Vibration free Silent Drill

Project Title

Vibration free Silent Drill

Project Area of Specialization Electrical/Electronic EngineeringProject Summary

In our fields of work such as construction, industries and geology, we have to drill holes in solid materials. For this purpose, we mainly use mechanical tips, but due to the rapid rotation of the tip they produce noise, vibrations and dust spill. We have other drilling technologies such as lasers, electric discharges of water jets, chemicals, ultrasonic vibrations, plasma flows, etc., but these technologies are even more extensive or less suitable for field applications such as drilling concrete. Due to some disadvantages of other drilling technologies, we will use microwaves in this project. The idea here is to design a silent drill for use in critical areas such as hospitals, educational institutions, etc. Microwave implementations for processing materials have been studied and developed for a wide range of industrial, scientific and medical applications. Microwave applications have been developed for concrete and concrete processing, including microwave assisted polymerization processes, concrete demolition waste recycling, concrete heating processes and microwave ovens for concrete production.

In this project, instead of using rotating mechanical parts, localized microwave heating (LMH) will be used to drill the holes inside the concrete materials. The basic principle of microwave drill (MWD) is to use thermal runaway instability in order to drill shallow holes in nonmetallic substances. The drilled region is heated with microwave energy by a coaxial waveguide with a moveable outer rim. With the help of material properties i.e. temperature dependence over loss tangent, the LMH effect is applied on the drilling region. Due to the thermal runaway, the energy absorption rate is faster than the cooling caused by the thermal conductivity; hence a well con?ned hotspot is rapidly evolved underneath the electrode tip in the solid material. The center electrode will be mechanically inserted then into the softened hotspot region, to form the hole.

Project Objectives

Final objective of this project is to design the prototype of a drilling machine for concrete drilling based on Microwave localized heating having following salient features;

• No mechanically rotating parts
• Quiet
• Dust free
• Remotely controlled
• Capable of drilling holes of various size and shapes

While interim objectives are to;

• Apply Maxwell’s electromagnetic theory and heat equations to understand interaction of Microwave energy with dielectric materials.
• Design high power microwave monopole radiating waveguides
• Hands on experience of 3D electromagnetic field simulators such as HFSS.

Project Implementation Method

A key principle of the microwave-drilling concept is the concentration of microwave energy into a small spot, much smaller than the microwave wavelength itself. This is done by a near-field microwave radiator, which is brought to direct contact with the material to be drilled. The microwave energy localized underneath the material surface generates a small hot spot in which the material becomes soften or even molten. The radiator pin itself is then inserted into the molten hot spot and shapes its boundaries. The hole can be shaped other than circular. Finally, the concentrator is pulled out from the drilled hole, and the material cools down in its new shape. The process does not require fast rotating parts, and it makes no dust and no noise.

Following work flow is proposed for the project implementation.

• Initially literature would be reviewed regarding Microwave heating, microwave dielectric interactions, design of high frequency high power channels, health and safety measures required to work with microwaves, high power efficient radiating antenna design.
• Based upon dielectric properties of the concrete, mathematical model for thermal runway in the material will be developed.
• Efficient radiating antenna and waveguide will be simulated in 3D high frequency simulation software HFSS and fabricated.
• A complete prototype of microwave drill will be developed and experimental data will be collected, analyzed and reported with future recommendations.

The block diagram of the proposed hardware setup is presented in Fig.1

Benefits of the Project

Successful design and fabrication of Microwave Drill prototype will bring the following benefits.

1. Silent noise free drilling replacing conventional mechanical noisy drills.
2. Dust free drilling
3. Especially applicable in quiet zones such as hospitals, Schools, Universities and offices etc.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

Final deliverable of the project would be the prototype of Microwave drill working on the principle of localized hotspot created through monopole waveguide radiators. Concrete block will be brought in direct contact with the open end of the waveguide radiator which will create localized heating effect in the material. Microwave incident time and proximity would be the process control variables to optimize the drilling speed.

Final Deliverable of the Project HW/SW integrated systemCore Industry EducationOther Industries Others Core Technology OthersOther TechnologiesSustainable Development Goals Good Health and Well-Being for People, Climate ActionRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	59000
1 KW Magnetrons	Equipment	1	15000	15000
High power Coaxial waveguide	Equipment	1	10000	10000
Stepper Motors	Equipment	2	12000	24000
Miscellaneous supply	Equipment	1	10000	10000