Industrial processes have for a long time become more and more automated, this is no different in the mining industry. When excavating during mining operations special drill rigs are used to drill holes in the rock walls to be used for either explosives or bolts to support the structure. The study aimed to find out if it was possible to create an algorithm that would use the drill rigs telemetry data to estimate the number of holes it had created over specific time period. The main approach would be to see if machine learning could be used for the problem or if some other method could be theorised. Without the groundwork needed to create a proper machine learning algorithm a basic statistical approach was used to solve the problem, however since there were no actual reports containing the amount of holes a rig drilled the final solution is highly conjectural.

The increase of intelligent systems can be seen in every industry. Integrated sensors and processors are used with internal control systems to create better performance for mobile hydraulic applications. The report describes how an evaluation was made to see if the productivity of a drill rig could be increased. This was done by implementing a programmable hydraulic valve to control the hydraulic drilling functions. The productivity would be increased by reducing the downtime due to jamming in the drill hole. Jamming occur when the system does not compensate for changes in rock conditions. By conducting a series of tests in a controlled environment with simulated loads, the response time of the CMA system and original system could be determined and compared. The CMA system had a response time that was 60-64% faster than the original system. Two different implementations of a controller was tested. Ziegler-Nichols method was used to get the initial value of the PI parameters. The controller that was implemented onboard the valve’s CPU was considered more successfull to reduce jamming. A drill test was conducted to ensure that the programmable valve could handle a drilling procedure with the controller that was implemented onboard the valve’s CPU. The valve handled the drilling procedure well.

Skanska Grundläggning in Region Special wishes to gain an increased understanding of the extent to which it differs in the wear of percussion hammers and pilot drill crowns, depending on which driving medium is used in down-the-hole drilling, as well as logistical and economic aspects depending on the chosen method. Down-the-hole drilling means that the hammer works down in the borehole and forms one of the components at the far end of the drill string together with a drill bit. The blow of the hammer is created by air or water at high pressure. The piling method that is examined is drilled steel pipe piles, which means that a steel pipe pile is driven into the ground in step with the hammer and the drill bit's advancement. Once the desired depth has been reached, the drill string with the drill bit is pulled out of the casing and then the steel pipe pile is filled with concrete. The study aims to examine the products' lifespans and repair intervals from several different perspectives and set them against reality, as well as what the different methods have for differences regarding logistics and establishment. This is to create a basis for future decisions on the most suitable method of down-the-hole drilling. The beginning of the study consisted of qualitative preliminary interviews to identify and create a problem formulation that was dealt with via a literature study, five semi-structured interviews, eleven questionnaires, internal data from drilling protocols and purchasing. The result shows that there is some difference in wear in the hammer depending on whether it is an air or water powered system, the wear appears in different places and can have an impact on the life of the hammer. The wear that occurs most frequently on drill bit is grinding on the buttons. Geotechnical differences for various projects are a significant factor in the service life of the equipment. An air hammer requires that the air constantly being mixed with lubricating oil and that an air compressor consumes more diesel compared to a high-pressure pump for the equivalent water hammer. The handling of water that is flushed out of the borehole is considered a concern. To reduce wear on water hammers and thus fewer replacements and more repairs, a drill bit intended for water powered down-the-hole hammer should be used. DTH-drilling with an air hammer is considered an industry standard and a certain skepticism towards a water powered system may indicate inexperience. / Skanska Grundläggning inom Region Special önskar att få en ökad förståelse hur vida det skiljer sig vid slitage av hammare och pilotborrkrona beroende på vilket drivande medium som nyttjas vid sänkhammarborrning, samt logistiska och ekonomiska aspekter beroende på vald metod. Sänkhammarborrning innebär att hammaren arbetar nere i borrhålet och utgör en av komponenterna längst ut på borrsträngen tillsammans med en borrkrona. Hammarens slag skapas av luft eller vatten i högt tryck. Pålningsmetoden som undersöks är borrade stålrörspålar, det betyder att ett foderrör drivs ned i marken i takt med hammaren och borrkronans framfart. Väl när önskat djup uppnåtts lyfts borrsträngen med hammaren och piloten upp ur foderröret för att sedan fyllas upp med betong. Studien syftar till att undersöka produkternas livslängder och reparationsintervall från flera olika perspektiv och ställa dem emot verkligheten, samt vad dem olika metoderna har för olikheter kring logistik och etablering. Detta är för att skapa underlag för framtida beslut om mest lämplig metod av sänkhammarborrning. Studiens begynnelse bestod av kvalitativa förintervjuer för att identifiera och skapa en problemformulering som avhandlades via en litteraturstudie, fem semistrukturerade intervjuer, elva frågeformulär, interna data från borrningsprotokoll och inköp. Resultatet visar att det förekommer viss skillnad i slitage i hammaren beroende på om det är en luft- eller vattenanläggning, slitaget visar sig på olika ställen och kan ha betydelse för hammarens livslängd. Det slitage som uppträder mest frekvent på piloter är nedslipning av stift. Geotekniska egenskaper för olika projekt utgör en betydande faktor för utrustningens livslängd. En lufthammare är i behov av att luften konstant beblandas smörjolja och att en luftkompressor förbrukar mer diesel jämfört med en högtryckspump för motsvarande vattenhammare. Efterhanteringen av vatten som spolas upp anses vara ett bekymmer. För att minska slitage på vattenhammare och därmed färre byten och mer reparationer bör en pilotborrkrona avsedd för vattendriven sänkhammarborrning nyttjas. Sänkhammarborrning med lufthammare anses som branschstandard och en viss skepticism mot en vattendriven anläggning kan tyda på oerfarenhet.