Ultrasonic-Assisted Rock-Breaking Technology and Oil and Gas Drilling Applications: A Review

High-efficiency rock-breaking is a problem that has long been studied in the oil- and gas-drilling industry. The successful use of ultrasonic technology in related fields has prompted us to study how to introduce ultrasonic technology into rock-breaking in oil and gas drilling. This paper introduces and discusses the successful cases of ultrasonic breaking technology in related fields, summarizes the three basic forms of ultrasonic action on rocks, namely, resonance, impact and cavitation, expounds the factors and laws that affect ultrasonic-assisted rock-breaking, and summarizes the research results reported in recent years. It is believed that, at present, the application of ultrasonic-assisted rock-breaking technology in the oil- and gas-drilling industry still faces some problems and challenges: first, the downhole high-temperature and high-pressure conditions will affect the effect of ultrasonic-assisted rock-breaking, and the related mechanisms and research are not clear; second, the impact of circulating media on ultrasonic-assisted rock-breaking is not clear; third, the problem of ultrasonic propagation and utilization in the downhole has not been well-solved; fourth, the stability of drilling tools and circulating media caused by high-frequency characteristics has not been well-solved. Therefore, it is suggested to increase research on the mechanism of ultrasonic-assisted rock-breaking with oil- and gas-drilling characteristics and the transmission and utilization of downhole ultrasonic energy in the future, and increase the development of supporting products to support the application of this technology in the oil and gas industry.