A drifting impact oscillator with periodic impulsive loading: Application to percussive drilling

Percussive drilling is extensively used to drill hard rocks in the earth resource industry, where it performs best compared to other drilling technologies. In this paper, we propose a novel model of the process that consists of a drifting oscillator under impulsive loading coupled with a bilinear force/penetration interface law, together with a kinetic energy threshold for continuous bit penetration. Following the formulation of the model, we analyze its steady-state response and show that there exists a parallel between theoretical and experimental predictions, as both exhibit a maximum of the average penetration rate with respect to the vertical load on bit. In addition, the existence of complex long-term dynamics with the coexistence of periodic solutions in certain parameter ranges is demonstrated.