its wear and corrosion resistance. The use of nano abrasion reduction technology, the formation of a layer of nano thickness of abrasion reduction film on the surface of the impactor, reduces the coefficient of friction and improves its wear resistance and efficiency.

Reasonable adjustment of equipment parameters

Appropriately increase the piston diameter and impact stroke to increase impact energy and impact frequency and increase rock drilling efficiency. At the same time, controlling the weight and gas consumption of the equipment can be reasonable to ensure mobility and long-term use. Adjust the parameters such as gas pressure and exhaust port diameter to obtain the best rock drilling results for different rock drilling environments and rock types. For example, reducing the gas pressure and exhaust port diameter can be appropriate to avoid excessive rock fragmentation in soft rock environments.

Optimizing the structural performance parameters of DTH hammers is significant for improving rock drilling efficiency and equipment life. In practical applications, appropriate structural performance parameters are based on the specific rock drilling environment and rock type to ensure the excellent working performance of DTH hammers. At the same time, to meet the needs of different fields, it is also necessary to study different types of DTH hammers to expand their application range.