Drilling in permafrost at Norman Wells, N.W.T., 1958

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Drilling in permafrost at Norman Wells, N.W.T., 1958

NATIONAL Fl3SEARCH C O U N C I L CANADA D I V I S I O N O F B U I L D I N G R E S U R C H D R I L L I N G I N PERMAFROST A T NORMAN 'IYELLS, N . W

.T.

,

1958

by G. H. J o h n s t o n I n t e r n a l R e p o r t N o . 2 1 8 o f t h e D i v i s i o n o f B u i l d i n g Research O t t a w a February 1961

PREFACE A knowledge of t h e t h e r m a l regime e x i s t i n g a t d e p t h i n a r e a s of p e r e n n i a l l y f r o z e n ground i s of p a r t i c u l a r i m p o r t a n c e i n f u r t h e r i n g a b e t t e r u n d e r - s t a n d i n g of p e r m a f r o s t . To o b t a i n s u c h i n f o r m a t i o n , d e e p ground t e m p e r a t u r e i n s t a l l a t i o n s a r e r e q u i r e d . A number of problems a r e i n v o l v e d , however,

i n

making

t h e s e i n s t a l l a t i o n s p a r t i c u l a r l y w i t h r e g a r d t o t h e p l a c i n g o f t h e equipment t o t h e r e q u i r e d d e p t h

i n

t h e f r o z e n ground. I t was f o r t h i s r e a s o n t h a t when t h e D i v i s i o n of B u i l d i n g R e s e a r c h , N a t i o n a l R e s e a r c h C o u n c i l , u n d e r - t o o k t o i n s t a l l two thermocouple c a b l e s t o d e p t h s of 200 f t . a t Noman W e l l s , N.W. T. i n t h e summer of 1 9 5 8 , t h e r e c o r d i n g o f i n f o r m a t i o n on t h e a c t u a l d r i l l i n g o p e r a t i o n became a n i m p o r t a n t p a r t o f t h e p r o j e c t . The a u t h o r , who i s a r e s e a r c h o f f i c e r i n t h e N o r t h e r n B u i l d i n g S e c t i o n of t h e D i v i s i o n , h a s been c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n of d r i l l i n g and s a m p l i n g t e c h n i q u e s i n p e r e n n i a l l y f r o z e n ground o v e r t h e p a s t f e i ~ y e a r s and a l s o e n g i n e e r i n g s t u d i e s of t h e performance of f o u n d a t i o n s i n p e r m a f r o s t . Ottawa F e b r u a r y 1 9 6 1 R o b e r t F. L e g g e t D i r e c t o r

TABLE OF CONTENTS L o c a t i o n P h y s i o g r a p h y and Geology S o i l a n d P e r m a f r o s t C o n d i t i o n s D r i l l i n g Equipment D r i l l i n g O p e r a t i o n Ground Temperature I n s t a l l a t i o n s Summary o f Work Acknowledgements R e f e r e n c e s

G. H. Johnston

Deep ground t e m p e r a t u r e measurement i n s t a l l a t i o n s i n p e r m a f r o s t a r e a s a r e few i n number, b e i n g l i m i t e d t o P o i n t Barrow, Alaska (1) ; Resolilte B a y , C o r n w a l l i s I s l a n d , N.1V.T.

(2,3,4); and Thule, Greenland. These i n s t a l l a t i o n s p r o v i d e i n f o r m a t i o n t o d e p t h s exceeding 650 f e e t below t h e ground s u r f a c e i n p e r e n n i a l l y f r o z e n ground.

A s p a r t of t h e wartime Canol p r o j e c t , a number of e x p l o r a t o r y o i l w e l l s were d r i l l e d i n t h e Norman T~Vells,

N.W.T.

a r e a and t h e occurrence of p e r m a f r o s t was r e p o r t e d t o d e p t h s of a b o u t 180 f e e t below t h e ground s u r f a c e . During t h e summer of 1958, t h e Northern B u i l d i n g S e c t i o n of t h e D i v i s i o n of

B u i l d i n e Research undertook t h e i n s t a l l a t i o n o f deep ground t e m p e r a t u r e measuring i n s t r u m e n t s a t Norman Wells t o determine more a c c u r a t e l y t h e d e p t h and t h e long-term performance of permafrost i n t h a t a r e a . The lvork was c z r r i e d o u t d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d 2 1 J u l y t o 1 2 August 1958. Two h o l c s

(I!!@

1 4

and

NT:'iB 1 6 ) were d r i l l e d a t bvo d i f f e r e n t l o c a t i o n s t o d e p t h s of a b o u t 200 f e e t and two h o l e s (N1K13

1 5

and N1ii'13 1 7 ) w e r e - d r i l l e d t o d e p t h s of 10 f e e t . I n each o f t h e f o u r h o l e s , thermocouple c a b l e s were i n s t a l l e d t o measure t h e ground t e m p e r a t u r e s a t v a r i o u s d e p t h s . The e x p e r i e n c e gained i n i n s t a l l i n g t h i s equipment f o r m s t h e b a s i s of t h i s r e p o r t .

LOCATION

Norman Wells i s l o c a t e d on t h e n o r t h e a s t bank of t h e Rlackenzie River a t 65O 37' n o r t h l a t i t u d e and 127O 20' west l o n a i t u d e .

-

(The r i v e r flows t o t h e northwest; a t t h i s p o i n t . ) The sett1.ement i s s t r u n g o u t a 1 f o r a d i s t a n c e of a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1; m i l e s from t h e r i v e r f o r a maxi-mum d i s t a n c e o f one t h e r i v e r bank and e x t e n d s back one h a l f m i l e . Permafrost c o n d i t i o n s have changed consid-erably i n and

a d j a c e n t t o t h e s e t t l e m e n t because of c o n s t r u c t i o n a c t i v i t y . To e l i m i n a t e t h e e f f e c t s of t h e i n h a b i t e d a r e a , t h e r e f o r e , a l l h o l e s were d r i l l e d o u t s i d e t h e s e t t l e m e n t bou-ndary i n u n d i s t u r b e d t e r r a i n . Holes IWB 1 4 and Fv'LI3

1 5

a r e Located about t h r e e q u a r t e r s of a mile n o r t h of t h e r i v e r n e a r Seepage Lake. Holes NTJIB 1 6 and N'?B 17 a r e l o c a t e d a b o u t 400 f e e t from t h e r i v e r and a p p r o x i m a t e l y 800 f e e t e a s t of w e l l 17X on t h e road t o t h e a i r p o r t ( P i g . 1 ) .

PHYSIOGRh-PHY AND GEOLOGY (

5

,

6 )

-

-

The RIackenzie Lowland s e c t i o n of t h e Canadian I n t e r i o r " l a i n s l i e s between t h e rugged Canadian C o r d i l l e r a on t h e west and t h e d e s o l a t e Canadian Shield on t h e e a s t . I n t h e v i c i n i t y of Norman " J e l l s , t h e Mackenzie Lowland occupies a r e l a t i v e l y narrow s t r i p of land between t h e Norman ( o r Discovery) Range o f mountains on t h e e a s t and t h e Carca jou Momtaina on t h e west. The Norman Mount-ains r i s e a b o u t 2,500 f e e t above t h e Mackenzie River b u t t h e Carcajou Rlountains a r e much h i g h e r and more rugged. Except f o r t h e mountains, t h e a r e a i s g e n e r a l l y l e v e l , broken o n l y

by t e r r a c e s on t h e w e s t e r n s i d e of t h e r i v e r and r e s i s t a n t sands-tone and l i m e s t o n e r i d g e s of t h e t i l t e d Paleozoic r o c k s on t h e e a s t .

The Norman ?iIountains a r e a b o u t f i v e mi1.e~ t o t h e n o r t h e a s t of t h e Norman l!ilells o i l f i e l d . They a r e a n t i c l i n a l i n form and r e p r e s e n t t h e western h a l f of a g r e a t f o l d , t h e a x i s o f v ~ h i c h h a s been eroded l e a v i n g a deep v a l l e y w i t h

a b r u p t e a s t w a r d - f a c i n g c l i f f s

.

S i l u r i a n l i m e s t o n e s o u t c r o p on t h e t o p and e a s t sid.e of t h i s range and t h e s u c c e s s i v e h i g h e r f o r m a t i o n s ( 9 c v o n l a n ) a r e found. on t h e west f l a n k . On t h e west s l o p e s of t h e v a l l e y , Devonian l i m e s t o n e s a g a i n a p p e a r a t t h e s u r f a c e a t t h e e a s t e r n edge of t h e Carcajou

Mountains and l,vest\vard i n t h e mountains, S i l u r i a n and Cambrian roclrs o c c u r , i n d i c a t i n g a n e a s t e r n d i p . Thus t h e Norman Wells o i l f i e l d i s on a monoclinal s t r u c t u r e on t h e southwest f l a n k

of t h e Norman Range and on t h e n o r t h e a s t limb o f t h e Carcajou b a s i n .

The whole a r e a was s u b j e c t e d . t o g l a c i a l a c t i o n , t h e g e n e r a l movement of i c e b e i n g i n a n o r t h w e s t d i r e c t i o n . An o b l i t e r a t i n g mantle of g l a c i a l m a t e r i a l and r e c e n t sands and s i l t s of v a r i a b l e depth c o v e r -the a r e a .

The upper Devonian f o r m a t i o n s encountered d u r i n g t h e d r i l l i n g program were t h e I m p e r i a l s a n d s t o n e s and t h e P o r t Creek s h a l e s . The upper nonbiturninous member o f t h e P o r t Creek s h a l e s c o n s i s t i n g of g r e y s h a l e s and t h i n s a n d s t o n e s was encountered throughout t h e d e p t h of h o l e NITB

1 4 .

The

I m p e r i a l f o r m a t i o n consis-iiing of g r e e n , f i n e - g r a i n e d s a n d s t o n e and s h a l e s was encountered throughout t h e d e p t h o f h o l e B'iIB 16

(Ti&

2 ) .

SOIL

AND

PlInL4PROST C O N D I T I O N S

S o i l samples were o b t a i n e d f o r l a b o r a t o r y t e s t i n g f r o - h o l e s N1:lB 1 4 and T:17B 1 6 . The s o i l s t o bedrock a r e

predominantly s t o n y s i l - 5 c l a y s w i t h some f i n e sand. Immediately o v e r l y i n g t h e bedrock f o r m a t i o n s , a v e r y dense b l u e c l a y o c c u r s for a d e p t h of a p p r o x i n a t e l y 2 t o 3 f e e t . S o i l m o i s t u r e ( o r i c e ) c o n t e n t s d e c r e a s e d w i t h d e p t h v a r y i n g from 142.5 p e r c e n t

t o 11.4 p e r c e n t w i t h a n a v e r a g e v a l u e of 48.7 P e r c e n t =

Frozen ground was encountered i n a l l h o l e s a t a

d e p t h of a b o u t 1 f o o t below t h e ground s u r f a c e . The maximum d e p t h of thaw which o c c u r s e a c h y e a r a t Norman Vlells under s i m i l a r s o i l and v e g e t a t i o n c o v e r c o n d i t i o ~ l s h a s been observed t o be a b o u t 24 t o 30 i n c h e s and o c c u r s d u r i n g e a r l y October. Poor c o r e r e c o v e r y i n h o l e W;iB 1 4 , because of t h e s t o n y n a t u r e of t h e s o i l , prevented t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n of t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n of i c e i n t h e s o i l and t n e d e p t h of f r o z e n m a t e r i a l i n t h i s h o l e . The u n d e r l y i n g P o r t Creek s h a l e s were encountered a t a d e p t h of 1 2 f e e t

5

i n c h e s . Somewhat b e t t e r c o r e r e c o v e r y was o b t a i n e d i n h o l e NViE 16. The i c e s e g r e g a t i o n o c c u r r e d a s h o r i z o n t a l l e n s e s from h a i r l i n e t o

s

i n c h t h i c k spaced from 1/16 i n c h t o 1 i n c h a p a r t . Some i r r e g u l a r l y o r i e n t e d l e n s e s a l s o o c c u r r e d s p o r a d i c a l l y t h r o u g h t h e s o i l . Frozen m a t e r i a l was encountered down t o t h e u n d e r l y i n g I m p e r i a l

s a n d s t o n e a t 35 f e e t

6

i n c h e s . It was n o t determined t o what d e p t h i n t h e bedrock t h e f r o z e n c o n d i t i o n e x i s t s .

DRILLING

EQUIl3JENT

A Longyear J u n i o r S t r a i g h t l i n e diamond d r i l l ( g a s e n g i n e ) , f i t t e d w i t h a n N-size h y d r a u l i c h e a d , was used t o bore a l l h o l e s . The r i g was mounted on a p i p e s l e d a p p r o x i - mately 1 2 by 6 f e e t i n s i z e c o n s t r u c t e d of 6 - i n c h p i p e ( F i g , 3 ) .

A 5-f o o t InL double-tube, swivel-bead c o r e b a r r e l ( g i v i n g 2-inch

$d

c o r e s ) was used t h r o u g h overburden and r o c k c o r e s ( l i - i n c h

$d

c o r e s ) were o b t a i n e d u s i n g a 5 - f o o t AXL double- t u b e , s w i v e l - h e a d b a r r e l . Both c o r e b a r r e l s were f i t t e d w i t h 6 - t o o t h c a r b o l o y i n s e r t b i t s and s p r i n g s t e e l c o r e r e t a i n e r t e e t h . These were used t h r o u g h o u t t h e overburden and bedrock d r i l l i n g . 17X f l u s h - c o u p l e d c a s i n g was d r i l l e d down and s e t i n bedrock and A X f l u s h - j o i n t c a s i n g was t h e n used t o p r e v e n t cave i n bedrock. A-size d r i l l r o d s were used t h r o u g h o u t . A

s t e e l t r i p o d w i t h 20-foot l e g s of 2 - i n c h p i p e allowed 1 0 - f o o t p u l l s t o be made,

Water f o r d r i l l i n g was o b t a i n e d frcin ponds n e a r b y , t h e l o n g e s t s u p p l y l i n e b e i n g a b o u t 500 f e e t . A c h a i n - d r i v e n g e a r pump was used f o r s u p p l y t o t h e r i g . The p r e s s u r e pump a t t h e r i g was a Smart T u r n e r duplex p i s t o n pump of 1 , 0 0 0 gpm

( U . S. ) c a p a c i t y ,

DRILLING

OPERATION

The d r i l l crew c o n s i s t e d of a d r i l l r u n n e r and

h e l p e r . A member of t h e Northern Research S t a t i o n s t a f f t o o k samples, logged t h e c o r e and made o b s e r v a t i o n s on t h e d . r i l l

performance and t h e g e n e r a l d r i l l i n g o p e r a t i o n . O b s e r v a t i o n s were made on t h e t e m p e r a t u r e of t h e w a t e r s u p p l y and t h e

r e t u r n w a t e r , w a t e r p r e s s u r e , volume of w a t e r , b i t p r e s s u r e , b i t p e n e t r a t i o n , and a c t u a l d r i l l i n g time wherever p o s s i b l e .

A t y p i c a l s e t of o b s e r v a t i o n s f o r h o l e NKB 1 4 a r e summarized i n Table I. The h o l e s were cored f o r t h e i r f u l l d e p t h (Table

11) and t h e c o r e was r e t a i n e d f o r f u t u r e examination. S e l e c t p i e c e s of t h e r o c k c o r e were s e n t t o D r . A . D. blisener of t h e U n i v e r s i t y of Western O n t a r i o f o r d e t e r m i n a t i o n of c o n d u c t i v i t y v a l u e s (Table 111). A t h o l e NWB 1 4 , NX c a s i n g was d r i l l e d t o a d e p t h of 1 4 f e e t u s i n g a 6 - t o o t h c a r b o l o y i n s e r t c a s i n g shoe. AX c a s i n g rras s e t t o a d e p t h of 65 f e e t u s i n g a diamond s e t c a s i n g shoe. Much v i b r a t i o n d u r i n g d r i l l i n g loosened b o t h s e t s of c a s i n g i n t h e h o l e . Upon completion of t h e h o l e , a l l AX c a s i n g was recovered w i t h l i t t l e d i f f i c u l t y b u t 1 0 f e e t of t h e NX c a s i n g p l u s t h e c a r b o l o y s e t shoe were l e f - t i n .

t h e h o l e . The wash w a t e r eroded t h e e x t r e m e l y f r i a b l e s h a l e such t h a t t h e lower 1 0 f e e t of NX c a s i n g which had become uncoupled dropped i n t o t h e e n l a r g e d h o l e and could n o t be recovered. A t h o l e

IT'IIB

1 6 , TJX c a s i n g was d r i l l e d t o a d e p t h of

38

f e e t u s i n g a 6 - t o o t h c a r b o l o y i n s e r t c a s i n g shoe. AX c a s i n g was d r i l l e d t o a d e p t h of 8 1 f e e t u s i n g a diamond s e t c a s i n g shoe. V i b r a t i o n a g a i n j a r r e d b o t h s e t s of c a s i n g l o o s e s o t h a t t h e y t u r n e d f r e e l y i n t h e h o l e . A l l NX c a s i n g and t h e c a s i n g shoe were removed from t h e h o l e - - b u t w i t h g r e a t d i f f i - c u l t y . F r e e z i n g c o n d i t i o n s and s i l - t i n g around t h e o u t s i d e of t h e c a s i n g h e l d it s e c u r e l y s o t h a t r e p e a t e d blows of a 350-lb d r i v e hammer were r e q u i r e d t o j a r i t l o o s e . The AX c a s i n g had become uncoupled s o t h a t o n l y 44 f e e t were recovered. The

AX diamond c a s i n g shoe and 36 f e e t of c a s i n g were t h u s l e f t i n t h e h o l e a t a n und.etermined d e p t h .

The f r i a b l e n a t u r e of b o t h t h e s a n d s t o n e s and

s h a l e s encountered i n b o t h h o l e s , t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e a b r a s i v e n a t u r e of t h e s a n d s t o n e s which ground. off t h e c o r e r e t a i n e r

s p r i n g s , made c o r e r e c o v e r y d i f f i c u l t on many r u n s . On s e v e r a l o c c a s i o n s , t h e s p r i n g s t e e l c o r e r e t a i n e r t e e t h had t o be

r e p l a c e d a f t e r each 5-foot r u n . To make s u r e t h e c o r e was r e c o v e r e d , "dry b l o c k i n g " was r e s o r t e d t o s e v e r a l t i m e s ,

p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e s a n d s t o n e s i n h o l e NIT5 16. Attempts were made t o r e c o v e r l o s t c o r e by f i s h i n g w i t h t h e c o r e b a r r e l w i t h v a r y i n g d e g r e e s of s u c c e s s . The back end of a n AXL

double-tube b a r r e l broke a t t h e 1 8 6 - f o o t d e p t h i n h o l e N1VB 16 b u t on t h e f i r s t f i s h i n g a t t e m p t , t h e o u t e r t u b e and b i t , which remained i n t h e h o l e , were recovered.

F a i r l y good c o r e r e c o v e r y was o b t a i n e d i n b o t h of t h e d e e p e r h o l e s ( t h e two s h a l l o w h o l e s , FTJU

1 5

and WE3 1 7 , v e r e n o t c o r e d ) . A t h o l e NTE3 1 4 , only 1 3 p e r c e n t of t h e s o i l cored was recovered ( 0 f e e t t o 1 2 f e e t 5 i n c h e s ) b u t 84 p e r c e n t r e c o v e r y was obtained i n t h e rock. About 66 p e r c e n t

TABLE:

I1

RECORD OF

DRILL

CORE; ATTI) COFUC BOXES

-

1 9 5 8

- -

-

B o r e h o l e TTT.1!3 1 4

-

Core Rox Core S i z e Jle p t h

,

No. f t 1

EX

L 10

-

30 2 IJXL

30

-

45

3

-4XL 45

-

7 0 4 ~ I X L 7 0

-

95

5

AXI, 95

-

1 2 0 G _AXT,

120

-

1-45

7

IIXL

145

-

1 7 0 8 d

;<L

170

-

195 9 i ? X I I 1 3 5 - 208 B o r e h o l e 'PFj!D 1 6

Core Box Core S i z e D e p t h ,

No. f t 1 WXL 0

-

20 2

NX

TJ 2 0

-

₃₅

3

AXL

35

-

50

4

lZXL 5 0 - 85

5

AX11

05

-

1 1 0 G _{AX 1;}

₁₁₀

-

₁₄₀

7

JZXL

140

-

165 8

AXL

1 6 5

-

1 9 0

9

?.XI,

2-90

-

283

TABLE I11

ROCK CORE S.4MPLES FROB1 I T O ~ A N WELLS,

I?.'@.

T.

SELECTED FOR CONDUCTIVITY

TESTS I B o r e h o l e - Depth D e s c r i p t i o n lT'K!3 1 4 7 9 '

7"

t o 8 0 ' 0 " l i g h t g r e y s h a l e 111' 8" t o 1 1 2 ' 3" _{l i g h t grey s h a l e w i t h} t h i n s a n d s t o n e l a y e r s F/SB 1 6 5 0 ' 8" t o 50' 10" l i g h t g r e y s h a l e 6 6 ' 1 " t o 6 6 ' 7" l i g h t g r e e n s a n d s t o n e 91'

7"

t o 92' 2" l i g h t g r e e n s a n d s t o n e 1 4 1 ' 1'' t o 1 4 1 '

7"

l i g h t g r e y s a n d s t o n e 1 6 2 ' 8" t o 1 6 3 ' 2" l i g h t g r e e n s a n d s t o n e 1 7 0 ' 4" t o 1 7 0 ' 8" l i g h t g r e e n s a n d s t o n e 202' 2" t o 202'

5"

l i g h t g r e y s h a l e w i t h s a n d s t o n e l a y e r s

f r o z e n s o i l c o r e was r e c o v e r e d i n h o l e N\'/B 16 ( 0 f e e t t o

_-

35

f e e t 6 i n c h e s ) and 8 2 p e r c e n t r o c k c o r e was r e c o v e r e d . I l o s t c o r e s were f u l l s i z e (NXL o r A X L )

,

a l t h o u g h i n some

c a s e s , s m a l l e r d i a m e t e r c o r e s r c . w l t e d from washing a c t i o n i n t h e s a n d s t o n e . The low r s c o v e r y r a t e i n t h e s o i l can be a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e many s t o n e s e n c o u n t e r e d which jammed i n t h e b i t and t h u s prevented t h c c o r e from moving up i n t o t h e b a r r e l and a l s o p r e v e n t e d r a p i d p e n e t r a t i o n of t h e b i t due t o a g r e a t d c a l of v i b r a t i o n . Poor s o i l r e c o v e r y was a l s o caused by t h e use of r e l a t i v e l y l a r g e volumes of w a t e r t o prevrmt mudding of t h e b i t and s i l t i n g of t h e b a r r e l .

The c a r b o l o y i n s e r t b i t s performed s a t i s f a c t o r i l y , The s t o n e s e n c o u n t e r e d i n t h e s o i l caused c o n s i d . e r a b l e

damage t o t h e t e e t h b u t ver:/ l i t - t l e wear o c c u r r e d when

d r i l l i n g t h e s h a l e s and s a n d s t o n e s . Good p e n e t r a t i o n r a t e s i n t h e r o c k were a c h i e v e d w i t 1 1 t h e s e b i t s .

Penetration r a t e s were measured by o b s e r v i n g t h e time t a k e n f o r t h e h y d r a u l i c head p i s t o n t o move t h r o u g h a d i s t a n c e of

3,

6 o r 1 0 i n c h e s . Most o b s e r v a t i o n s were made on a 3 - i n c h movement of t h e p i s t o n . The maximum and minimum r a t e s of penetration i n t h e s h a l e a t h o l e NIWD 1 4

( 3 4

o b s e r v a - t i o n s ) Nere g o O O and 0.75 i n c h e s , r e s p e c t i v e l y , and t h e

a v e r a c e penetration r a t e was c a l c u l a t e d t o be 1 . 4 7 i n c h e s / minute. For e i g h t o b s e r v a t i o n s made d u r i n g t h e d r i l l i n g of h o l e RPIR 16 i n s a n d s t c n e , t h e maximum and rnininlum r a t e s were 6.00 and 3.00 inches/minute w i t h a n a v e r a g e p e n e t r a t i o n r a t e of 4.19 j.nches/minute. These v a l u e s v a r y c o n s i d e r a b l y and because most were o b t a i n e d by t i m i n g r e l a t i v e l y s h o r t p i s t o n movcmenl-s

( 3

i n c h c s ) , t h e r e s u l t s a r c n o t i n d i c a t i v e of a c t u a l

p e n e t r a t i o n r a t e s t h a t might be expec1;ed i n t h e s e r o c k t y p e s . The d r i l l e r , of c o u r s e , c o n t r o l s t h e r a t e of pene- t r a t i o n by r e g u l a t i n g t h e h y d r n u l i c f e e d c o n t r o l v a l v e .

Depending on t h e vrater p r e s s u r e and t h e volume of wash w a t e r u s e d , t h e r a t e of p e n e t r a t i o n i s i n c r e a s e d o r d e c r e a s e d d u r i n g d r i l l i n g . G e n e r a l l y , t h e ! v a t e r p r e s s u r e was m a i n t a i n e d between 60 and 80 p s i . R a t h e r c r u d e measurerrents i n d i c a t e d t h a t , on t h e a v e r a g e , a b o u t

5

gpm ( i m p ) of wash w a t e r were c i r c u l a t e d t h r o u g h t h e d r i l l s t r i n g . T h e r e f o r e t h e v a l u e s o b t a i n e d f o r -the r a t e of p e n e t r a t i o n a r e a p p l i c a b l e o n l y f o r t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s

o f w a t e r p r e s s u r e and w a t e r volume. , The a c t u a l time t o d r i l l

a

5

f o o t c o r e i n h o l e Ti'YB 1 4 was a b o u t 48 m i n u t e s o r a r a t e

of 6 , 3 f e e t / h o u r . I n h o l e n S . 1 ~ 3 1 6 , t h e time r e q u i r e d was a b o u t

21 minutes o r a r a t e of a b o u t 1 4 . 3 f e e t / h o u r . The d i f f e r e n c e i n t i m e s can b e a t t r i b u t e d perhaps t o d i f f e r e n t r o c k t y p e s and t h e fat% t h a t t h e d r i l l e r s were more f a m i l i a r ( a t t h e second h o l e ) w i t h t h e machine and t h e o v e r s l l o p e r a t i o n .

The t e m p e r a t u r e of t h e s u p p l y w a t e r i n t h e t a n k and t h e wash w a t e r r e t u r n i n g t h r o u g h t h e c a s i n g was measured by means of a d i a l thermornet-er. For h o l e TS/SB 1 4 , t h e t e m p e r a t u r e

of t h e s u p p l y w a t e r averaged ab0u.t 69 t o 70°F while t h e temperature of t h e r e t u r n w a t e r was from

3

t o 5' lower.

The temperature of t h e supply w a t e r a t h o l e fl!B 1 6 was a b o u t 60 t o 62'F and t h e r e t u r n w a t e r was 6 t o 10' lower. I t i s assumed t h a t t h e supply w a t e r would be cooled. somewhat when p a s s i n g down t h r o u g h t h e d r i l l s t r i n g which i s surrounded by a mass of f r o z e n s o i l and r o c k , a l t h o u g h between t h i s w a t e r and t h e w a l l of t h e h o l e a r e t h e d r i l l r o d , t h e wash prater r e t u r n i n g t o t h e s u r f a c e and t h e s t e e l c a s i n g . On p a s s i n g t h e r o t a t i n g b i t , h e a t would be added. t o t h e w a t e r b u t t h e n while r e t u r n i n g up t h e h o l e t o t h e ground s u r f a c e , c o o l i n g would a g a i n o c c u r due t o t h e surround-ing f r o z e n s o i l land rock. I t i s impossible t o a t t e m p t a n e v a l u a t i o n of t h e c o o l i n g and h e a t i n g e f f e c t s i n t r o d u c e d by t h e f r o z e n ground. mass and t h e r o t a t i n g b i t . I t i s b e l i e v e d , however, t h a t t h e g r e a t e s t r a t e of h e a t e x t r a c t i o n would o c c u r when t h e mash w a t e r i s r e t u r n i n g t o t h e s u r f a c e from t h e b i t .

No measurements of b i t r o t a t i o n a l speed were made bu-t t h e machine was g e n e r a l l y r u n i n h i g h g e a r a t from

t h r e e - q u a r t e r s t o f u l l t h r o t t l e and t h u s a n a v e r a g e speed of approximately 1 , 5 0 0 rpm v~ould be o b t a i n e d . The o i l p r e s s u r e i n t h e h y d r a u l i c f e e d system v a r i e d between 250 and 300 p s i . The t o t a l l o a d on t h e b i t i s a f f e c t e d by s e v e r a l f a c t o r s i n c l u d i n g t h e s i z e of t h e b i t , t h e r o t a t i o n a l s p e e d , t h e nunber and s i z e of c u t t i n g edges on t h e b i t , t h e p r e s s u r e and volume o f wash w a t e r , weight of d r i l l r o d s and c o r e b a r r e l

( 7 ) .

The b i t s used had

s i x

c a r b o l o y i n s e r t t e e t h , which c a r r y t h e b i t load. Assuming t h a t a 5 - f o o t AXL

double-tube c o r e b a r r e l i s b e i n g used a t t h e 1 5 0 - f o o t d e p t h

and t h e h y d r a u l i c p r e s s u r e i s 275 p s i , t h e t o t a l l o a d on t h e s i x t e e t h would be i n t h e neighbourhood of 600 l b o r 100 l b / t o o t h , ( e s t i m a t e d c r o s s - s e c t i o n a l a r e a of each t o o t h = 0.03 s q i n . ; weight of 5 - f o o t AXL core b a r r e l i s 26 l b and weight of f i f t e e n 1 0 - f o o t A r o d s i s 525 I b )

.

This v a l u e

i s o n l y an approximate i n d i c a t i o n of probable b i t l o a d and could be i n c o n s i d e r a b l e c r r o r . s i n c e no c a l i b r a t i o n of

h y d r a u l i c p r e s s u r e w i t h t h r u s t - w a s a t t e m p t e d and t h e e f f e c t s of t h e s e v e r a l f a c t o r s n o t e d above a r e d i f f i c u l t t o e v a l u a t e .

No d i f f i c u l t i e s t h a t could be a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e e f f c c t of p e r m a f r o s t were e n c o u n t e r e 3 d u r i n g t h e d r i l l i n g of h o l e PT'i:lB 1 4 . The c o r e b a r r e l and s t r i n g of r o d s were l e f t dorm t h e h o l e a t t h e 1 0 0 - f o o t d e p t h o v e r one weekend

(33

h o u r s ) and when d r i l l i n g was resumed, t h e s t r i n g t u r n e d f r e e l y . I n h o l e W.'B 16, however, on t h e f i r s t day of d r i l l i n g t h e hiTX c a s i n g f r o z e i n between t h e ground s u r f a c e and t h e 2 5 - f o o t depth d u r i n g t h e noon hour. Large volumes of w a t e r were c i r c u l a t e d t o thaw and l o o s e n t h e c a s i n a s o t h a t more

c a s i n g could. be added and d r i l l e d . i n . A t th; b e g i n n i n g of t h e second day of d r i l l i n g , s l u s h i c e which h.ad formed i n

t h e h o l e o v e r n i g h t t o t h e 3 0 - f o o t d e p t h h a d t o b e th.anrcd. and removed b y c i r c u l a t i n g w a t e r t h r o u g l i t h e AX c a s i n g . A t t h e

end o f t h ~ second d a y ' s o p e r a t i o n . , t h e c o r e b a r r e l a n d s t r i n g of r o d s w e r e l e f t down t h e h o l e a t t h e 8 0 - f o o t d e p t h . The fo1los;ling m o r n i n g , t h e s t r i n g was f r o z e n i n s o l i d l y and. had. t o h e T r e e d b y d r t l l i n g

A X

c a s i n g t o t h e b o t t o m o f t h e c o r e b a r r e l . The m o r n i n g o f t h e f o w s t h d a y , f r o z e n m a t e r i a l was

e n c o u n t e r e d a t t h e 8 0 - f o o t d e p t h b u t t h e c o r e b a r r e l a n d st].-ing o f r o d s were e a s i l y l o w e r e d .to t h e bottorn ( 1 0 0 f e e t ) b y c i r c u l a t i n g w a t e r t h r o u g h t h e s t r i n g . U,pon c o m p l e t i o n o f d r i l l i n g on e a c h o f t h e S o u r t h a n d f i f t h d a y s , a m i x t u r e o f a b o u t

7

l b of CaCl? a n d 2 _{l b o f sodium c h r o m a t e w e r e a d d e d}

t o 20 gal-103s o f w a t e r a n d t h i s was t h e n pumped do~mi th e h o l e t o p r e v e n t f r e e z i n g . The sodium c h r o m a t e a c t s a s a n i n h i b i t o r t o s e d u c e t h e c o r r o s i v e e f f e c t o f t h e CaCl ₂ on m e t a l p a r t s a n d on t h e d r i l l o p e r a t o r ' s s k i n . The m i x t u r e u s e d was s u f f i c i e n t t o l o v i e r t h e f r e e z i n g p o i n t t o abou-t 50°P. I n g e n e r a l , h o v e v e r , t h e e x i s t e n c e of p e r n a f r o s t did n o t c r e a t e a n y s e r i o u s p r o b l e m s i n t h e d r i l l i n g o f t h e s e h o l e s . T~~llermocouple c a b l e s w e r e f a b r i c a t e d a t t h s I T o r t h e r n R e s e a r c h S t a t i o n u s i n g 1 6 - g a u g e a n d 20-gauge c o p p e r - c o n s t a n t a n t h e r ~ n o c o u p l e w i r e . The d e p t h s a t vihich g r o u n d t e m p e r a t u r e s a r e measurcd a n d t h e s i z e o f w i r e u s e d a r e summarized i n T a b l e I V P o r e a c h of h o l e s N\!m 1 4 ,

1 5 ,

1 6 a n d 1 7 . H o l e s NYLB

1 5

and

1 7

w e r c d r i l l e d t o a d e p t h of 1 0 f e e t , a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1 5 f e e t away f r o m h o l e s WSB 1 4 a n d 1 6 . The s h o r t t h e r m o c o u p l e c a b l e s i n s t a l l e d i n t h e s e h o l e s a l l o w t h e g r o u n d t e m p e r a t u r e s n e a r t h e g r o u n d s u r f a c e t o be m e a s u r c d . The t e m p e r a t u r e s a s measured b y t h e t h e r m o c o u p l e c a b l e s t o d e p t h s o f 200 f e e t i n h o l e s T3VIR 1 4 a n d 1 6 w i l l p e m i - t a n e s t i m a t e t o be made o f t h e d e p t h o f p e r m a f r o s t and. t h e t e m p e r a t u r e g r a d i e n t e x i s t i n g a t Norrnan W e l l s .

Tile thermocouplc! c a b l e s were e n c l o s e d i n n o n - t o x i c b l a c k 3 / 4 - i n c h d i a m e t e r p o l y e t h y l e n e p i p e ( C a n a d f a n Government S p e c i f i c a t i o n s 3 o a r d s p e c i f i c a t i o n 41-GP-5A) t o r e d u c e t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f t h e e f f e c t o f m o i s t u r e on t h e t h e r m o c o u p l e s . The b o t t o m o f t h e t u b i n g was s t o p p e r e d u s i n g a l - u c i t e p l u g a n d t h e t u b i n g was t h e n f i l l e d w i t h lJo.10 SAE a u t o m o b i l e

e n g i n e o i l t o r e d u c e t h e e f f e c t o f c o n v e c t i o n c u r r e n t s on t h e t h e r r i ~ o c o u p l e p o i n t s . Tkte l e a d w i r e s ( 1 0 f e e t l o n g ) f r o m e a c h o f t h e l o n g a ~ d s h o r t t h e r m o c o u p l e c a b l e s a t e a c h l o c a t i o n h a v e b e e n b r o u g h t t o a c o m o n s w i t c h box t o f a c i l i t a t 5 o b s e r v a t i o n s . T e m p e r a t u r e o b s s r v a t i o n s were begun i n t h e e a r l y s u n T e r o f 1 9 5 9 u s i n g a mod.ified p o r t a b l e p r e c i s i o n p o t e n t i o m e t e r . These w e r e d i s - c o n t i n u e d d u r i n ~ t h e w i n t e r of

1959-60

b u t r e s u m e d a @ i n i n

t h e summer of 1 9 6 0 ; m o n t h l y r e a d i n g s w i l l be c o n t i n u e d t h r o u g h - o u t t h e w i n t e r o f 1 9 6 0 - 5 1 .

TABLE I V

DET-41 LS OF GROUND TBu1PERATUm INSTALLATIONS

1. A t e a c h o f two w i d e l y s e p a r a t e d l o c a t i o n s

i n

t h e i m m e d i a t e v i c i n i t y o f Norman W e l l s , two b o r e h o l e s were d r i l l e d a n d t h e r m o c o u p l e c a b l e s i n s t a l l e d t o m e a s u r e t h e g r o u n d t e m p e r a t u r e a t v a r i o u s d e p t h s . A t l o c a t i o n 1 n e a r S e e p a g e L a k e , t h e r m o c o u p l e c a b l e s were i n s t a l l e d t o d e p t h s o f 200 f e e t a n d 1 0 f e e t ( b o r e h o l e s NVII3 1 4 a n d NFIR

1 5 ,

r e s p e c t i v e l y ) . A t l o c a t i o n 2 e a s t o f t h e s e t t l e m e n t , t h e r a o c o u p l e : c a b l e s w e r e i n s t a l l e d t o d e ~ t h s o f 202 f e e t a n d 1 0 f e e t ( b o r e h o l e s N1:Y?3 1 6 and IT,Tl

1 7 ,

r e s p e c t i v e l y ) . D e p t h , f t 1 0 20

3

0 40 5 0 7 5 1 0 0 1 2 5 1 5 0

175

200 200 T C o p p e r - c o n s t a n t a n Therrnocouple S i r e Gauge ( B a n d S ) D e p t h , f t 1 2

3

4 5 6 7 8

9

1 0 C o p p e r - c o n s t a n t a n Thermocouple Wire Gauge

(B

a n d S ) T;Sr!VB 1 4 20 20 20 20 20 20 1 6 1 6 1 6 1 6 1 6 20 Ni'irl3 1 5 20 20 2 0 2 0 2 0 20 20 20 20 2 0 mVB 1 6 2 0 20 2 0 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20

- -

IS\VTl

1 7

2 0 20 20 20 20 20 20 2 0 20 2 0

2. The d e p t h of p e r r n a f r o s t was n o t d e t e r m i n e d d u r i n g t h e d r i l l i n g o p e r a t i o n .

3.

No d i f f i c u l t i e s were e n c o u n t e r e d due t o p e r m a f r o s t d u r i n g t h e d r i l l i n g of h o l e NYLB 1 4 . Some minor t r o u b l e

o c c u r r e d w i t h f r e e z i n g - i n o f c a s i n g a n ? d r i l l s t r i n s d u r i n g t h e d r i l l i n g of h o l e W i B 1 6 .

4.

The two d e e p e r h o l e s were c o r e d f o r t h e i r f u l l d e p t h and t h e r o c k c o r e s were s t o r e d f o r f u t u r e e x a m i n a t i o n . 5 A l l t h e r m o c o u p l e c i r c u i t s were checked and f o u n d t o be f u n c t i o n i n g s a t i s f a c t o r i l y , f o l l o w i n g i n s t a l l a t i o n of t h e c a b l e s i n t h e b o r e h o l e s .

6. The proposed program was s u c c e s s f u l l y completed w i t h l i t t l e d i f f i c u l t y .

The c o - o p e r z t i o n of C a n a d i a n Longyear L t d . , N o r t h Bay, O n t a r i o i n p r o v i d i n g t h e d r i l l crew and f o r s u p p l y i n g p i e c e s of equipment on s h o r - t n o t i c e i s g r a - t e f u l l y acknowledced. The i n t e r e s t a n d t h e a s s i s t a n c e axd c o - o p e r a t i o n g i v e n b y

IvIartin S t r a n d , d r i l l n l n n e r , and George P e r r i e r , d r i l l h e l p e r , e n a b l e d t h e work t o be s u c c e s s f u l l y c o m p l e t e d , a t t i m e s u n d e r a d v e r s e c i r c u m s t a n c e s , and t h e i r h e l p was much a p p r e c i a t e d .

J . P l u n k e t t and D. K e l l y of t h e DBR N o r t h e r n R e s e a r c h S t a t i o n s t a f f a t Nonnan W e l l s , a s s i s t e d i n l o g g i n g t h e C O Y ~ S a n d c a r r i e d o u t t h e t e s t i n g of t h e s o i l s a m p l e s . 1. KacCarthy, G, R. Geothermal i n v e s t i g a t i o n s on t h e A c t i v e S l o p e of A l a s k a . T r a n s . American G e o p h y s i c a l Union, Vol. 33, ?lo. 4 , A u g u s t , 1952.

2. Thomson, Andrew and

P.

C . Bremner. P e r m a f r o s t d r i l l i n g a n d s o i l t e m p e r a t u r e measurements a t R e s o l u t e ,

C o r n v : ~ a l l i s I s l a n d , Canada. I J a t u r c , Vol. 1 7 0 , p.705, O c t o b e r 2 5 , 1352.

3. Bremner,

P.

C . Diamond d r i l l i n g i n p e r r ~ l a f r o s t a t R e s o l u t e Bay, ?Iortli-uent T e r r i t o r i e s . P u b l i c a t i o n cf t h e

Dominion O b s e r v a t o r y , Ottawa, Vol. X V I ,

KO.

1 2 , 1955.

4 , M i s e n e r , A . D. H e a t f l o w and d e p t h o:f per1;lafrost a t R e s o l u t e Bay, C o r n w a l l i s Islanc!,

IT.':!.

T.

,

Canada. T r a n s . American G e o p h y s i c a l TJnion, Vol. 36, No. 6 , December, 1355.

5.

S t e w a r t , J. S. Petroleum p o s s i b i l i t i e s i n Mackenzie R i v e r V a l l e y , N.W.T. Trans. Canadian I n s t i t u t e of Mining and M e t a l l u r g y , Vol. X L V I I , p. 152-171, 1944.

6. Hume

,

G. S. The Lower IiIackenzie R i v e r Area, Northwest T e r r i t o r i e s and Yukon. G e o l o g i c a l Survey of Canada, Memoir 273, Ottawa, 1954.

7. Cumrning, J.

D.

Diamond d r i l l handbook, J. K. Smit and Sons of Canada, L t d . , Toronto, 2nd e d i t i o n , 1956.

-4-

I

a

L A K E S

ELL

-

SEEPAGE L A K E *IA

IMPERIAL OIL LTD. REFINERY D.O.T. RAWINDSONDE OIL LOADING DOCK S T A T I O N ( N.R.C.) MACKENZlE RIVER

T R A C E 0 FROM RCAF rUR PHOTO

A 7 2 0 0 - 14

SCALE

-

I " = 1 7 0 0 FT ( APPROX.)

FIGURE I

LOCATION OF BOREH.OLES N W B

14,

15, 16,

8

₁₇

-

₁₉₅₈

_{N O R M A N}

WELLS,

N.W.T.

,GROUND SURFACE E L . = 3 4 2 ORGANIC COVER ( MOSS SlLT CLAY, STONY. WlTH SOME FlNE SAND

CLAY, BLUE, DENSE

SHALE, LIGHT GREY. P L A T Y

( FORT CREEK FORMATION UPPER DEVONIAN )

GROUND SURFACE E L . = 3 2 6 . 0 A S L ORGANIC COVER ( MOSS )

-

SILT, DARK GREY TO BROWN. ORGANIC

SlLT CLAY, LIGHT GREY, STONY, WlTH SOME FlNE SAND

-

SILT, SANDY, VERY DENSE, WlTH MANY S M A L L STONES

-

6 INCH LAYER OF STONES

-

CLAY, BLUE, DENSE

SHALE, GREY. SOFT, P L A T Y

( IMPERIAL FORMATION UPPER DEVONIAN )

SANDSTONE, GREY, HARDER

170 SANDSTONE, BOTTOM O F SHALY, GREY HOLE FIGURE 2

FIGURE

3

D r i l l s e t u p a t b o r e h o l e NWB 1 4 . Photo t a k e n l o o k i n g e a s t . Note v e g e t a t i o n c o v e r of s m a l l s p r u c e , low b r u s h and moss o r o r g a n i c m a t e r i a l . D r i l l r i g i s mounted on p i p e s l e d .

FIGURE 4 D r i l l i n g a t b o r e h o l e NiIYB

1 4 .

Photo t a k e n l o o k i n g n o r t h . G e n e r a l l a y o u t of d r i l l i n g equipment

-

d r i l l , w a t e r pump and w a t e r s u p p l y t a n k .

FIGURE

5

D r i l l i n g a t b o r e h o l e N1"m 14. Note p r e s s u r e gauges on h y d r a u l i c head and on w a t e r pump.

D r i l l r u n n e r i s c o n t r o l l i n g r a t e of f e e d by a d j u s t i n g h y d r a u l i c head o i l v a l v e .

FIGURE 6 D r i l l i n g a t b o r e h o l e

NWB

16. Photo t a k e n l o o k i n g n o r t h . Norman Range of mountains i n background. Note v e g e t a t i o n c o v e r of b i r c h , some s m a l l s p r u c e and t h i c k b r u s h . Heavy mat of o r g a n i c m a t e r i a l c o v e r s ground s u r f a c e .