Clean, safe groundwater is one of our most valuable and essential resources on this planet. It is the duty of groundwater professionals to protect this valuable resource for future generations.
Gel strength is one of the most important characteristics of an HDD drilling fluid, and understanding how to test for gel strength and adjust drilling fluids to varying soil conditions can greatly increase the success rate for HDD contractors.
The biggest difference between drilling fluids for vertical rotary mud drilling and horizontal directional drilling (HDD) applications is in the requirements for gel strength.
This January will mark 40 years of experience of working with drilling fluids and drilling fluids recycling equipment for this author, and yours truly could write a book on drilling fluids mixing errors made by both vertical and horizontal directional drilling contractors.
Be it vertical rotary mud drilling, horizontal directional drilling or foundation drilling, one commonly overlooked factor in maintaining borehole stability is hydrostatic head pressure.
When it comes to drilling fluids for horizontal directional drilling and vertical drilling, such as geothermal loop installation or water well drilling, there are a lot of similarities.
