JPL's NDEAA Ultrasonic Drilling Homepage

Principal Investigator: Dr. Yoseph Bar-Cohen, JPL
JPL: Dr. Xiaoqi Bao, Dr. Zensheu Chang, Dr. Benjamin Dolgin and Dr. Stewart Sherrit
Cybersonics, Inc.: Thomas Peterson (President), Dr. Dharmendra Pal, Ron Krahe and Jason Kroh


This ultrasonic drilling mechanism does not require high axial load	The USDC operated from a FIDO rover robotic arm	The USDC operated from the Sojourner platform (a duplicate of the rover that was on Mars Pathfinder)

This Website describes the JPL's NDEAA ultrasonic drilling activity. This task is seeking to develop an ultrasonic/sonic driller/corer (USDC) to enable collecting samples from various planets or small bodies (e.g., asteroid) using low axial load and low power. The drill bit not does require sharpening, it has self-removal of debris, can be made to operate at cryogenic and high temperatures, non-round cross section cores can be criated and it can be used to probe the ground as well as deliver in-situ sensing down the well.
Ultrasonic and sonic vibrations are responsible for the drilling action. Piezoelectric material in the upper section excites these vibrations. Flashlight battery can drive this drill. The drill bit is forced to go up and down but it does not rotate. The impact of the bit into the rock performs the drilling. The device is being developed in cooperation with Cybersonics (under an SBIR contract), where finite element analytical modeling is being developed to optimize the operation of the device. The USDC was demonstrated to operate from a Sojourner size rover as well as from the robotic arm of the FIDO rover. The drill head currently weighs .4-kg (1-lb), requires axial load at the level of 3-10N and was operated by as low as 3-W. So far demonstrate 25-mm (1-inch) deep holes in granite from a 4-kg platform, 15-cm and 15-mm diameter in sandstone.
The USDC was selected the NASA/JPL Technology Spotlight for the month of April 2000. Further, USDC was selected by R&D Magazine (in the Sept. 2000 issue, p. 135) as one of the 100 most innovative instruments for the year 2000
View video reviewing the USDC technology Click here to play the RealVideo/Audio clip

View video reviewing the Ultrasonic Gopher technology (with high speed video) Click here to play the RealVideo/Audio clip

USDC as JPL's Technology Spotlight JPL's Technology Spotlight, April 2000.

A comparison of the USDC with other techniques

drilled rock

animation

Using a wire drill bit to drill

Ultrasonic/Sonic Driller and Corer (USDC) - information archive

Viewgraphs of a presentation on ultrasonic drilling at the Feb. 1998 TRIWG Review
Viewgraphs of a presentation to the NASA Mechanisms Working Group, Dec. 15, 1998
"Modeling of Horns for Sonic/Ultrasonic Applications," IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium, held in Lake Tahoe, CA, 17-20 October 1999, pp. 647-651
"Comparison of the Mason and KLM Equivalent Circuits for Piezoelectric Resonators in the Thickness Mode," IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium, held in Lake Tahoe, CA, 17-20 October 1999, pp. 621-626
"Ultrasonic/sonic drilling/coring (USDC) for in-situ planetary applications," SPIE Smart Structures 2000, March 2000, Newport Beach, CA, paper 3992-101
"Analyzing the Impedance Resonance of Piezoelectric Stacks," Proceedings of the IEEE Ultrasonics Symposium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Oct 22-25, 2000
"Modeling of the Ultrasonic/Sonic Driller/Corer: USDC," Proceedings of the IEEE Ultrasonics Symposium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Oct 22-25, 2000
"Ultrasonic/Sonic Driller/Corer (USDC) as a Sampler for Planetary Exploration," Proceedings of the 2001 IEEE Aerospace Conference on the topic of "Missions, Systems, and Instruments for In Situ Sensing" (Session 2.05), Big Sky, Montana, March 10-17, 2001.
"Ultrasonic/sonic drilling/coring (USDC) for planetary applications," SPIE Smart Structures 2001, March 2001, Newport Beach, CA, paper 4327-55
"Sample Acquisition and In-Situ Analysis Using the Ultrasonic/Sonic Driller/Corer (USDC) and Robotic Platforms," The 6th International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Automation in Space (i-SAIRAS-01), Montreal, Canada, June 18-21, 2001
"Characterization of Transducers and Resonators under High Drive Levels," IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium, Atlanta, GA, Oct. 7-10, 2001
"Novel Horn Designs for Ultrasonic/Sonic Cleaning Welding, Soldering, Cutting and Drilling," Paper 4701-34, Proceedings of the SPIE Smart Structures and Materials Symposium, San Diego, CA, March 17-19, 2002
"Modeling of particle flow due to ultrasonic drilling," Paper 4701-35, ibid
"Analysis and Simulation of the Ultrasonic/Sonic Driller/Corer(USDC)," Paper 4701-36, ibid
"An Ultrasonic Sampler and Sensor Platform for In-situ Astrobiological Exploration," Paper 5056-55, Proceedings of the SPIE Smart Structures Conference, San Diego, CA., Mar 2-6. 2003
"In-situ Rock Probing Using The Ultrasonic/Sonic Driller/Corer (USDC)," Paper Paper 5056-73, ibid Patent disclosures related to USDC Y. Bar-Cohen, S. Sherrit, B. Dolgin, T. Peterson, D. Pal and J. Kroh, "Ultrasonic/Sonic Driller/Corer (USDC) With Integrated Sensors," New Technology Report, Submitted on August 30, 1999. Docket No. 20856, Item No. 0448b, November 17, 1999. Provisional Patent, filed on May 3, 2000, Application No. 60/201,650. Currently, a patent is being filed. Press Release and Media Clipping "NASA DEVELOPS A DRILL FOR THE FUTURE," NASA Press Release, April 12, 2000 "NASA Develops a Drill for the Future," brief NASA Press Release, April 12, 2000 "NASA Develops a Drill for the Future," graphics of the NASA Press Release, April 12, 2000 "Drilling to a better understanding of Mars and the world beyond," EXN Discover Channel, Canada (includes video), April 13, 2000 Return to the JPL's NDEAA Webhub Last updated - July 22, 2002