Deep water automated coring system (DWACS)

Williamson & Associates has delivered the Deep Water Automated Coring System (DWACS), capable of drilling over 100 meters of 63.5 mm diameter core in water depths of up to 3000 meters. This drill will be owned and operated by the National Institute of Ocean Technology in Chennai, India. DWACS is a remotely operated seafloor coring system that uses wireline drilling technology to drill deeper, faster, and with higher core recovery than by other drilling methods. Conventional core drilling requires pulling the drill string when the core barrel is full. This is time consuming and risks damaging the sides of the holes. Wireline drilling allows for the cores to be quickly recovered through the center of the drill string - allowing for continuous advancement of the drill string. The DWACS systems is 3.8 meters wide × 8.1 meters long × 5.7 meters high, and weighs 13,000 kg in air. The drill has 45 kW (60 hp) of hydraulic power. Drill tools are 3m long, and are of a special light-weight design. A full sensor suite has been provided to help the operator: 8 cameras used with 12 lights, 14 proximity sensors, 3 linear position sensors, and 2 load cells. There are two operator stations with joystick and trackball controls, and an additional console for a system engineer. This system should be of interest to both the commercial and scientific research communities with applications ranging from geophysical data acquisition to marine mineral assessment.