Difficult ground encountered while installing 10 SVE wells at Superfund Site
This Indiana site required the installation of 10 horizontal SVE wells beneath and through an area of fill, waste, and debris. During drilling the extreme conditions were encountered frequently. Note within the picture below there are inclined layers of brick, slag (there are four layers, look for the gun-metal blue material) and miscellaneous debris. The standard drilling practices that guide most installations fall by the wayside when drilling in brick and slag: locating is difficult due to the high iron content of the slag, drilling fluid is lost to high porosity, and borehole stability is nil. It is an understatement to say that these installations are more difficult than usual!
Drill rod in the exit pit of a 380' bore showing the difficult drilling conditions
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