Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Open Access Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MS)

Administrative Home Department

Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering

Advisor 1

Mohammadhossein Sadeghiamirshahidi

Committee Member 1

Sai Sandeep Chitta

Committee Member 2

Xiang Li

Abstract

Measurement-while-drilling (MWD) technology enables the real-time monitoring of drilling parameters during the drilling process. MWD data can provide valuable insight into the mechanical behavior of intact rocks and rock masses, which is essential for geotechnical applications such as foundation design and underground construction. The aim of this study is to correlate real-time drilling parameters, recorded using a laboratory-developed MWD system, with the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of rocks. A custom laboratory MWD system was designed to simultaneously record four key drilling parameters: thrust (axial force, crowd), torque, penetration rate, and rotational speed. The custom-built MWD system was used to continuously measure the drilling parameters while coring into five different materials, i.e., gypsum, sandstone, dolomite, basalt, and concrete. Core samples collected during these corings were then tested for UCS under both dry and water-saturated conditions. Two compound parameters, i.e., specific energy and drillability, were calculated from the raw MWD data and compared with UCS values. Both indices showed a good correlation with UCS, with specific energy providing slightly more accurate predictions. These results demonstrate the potential of laboratory-based MWD systems as practical tools for estimating rock strength in geotechnical investigations.

Download

Available for download on Saturday, August 01, 2026

Share

COinS