WO2024145567A1 - Robotic excavation platform - Google Patents

Abstract

The systems and techniques described herein illustrate elements of a non-contact boring system. Such elements include configurations for operation of a movable robotic excavation system that includes a non-contact boring element, and techniques for operation thereof. In certain embodiments, the system provides for automated or semi-automated control and, thus, provide for an automated excavation system that includes automated or semi-automated contact and/or non-contact boring tools. Additionally, a conical head may be disposed on an end of the non-contact boring system. The conical head may be utilized for spoil evacuation and may cause air to circulate in a manner that causes spoil to be airborne in front of the bore face, allowing for improved excavation of spoil generated by the non-contact boring. The conical head may also be utilized for determining the position of the non-contact boring system within the borehole.

Description

Robotic Excavation Platform

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to US Provisional Patent Application No. 63/478,081, filed on 2022-12-30, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] This invention relates generally to the field of subterranean excavation and more specifically to new and useful methods for earthworks or excavation, such as boring, trenching, and other techniques, with new and useful non-contact boring systems.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Traditional boring techniques engage the ground through contact, and thus are limited by thrust and torque. By extension, conventional techniques are limited in face monitoring, steering, and localized control of the cutting action at the face. Thus, traditional boring techniques struggle with various boring conditions and requirements and, accordingly, are limited in their ability to conduct versatile boring operations.

SUMMARY

[0004] Described herein are new methods and systems for a non-contact boring system. In a certain embodiment, the system may comprise a chassis, configured to perform excavation operations within a borehole, the chassis comprising a non-contact boring element, configured to perform thermal spallation within the borehole, a conical head, a first sensor, coupled to conical head, and a controller, communicatively coupled to the first sensor and configured to receive first data from the first sensor and determine, from the first data, that the conical head is contacting a portion of a borehole. i BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] FIG. 1A illustrates a representation of an example boring situation, in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0006] FIG. IB illustrates a representation of another example boring situation, in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0007] FIG. 1C illustrates a representation of a further example boring situation, in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0008] FIG. ID illustrates a representation of an excavation system, in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0009] FIG. 2A illustrates a side view of an example non-contact bore head, in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0010] FIGs. 2B-D illustrates a side view of operating an example non-contact bore head, in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0011] FIG. 2E illustrates a side view of an example bore head, in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0012] FIGs. 3A-3C illustrate various view of an example non-contact boring actuator system, in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0013] FIG. 4 illustrates a frontal portion of an example non-contact boring system, in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0014] FIG. 5A illustrates a side view of an example non-contact boring system, in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0015] FIG. 5B illustrates a side view of an example non-contact boring system in operation, in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0016] FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of another example non-contact boring system, in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0017] FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart for a technique of operating a boring system, in accordance with certain embodiments. [0018] FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an example computing system, in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0019] FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an example boring network, in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0020] FIG. 10 illustrates a diagram illustrating operation of a robotic excavation system, in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0021] FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchat for operating a robotic excavation system, in accordance with certain embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] In the following description, numerous specific details are outlined to provide a thorough understanding of the presented concepts. The presented concepts may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well-known process operations have not been described in detail to not unnecessarily obscure the described concepts. While some concepts will be described in conjunction with the specific embodiments, it will be understood that these embodiments are not intended to be limiting.

[0023] In the following description, various techniques and mechanisms may have been described in singular form for clarity. However, it should be noted that some embodiments include multiple iterations of a technique or multiple instantiations of a mechanism unless otherwise noted. For example, an excavation system may be described with a cutterhead, but can include a plurality of cutterheads while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure unless otherwise noted. Similarly, various techniques and mechanisms may have been described as including a connection between two entities. However, a connection does not necessarily mean a direct, unimpeded connection, as a variety of other entities (e.g., fasteners, spacers, fittings etc.) may reside between the two entities.

[0024] It is appreciated that, for the purposes of this disclosure, when an element includes a plurality of similar elements distinguished by a letter following the ordinal indicator (e.g., "908A" and "908B") and reference is made to only the ordinal indicator itself (e.g., "908"), such a reference is applicable to all the similar elements. Introduction

[0025] This disclosure details certain earthwork or excavation systems and techniques. It is appreciate that, for the purposes of this disclosure, though reference may be made to "boring," "drilling," or other specific earthwork processes, such disclosure may be extended to any other earthwork or excavation system or technique.

[0026] Traditional boring techniques suffer from a variety of limitations. The non-contact boring systems and techniques described herein may allow for overcoming of these limitations. Non-contact boring techniques, such as the techniques described herein, may utilize thermal spallation through operation of a thermal cutterhead. The thermal cutterhead may be, for example, combusters such as turbine combusters, turbine-less combusters, afterburners, air-breathing rockets, and/or fuel combustion torches. The thermal cutterhead may also be, in certain other examples, plasma, water jet, and/or other such techniques that utilize heat, mass flow, and/or a combination thereof to perform boring. As the output (e.g., exhaust or afterburner) of the thermal cutterhead used for thermal spallation has a temperature gradient, precise positioning of the thermal cutterhead relative to the bore face is advantageous.

[0027] Precise positioning of the thermal cutterhead requires both accurate determination of the positioning of the non-contact boring system and and accurate positioning of the thermal cutterhead. The systems and techniques described herein allow for such determination and positioning, relative to the bore face of a borehole. Furthermore, the systems and techniques described herein allow for offsite utilization of the non-contact boring system and the data generated herein.

[0028] In various embodiments, non-contact boring may include boring techniques that utilize jet engines, plasma, acetylene, water jet, and/or other such techniques that utilize heat, mass flow, and/or a combination thereof to perform boring. Non-contact boring techniques may include, for example, utilizing a thermal cutterhead to effect thermal spallation of a bore face of a borehole.

[0029] In certain embodiments, the system may include one or more controllers for automated or semi-automated control of the systems described herein. Such a system may be of a hierarchical architecture where certain controllers may have the ability to override instructions of other controllers. Thus, for example, the system may include automated excavation systems, which may include automated or semi-automated contact and noncontact boring tools. Operation of such excavation systems may be override through remote operators and/or by operators local to the jobsite. The relationship between the jobsite and the control system may also be hierarchical. That is, in certain embodiments, the local operators may be able to override the instructions of remote operators, or vice versa. The operators may provide such instructions through user devices. The user devices may include graphical user interfaces or human machine interfaces (e.g., dials, levers, and/or other such interfaces).

[0030] For the purposes of this disclosure, references to various permutations of "boring" may refer 1) to "boring" for investigation, assessment, and/or installation of various installations, 2) to "drilling" for extraction of materials, 3) to "trenching," 4) to "rehabilitation" of existing bores and/or structures, and/or 5) to any other technique that includes the excavation, removal of, or disturbance of subterranean materials.

Example Boring Situations

[0031] FIG. 1A illustrates a representation of an example boring situation, in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG. 1A illustrates system 100 that may be used for various boring scenarios. System 100 may include chassis 110 with drivetrain 112 and non-contact boring element 114. Chassis 110 and the elements thereof may be coupled to onsite facility 170 via umbilical cord 130. Onsite facility 170 may, in certain embodiments, be optionally communicatively coupled to offsite controller 172 via communications medium 174, which may be wired and/or wireless communications medium configured to provide and receive data, such as Internet, satellite communications, cable communications, and/or other types of communications techniques.

[0032] Chassis 110 may be any type of chassis where elements of a boring system may be coupled to thereof (e.g., non-contact boring element 114 may be coupled to chassis 110). Thus, chassis 110 may, in certain embodiments, be a space frame, sled, and/or other such chassis. Drivetrain 112 may be coupled to chassis 110 and may include a set of wheels or tracks driven by an electric, hydraulic, and/or pneumatic motor. Drivetrain 112 may be configured to move chassis 110, and the elements coupled thereof, downhole to position chassis 110. [0033] Non-contact boring element 114 may be coupled to chassis 110 and may be configured to excavate portions of a geological formation through a non-contact technique, such as through the use of heat, mass flow, a combination of the two, and/or a similar noncontact technique. Non-contact boring element 114 may include one or more of a cutterhead, a plasma torch, a jet engine exhaust, jet engine exhaust plus afterburner, a flame jet, a pneumatic drill, a water jet, a steam or gas jet, an abrasive material jet, a sonic wave generator, an electromagnetic or particle beam, and/or any similar non-contact technique.

[0034] System 100 may further include sensors (as described herein), a spoil evacuator 132 configured to draw or force waste (e.g., gas, spall, tailing, and/or other waste) from between the boring element(s) and bore face 150. Spoil evacuator 132 may be configured to remove such waste to a region out of borehole 152 and/or away from bore face 150. A filtration or collection element 140 may, additionally or alternatively, be configured to collect spoil at bore face 150 (e.g., debris or waste created by the excavation of borehole 152 or bore face 150). Removal of such waste or spoil may be via umbilical cord 130, which may be configured to receive such materials from spoil evacuator 132 and/or filtration or collection element 140. Filtration or collection element 140 may collect spoil and filter out appropriate size spoil for analysis (e.g., mineralogy analysis at, for example, onsite facility 170. Spoil collected may include solid spoil as well as liquid and/or gaseous spoil (e.g., vapors).

[0035] In various embodiments, borehole 152 may be a tunnel, trench, or other feature created by system 100. Borehole 152 may, in various embodiments, be a lined or unlined borehole. In embodiments where borehole 152 is typically unlined, the sensors of system 100 may generate a three-dimensional spatial and surface finish map of borehole 152 via data from sensors described herein. Such sensors may include, for example, one or more cameras, radar, lidar, and/or other such sensors. From such a map, one or more controllers of system 100 may generate an image or model and determine whether borehole 152 is suitable for use without a liner or whether a liner is needed. For example, some types of geology may yield hard and smooth bored surfaces, for which an interior liner may not be necessary. Other types of geology may yield softer or more jagged bored surfaces, for which an interior liner may be desirable. Borehole 152 may include both types of example geologies, as well as other such geologies. [0036] Umbilical cord 130 may be configured to allow for communication between onsite facility 170 and chassis 110 and, thus, between onsite facility 170, as well as other facilities and controllers associated with boring, and the boring elements and/or other elements coupled to chassis 110. Such communications may include data communications (e.g., for communications of sensor data and/or for communications of instructions) as well as material communications (e.g., of waste from bore face 150 to the surface). Umbilical cord 130 may also be configured to provide electrical power, combustion material, and/or gas between chassis 110 and onsite facility 170. Though the embodiment described herein may communicate data and/or signals via a physical connection through umbilical cord 130, it is appreciated that, in certain other embodiments, such data and/or signals may be communicated wirelessly.

[0037] Onsite facility 170 and/or offsite controller 172 may be configured to provide instructions for boring operations (e.g., to chassis 110 and/or the boring elements thereof). In various embodiments, such instructions may be predetermined (e.g., based on recipes based on the geotechnical report for the jobsite), may be adjusted on the fly (e.g., based on differences in on-site conditions from expected conditions), and/or may be determined in response to sensor readings (e.g., via machine learning or through a global set of rules that provides instructions responsive to sensor readings).

[0038] Onsite facility 170 may be located within the general geographical vicinity of the job site, while offsite controller 172 may be located offsite. In certain embodiments, onsite facility 170 may include a controller and may communicate with offsite controller 172 via one or more data connections (e.g., Internet or other such connections). In various embodiments, one or both of onsite facility 170 and/or offsite controller 172 may not be present. In certain embodiments, chassis 110 may include its own controller 120. Variously, the controller(s) may provide instructions such as instructions for operation of the boring elements, chassis 110, and/or other portions of system 100. The controllers described herein may include one or a mixture of computing devices (e.g., computers) that allow for the determination of data and/or instructions.

[0039] In certain embodiments, offsite controller 172 may, additionally or alternatively, include additional facilities. Thus, for example, such offsite facilities may be configured to receive spoil samples from boring and may be configured to perform analysis of such spoil. For example, the offsite facilities may include an x-ray diffraction (XRD) analyzer, a laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) analyzer, a laser induced fluorescence (LIF) analyzer, a Raman spectrometer, a mass spectrometer, a scanning electron microscope, an energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and/or an x-ray fluorescence analyzer, and/or any similar analytical technique to perform analysis of the spoil or similar geological feature.

[0040] In certain embodiments, onsite facility 170 may include various different auxiliary components of system 100. Thus, for example, onsite facility 170 may include components such as support vehicles (e.g., vacuum truck, water truck, fuel truck), spoil handling facilities, and/or analysis labs (e.g., for analysis of spoil to determine mineral composition, according to the techniques described herein). In various embodiments, onsite facility 170 may be located proximate to borehole 152, pit 154 (as shown in FIG. IB), within pit 154, and/or within a distance away from the boring site.

[0041] The controllers may also be configured to receive data from various sensors of system 100. The controllers may utilize such data to determine conditions of borehole 152, such as conditions at bore face 150. For example, such data may allow for one or more controllers to generate a map (e.g., an optical map) of bore face 150 based upon an optical composition model determined from optical data from an optical sensor. The controllers may cause system 100 to adjust the operation of non-contact and/or contact boring elements currently in use (e.g., through adjustment of power output, stand-off distance, and/or other elements of non-contact boring elements and/or through adjustment of a boring speed of contact boring elements). The controllers may, additionally or alternatively, cause system 100 to transition between non-contact and contact boring elements, according to the techniques described herein, and may further control the targeting and/or aiming of non-contact boring element 114 and/or contact boring element 214, based upon the detected conditions.

[0042] The controllers may operate the boring elements during various phases of boring operations. Thus, one, some, or all of the controllers described herein may receive data, monitor sensors, measure parameters, determine states of the system, determine corrections, adapt to changes in the geology of the bore face 150, and/or transmit instructions and directions to one or more components (e.g., boring elements), subsystems, actuators, or sensors of system 100 in order to improve or optimize the performance of system 100 (e.g., boring rate or energy consumption) in an autonomous or substantially autonomous manner.

[0043] System 100 may be operated in formations with varying geological conditions. For example, in the example of FIG. 1A, system 100 may be operated in a mixed geological environment that includes geological regions 180A-F. Each such region may include different geological conditions, such as different types of rock, geological formations with varying hardness, abrasivity, intactness, soil types, different concentrations of ground water and/or void space, different geological types, and/or other such differences in conditions. In certain embodiments, operation of system 100 may be adjusted according to the techniques described herein.

[0044] In certain situations, bore face 150 may include a mix of geological regions, such as a mix of geological regions 180A and 180B, as illustrated herein. The systems and techniques described herein allow for the optimization of boring operations in such mixed conditions. Additionally, system 100 may bore through a plurality of different geological regions, such as geological regions 180A, 180B, 180C, 180D, and 180E (though not geological region 180F).

[0045] FIG. IB illustrates a representation of another example boring situation, in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG. IB illustrates system 160 that may be another boring scenario. In FIG. IB, pit 154 may first be excavated (e.g., through conventional techniques). Thus, for example, pit 154 may be a shallow trench, a pit, a quarry, a shaft, and/or another such subterranean feature. For purposes of this disclosure, "pit 154" may be any type of subterranean feature that may allow for the housing of equipment and/or the launching of boring systems. Once pit 154 has been excavated, tools for boring, such as onsite facility 170A and various bore heads, may then be placed within pit 154. In certain embodiments, equipment, such as onsite facility 170B, may also be placed on the surface. System 160 may be accordingly set up through the digging of a trench (a.k.a. a pit, for the placement of certain boring equipment, which may be distinct from "trenching" as a tunneling technique) at the start of the borehole 152 and system 160 may then be placed within the trench (e.g., pit 154). Systems for operation of one or more boring elements (e.g., non-contact boring element 114) may then be accordingly coupled (e.g., fuel or air supplies may be coupled and provided via umbilical 130). Borehole 152 may then be bored with the various techniques described herein. [0046] While illustrative reference is made herein to "borehole 152," the systems and techniques described herein may be utilized within boreholes, in drilling techniques, in pipes (e.g., carrier pipes), and/or in any other such supported or unsupported subterranean environments, such as mass excavation operations, mining, etc. It is appreciated that, for the purposes of this disclosure, "borehole" is used as an all-encompassing term and may refer to any such supported or unsupported subterranean environment. Furthermore, such subterranean environments may include varying cross-sectional dimensions (e.g., varying hole diameters and/or varying non-circular shapes, such as D-shaped boreholes with a flat bottom). Thus, for example, for pipe environments, the pipe type and/or diameter may vary.

[0047] In FIG. IB, chassis 110A may include non-contact boring element 114 while chassis HOB may include contact boring element 214. In certain embodiments, a single chassis may house or support a single boring element. A non-contact or contact boring element may be selected and operated. Thus, in the example of FIG. IB, chassis 110A with non-contact boring element 114A may be currently selected for boring operations (e.g., may be launched from pit 154 and may bore through the geological formation and, thus, create borehole 152). In certain embodiments, a determination may be made during boring operations that another boring element may be better suited for conditions. While certain embodiments may include a plurality of switchable boring elements on a single chassis, the embodiment shown in FIG. IB may switch boring elements by removing chassis 110A from borehole 152 and inserting a chassis with the more suitable boring element (e.g., contact boring element 214 of chassis HOB). The more suitable boring element may then be operated (e.g., by onsite facility 170A/B and/or via umbilical 130, which it might be coupled to) until a further determination is made to switch boring elements.

[0048] Auxiliary systems 174A and 174B may be present within system 160 of FIG. IB. Such auxiliary systems may include, for example, power generation, spoil removal, non-boring excavation, pipe positioning/pushing/jacking/laying/connecting/attaching/welding, dewatering, injection, communication, and other such systems. Auxiliary systems 174A and 174B may be appropriate positioned either on the surface or within pit 154 or borehole 152, as appropriate. In certain situations, one or more auxiliary systems may be centered around pit 154 and/or borehole 152, to provide for quick support to boring activities. [0049] FIG. 1C illustrates a representation of a further example boring situation, in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG. 1C illustrates system 190 where chassis 110A may be boring through borehole 152 towards pit 154. In various embodiments, chassis 110A may be communicatively coupled to onsite facility 170A and/or onsite facility 170B, disposed within pit 154. Thus, in certain such embodiments, chassis 110A may be boring towards onsite facility 170B located within pit 154. In certain embodiments, one of onsite facilities 170A and 170B may be located elsewhere and/or may not be present.

[0050] Furthermore, in certain embodiments, onsite facility 170B may include its own associated bore head (e.g., associated with chassis HOB) which may be, for example, boring from pit 154 towards borehole 152. Such an operation may be a "meet in the middle" operation. In certain such operations, chassis 110A and HOB may approach each other and the final operations of completing the hole may be via a pipe welding/joining technique, such as from a pipe welding/joining robot.

[0051] In certain embodiments, the boring techniques described herein may include boring at an angle (e.g., at an angle different from horizontal). Thus, for the example of FIG. 1C, one or both of the boring operations illustrated could be boring at an angle (e.g., between 0 to 90 degrees from horizontal). For boring operations that includes a change in depth, the change in depth may cause a change in pressure. Operation of system 190 may be adjusted to adjust the mass flow needed to maintain positive conditions at the bore face(s). For example, in certain embodiments, the bore face may be maintained at approximately 1 atmosphere of pressure, with positive pressure flow out of the bore head and negative pressure at the evacuator of spoils, to minimize back pressure.

[0052] FIG. ID illustrates a representation of an excavation system, in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG. ID illustrates system 100 in operation. System 100 described in FIG. ID may include chassis 110 disposed within borehole 152, as well as other components described in FIG. 1A, but not shown in FIG. ID.

[0053] As described herein, borehole 152 may, in various embodiments, be an unlined borehole or include liner 194. Liner 194 may be, for example, a metal, concrete, clay, composite, or other lining around at least a portion of borehole 152. Liner 194 may, for example, protect bore payload 196, which may be disposed within liner 194. Bore payload 196 may be, for example, a pipe, one or more wires, and/or another such item that is disposed within borehole 152 that may be the final product for the intended boring.

[0054] Chassis 110 includes various sensors 118 that may be configured to sense certain parameters of boring and allow for adjustment of certain aspects of boring. For example, sensors 118 may include radar, LIDAR, beacon emitter, theodolite, LED target system, optical, laser, and/or other sensors that are configured to generate data to allow a controller to generate a three-dimensional spatial map of the casing (e.g., the external pipe or liner which houses bore payload 196).

[0055] From such a map, one or more controllers of system 100 may generate an image or model and determine whether borehole 152 is suitable for use without a liner or whether a liner is needed, whether liner 194 is properly disposed within borehole 152 (e.g., properly aligned), and/or whether bore payload 196 is properly disposed within borehole 152 and/or liner 194.

[0056] For example, some types of geology may yield hard and smooth bored surfaces, for which an interior liner may not be necessary. Other types of geology may yield softer or more jagged bored surfaces, for which an interior liner may be desirable. Borehole 152 may include both types of example geologies, as well as other such geologies.

[0057] In another example, the positions of liner 194 and/or bore payload 196 may be confirmed in three-dimensional space based on the spatial map generated. Such confirmation allows forthe determination of whether borehole 152 has been properly bored (e.g., bored in accordance with engineering cutouts), and/or whether liner 194 and/or bore payload 196 has been properly positioned, allowing for detailed, accurate, and fast confirmation of quality of work. For example, the project specification documents may specifiy a particular profile and alignment for the casing pipe along a specific grade, as well as an alignment of the product pipe within the casing pipe as a function of spacers and filler materal. The three-dimensional spatial map may cross-reference the as-designed versus the as-built of the installation. The three-dimensional map may also provide data as to the relationship between bore payload 196 and liner 194 (e.g., providing a three-dimensional CAD of the component used to maintain the distance between the liner 194 and bore payload 196). [0058] In a further embodiment, sensors 118 may allow for the determination of geology, according to the techniques described herein. In the planning stages of a project, a geotechnical report is typically produced that describes the geological conditions the project is likely to meet. Sensors 118 may allow for determination of geological conditions during excavation. The determined geological conditions may be cross-referenced with the geological report and, if there is a discrepancy, a user and/or customer may be informed and/or a change order may be prepare (and sent). For example, a jacking force of system 100 and the movement of shoring may be determined from sensors 118 to confirm that any limitations in system 100 performance is due to geological discrepancies and, thus, would require a change order.

[0059] FIG. 2A illustrates a side view of an example non-contact bore head, in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG. 2A illustrates bore head 200A that includes chassis 110, non-contact boring positioning element 116, non-contact boring element 114, controller 120, spoil evacuator 132, filtration or collection element 140, and sensors 118. Bore head 200A may be a boring machine that may freely move within boreholes and may be easily removable for ease of maintenance, repair, tool swapping, method swapping, and/or other such maintenance activities.

[0060] In various embodiments, a reference numeral may apply to a plurality of similar elements (e.g., sensors 118A-D), each denoted by different letters. Reference to just the number element itself may indicate that the description applies to elements that share the number reference.

[0061] Non-contact boring positioning element 116 of bore head 200A may be configured to locate non-contact boring element 114 relative to chassis 110. That is, non-contact boring positioning element 116 may advance and retract non-contact boring element 114 longitudinally, laterally, and/or vertically relative to chassis 110 as well as tilt non-contact boring element 114 in pitch and yaw on chassis 110 (e.g., by up to +/- 30° or another such angle).

[0062] In certain embodiments, non-contact boring element 114 may be configured to provide boring through mass flow. Non-contact boring element 114 may, for example, be a fully-contained cutterhead that includes a Brayton-cycle turbojet engine configured to compress fresh air from an above-ground air supply within a compressor of the engine and configured to mix this compressed air with fuel from an above-ground fuel source. This fuelair mixture may be combusted to provide energy to drive the compressor and exhausted to provide high temperature and high mass flow rate exhaust gases toward a face of an underground bore (e.g., bore face 150). These high temperature and high mass flow rate exhaust gases may reach bore face 150 within a jet impingement area, which may be an area of focus for non-contact boring. The exhaust gases may shock geologies at bore face 150, leading to spallation or other removal means of geologies and removal of rock spall from bore face 150.

[0063] Various sensors 118 may be configured to sense certain parameters of boring and allow for adjustment of certain aspects of boring. Sensors 118 may include, for example, a temperature sensor configured to output a signal representing the temperature of these exhaust gases. Controller 120 may be configured to receive such data signals and, in response, vary the fuel flow rate into the engine and/or adjust other boring parameters within the engine in order to maintain the temperature of these exhaust gases below the minimum melting temperature of all geologies present at the face (e.g., less than 1400°C for certain geologies) or below the melting temperature of a particular geology detected at bore face 150 in order to maintain a high volume of rock removal per unit time and per unit energy consumed by the system 100. Controller 120 may include, for example, a processor and a memory and may be configured to receive data (e.g., operating or sensor data) and provide data (e.g., instructions) to the various components of system 100 and/or bore head 200A via communications interfaces 122. Communications interfaces 122 may be, for example, any wired and/or wireless communications technique that allows for the communication of data between components.

[0064] Sensors 118 may be, for example, a thermocouple, an air temperature sensor, a resistance temperature detector (RTD) sensor, a speed/torque sensor, a pressure transducer, a pressure sensor, an electrical output sensor, a flow rate sensor, a water pressure sensor, a water temperature sensor, a water electrical conductivity sensor, a spectropyrometer, a gas flow meter, a height sensor, a potentiometer, a clearance sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tachometer or revolutions per minute (RPM) sensor, lidar, radar, a camera (e.g., a red-green-blue or RGB camera, hyperspectral camera, thermal camera, and/or another such camera), an acoustic sensor, a vibration sensor, a structured light sensor, and/or another such sensor. For certain embodiments, sensor 118A and/or 118B may be, for example, a camera, radar, lidar, and/or other such sensor and may be configured to determine stand-off distance 260 of non-contact boring mechanism 114 from bore face 150. In another embodiment, sensor 118A and/or 118B may be configured to determine a power output of non-contact boring mechanism 114 (e.g., to, for example, determine a temperature of exhaust and/or plasma outputted by non-contact boring mechanism 114). Stand-off distance 260 may be a distance of inches or feet and stand-off distance 260 may first be implemented as a nominal stand-off distance (e.g., 6 inches) and then adjusted during operation. Stand-off distance 260 and/or power output may, for example, affect how flame front 156 of non-contact boring mechanism 114 may perform during non-contact boring of bore face 150 (e.g., may adjust the intensity and size of the jet impingement area of flame front 156). Other sensor types may allow for the determination of other aspects of operation.

[0065] Various sensors 118 may also be configured to provide data for guiding movement of chassis 110. Such sensors 118 may include, for example, LIDAR, radar, a laser, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a wheel speed or wheel orientation (e.g., steering angle) sensor, and/or other such sensors. Such sensors 118 may generate data that may allow for a determination of the positioning and/or movement of the chassis. In various embodiments, chassis 110 may be configured to move automatically and may utilize data from such sensors 118 for guiding such movement.

[0066] Stand-off distance 260 may be adjusted to control particle size distribution of spall resulting from non-contact boring. Particle size distribution of spall may be a function of stand-off distance 260, as well as other boring parameters described herein. Such other boring parameters may include, for example, the number and size of capillary tubes, the configuration of the flame holder of the afterburner, hole pattern of afterburner cooler, and/or air fuel mixture and may define the characteristic profile of the flame of the afterburner (e.g., in terms of temperature and/or mass flow). Adjustment of stand-off distance 260 and/or the other boring parameters may allow for tuning of the system in response to conditions at bore face 150 to optimize particle size distribution (e.g., for maximally efficient spoil evacuation).

[0067] Such a technique may be useful as, in non-contact boring, spoil particle size distribution may be within a wide range. The size range may include, for example, from dust to chips the size of fingernails to larger palm size chips and/or in other such geometries. The spoil may be wider in one dimension and, in certain situations, may be very thin (e.g., in the shape of a disc). Control of stand-off distance 260 allows for adjusting of the spoil that results from non-contact boring, allowing for optimal operating conditions, such as optimal evacuation of spoil from bore face 150.

[0068] By contrast, contact boring techniques tend to have spoil broken in large chunks and suspended in fluid. (Analysis of spoil in contact boring techniques typically requires post processing separation of the spoil from the fluid). If spoil is not suspended in fluid, then the spoil needs to be manually removed (e.g., with buckets). [0069] Sensor 118A and/or 118B, as well as another sensor, may be, for example, a single depth sensor or a contact probe 192 configured to extend toward and retract from bore face 150. Such a sensor may determine (e.g., periodically, based on observed conditions, and/or via trigger commands provided by an operator) stand-off distance 260. Based on the measured stand-off distance 260, as well as other measured parameters, controller 120 may adjust a boring parameter (e.g., air flow, fuel flow, gas flow, electrical power) of non-contact boring element 114 to improve boring performance (e.g., by reducing the surface temperature at bore face 150 to improve spallation).

[0070] Non-limiting examples of various appropriate sensors are provided below:

[0071] Non-contact boring element 114 may bore through geological formations via thermal spallation by directing a high-energy (e.g., high-temperature and/or high mass flow rate) stream of exhaust gases toward bore face 150. These exhaust gases rapidly transfer thermal energy into the surface of bore face 150, resulting in rapid thermal expansion of a thin layer at the surface of bore face 150. Expansion and local stresses may occur along natural discontinuities and nonuniformities that exist in the microstructure of the rock matrix of geological formations, causing differential expansion of the minerals of which the geological formation is composed thereof. The differential expansion may cause stresses and strains along and between mineral grains. Because geologies are typically brittle, rapid thermal expansion of the thin, hot surface layer at bore face 150 may cause the surface layer to fracture from the cooler geological formation (e.g., rock) behind bore face 150 and break into rock fragments (or spall) and separate from the surface of bore face 150 during this spallation process. The mechanism of fracturing or induction of micro-stresses at the surface of the bore face may vary across lithologies based on mineralogy, material properties, chemical properties, and physical properties of the surface subjected to these exhaust gases.

[0072] However, if the temperature of the exhaust gases reaching bore face 150 exceeds the melting temperature of the geological material at the surface of bore face 150, the surface of bore face 150 may melt rather than fracture and release from bore face 150. Certain non-contact boring techniques are configured to operate via spallation and, thus, such non-contact boring techniques may be operated to avoid the melting of bore face 150.

[0073] In certain embodiments, the engine may be, for example, a Brayton-cycle turbojet engine with its outlet nozzle facing toward bore face 150. The engine may be configured to generate high-temperature exhaust gases and to direct these exhaust gases at a high mass flow rate in order to maintain a high pressure and a high total heat flux at bore face 150 and to achieve rapid spallation and material removal from bore face 150. In various embodiments, the various controllers described herein may implement closed-loop controls to maintain the temperature of the exhaust gases to below that of the melting temperature of all geologies (e.g., 825°C to compensate for melting temperatures between 900°C and 1400°C for most geologies) or below the melting temperature of a particular geology detected at bore face 150. The engine may also maintain a high mass flow rate in order to compensate for the sub-melting temperature exhaust temperatures in order to generate high heat flux at bore face 150 and, therefore, a high rate of spallation at bore face 150.

[0074] In certain embodiments, the engine for non-contact boring element 114 may include a combustor that burns fuels, a turbine that transforms pressure and thermal energy of gases exiting the combustor into mechanical rotation of a driveshaft, and an integrated axial compressor that is powered by the turbine via the driveshaft to draw air into the engine, to compress air, and to feed air into the combustor. An air supply (e.g., from onsite facility 170) may provide above-ground air to the engine and a fuel supply may provide fuel to the engine from an above ground supply (e.g., a fuel tank). Onsite facility 170 may monitor the air and fuel provided to the engine, as well as the completeness of combustion and other operating aspects.

Non-Contact Bore Head Operation

[0075] FIGs. 2B-D illustrates a side view of operating an example non-contact bore head, in accordance with certain embodiments. Variously, FIGs. 2B-D illustrate operation of bore head 200 in various conditions. In FIGs. 2B-D bore head 200 may be moved between various positions for non-contact boring.

[0076] Thus, for example, in FIG. 2B, bore head 200B may be disposed in a first position and non-contact boring element 114 may be operated at a first setting. Accordingly, for example, bore head 200B may be operated at stand-off distance 260B. Non-contact boring element 114 may be aimed at zone of excavation 282B on bore face 150. Furthermore, flame front 280B of non-contact boring element 114 may be adjusted as desired. Flame front 280B may, in certain embodiments, be the size (e.g., diameter) of the concentration of heat and thrust produced by the thermal cutterhead on bore face 150. Flame front 280B may, in certain embodiments, be a function of stand-off distance 260B, the amount of airflow and fuel flow provided to the thermal cutterhead, the configuration of the thermal cutterhead (e.g., where and when air is provided), and/or other such operating conditions. Thus, adjustment of flame front 280B may include adjusting the dimensions of the flame front (e.g., distance of the flame front, diameter of the flame front, and other aspects) as well as adjusting temperature of the flame, the intensity of the flame front, the concentration of the flame (e.g., the concentration of temperature within a specific region of the flame front), and/or other such aspects.

[0077] In FIG. 2C, bore head 200C may be disposed in a second position and non-contact boring element 114 may be operated at a second setting. Thus, for example, the stand-off distance of bore head 200C may be adjusted and bore head 200C may be operated at standoff distance 282C. In various embodiments, the stand-off distance may be adjusted by the non-contact boring positioning element associated with non-contact boring element 114. Furthermore, the bore head 200C may be aimed at zone of excavation 282C of bore face 150 and the flame front of bore head 200C may be adjusted as well. Thus, for example, flame front 280C may be a wider flame front than that of flame front 280B.

[0078] In FIG. 2D, bore head 200D may be disposed in a third position. Thus, in FIG. 2D, bore head 200D may be rotated and aimed at zone of excavation 282D with stand-off distance 260D. Thus, bore head 200D may be articulated around axis 284D. In various embodiments, bore head 200 may be operated to aimed at various different zones of excavation, with bore head 200 dwelling at various zones of excavation for certain periods of time (which may be consistent or varying periods of time).

[0079] In certain embodiments, bore head 200D may move between different zones of excavation based on a pattern. Thus, for example, bore head 200D may be configured to move between different zones of excavation according to a certain pattern (e.g., raster pattern). The speed that the bore head 200D moves between the different zones of excavation may be adjusted as well.

[0080] In various embodiments, the various aspects of control of bore head 200 may be controlled and/or adjusted by one of more controllers. Such operation of bore head 200 may be based on, for example, the conditions of the bore hole, the geological conditions detected, logistics concerns, and/or other such considerations.

[0081] FIG. 2E illustrates a side view of an example bore head, in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG. 2E illustrates bore head 200E, which may be similar to bore head 200A, but may additionally include contact boring positioning element 216 and contact boring element 218.

[0082] Contact boring element 218 may be configured to excavate portions of a geological formation through physical contact between a tool and/or fluid. Contact boring element 218 may include one or more of a hammer drill, a rotary drill, a displacement bore, a trencher, a pipe jack, a pipe ram, a pneumatic drill, a horizontal auger bore, a guided auger bore, a tunnel boring machine, a slurry drill (e.g., microtunnel boring machine, shielded and/or unshielded), a combination of rotationally or linearly actuated drills and hammers, and/or a similar contact boring technique. Variously, system 200E may be configured to utilize non-contact and/or contact drilling techniques that are suitable for determined geological conditions and the boring rigs / boring heads described herein may include a plurality of boring elements and may be configured to allow for switching between the boring elements.

[0083] Contact boring positioning element 216 may be configured to locate contact boring element 218. Contact boring positioning element 216 may be configured to locate the contact boring element 218 relative to chassis 110 by, for example, moving contact boring element 218 longitudinally, laterally, vertically, and/or tilting in pitch and yaw relative to chassis 110.

[0084] System 200E may be configured to switch between excavation operations utilizing contact boring element 218 or non-contact boring element 114. In a certain embodiment, the various boring elements and boring positioning elements may be coupled to and located via rotating platform 220. Rotating platform 220 may be coupled to chassis 110 and may rotate the positions of the various boring elements and boring positioning elements that are mounted to rotating platform 220. In certain embodiments, rotating platform 220 may rotate the boring element to be used into the position of boring element 114A, as shown in FIG. 3 (e.g., in a central position of chassis 110). In other embodiments, some or any position on rotating platform 220 may be utilized for operation of a boring element. In certain embodiments, rotating platform 220 may be configured to allow each of the boring elements to be oriented at any point along the front face of chassis 110, to allow for the appropriate mode of boring can be executed on bore face 150 by bore head 200. Additionally or alternatively, boring may be executed on the edge of bore face 150. Thus, non-contact boring may be executed through flame or water jets ejected from a non-contact boring element, such as along the body of chassis 110, in order to effect the main body of a tunnel to partially consolidate the ground for boring in, for example, a sandy or unconsolidated ground environment, and/or 2) contact boring may be executed through pipe ramming. One, some, or all boring elements described herein may allow for boring on bore face 150 and/or along the edge of bore face 150. Other embodiments may utilize other techniques for switching between boring elements. Such techniques may be further described in US Patent No. 11,608,687 to Torres, issued on 2023-03-21 and filed as US Patent Application No. 17/804,805 on 2022-05-31, which claims priority to US Provisional Patent Application No. 63/195,122, filed on 2021-05-31, and US Provisional Patent Application No. 63/197,825, filed on 2021-06-07, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

Example Mechanism Configurations

[0085] FIGs. 3A-3C illustrate various view of an example non-contact boring actuator system, in accordance with certain embodiments. FIGs. 3A-3C illustrate non-contact boring element positioning system 300. As shown in FIGs. 3A-3C, non-contact boring element positioning system 300 includes non-contact boring element gimbal 316 that is configured to translate and/or rotate in one or a plurality of different axes of movement.

[0086] Movement of non-contact boring element gimbal 316 is controlled by linkages 320A/B and linkages 322A/B. The various linkages of non-contact boring element positioning system 300 may be moved by actuators, such as actuators 324A/B. Linkages 320A/B may be moved by their own actuators, which may not be shown in FIGs. 3A-3C. Such actuators may be any type of actuator, such as hydraulic, mechanical, electromechanical, and/or other such types of actuators.

[0087] In certain embodiments (e.g., when non-contact boring element gimbal 316 is configured to rotate), both of linkages 320A and B and/or both of linkages 322A and B may be configured to move simultaneously to move non-contact boring element gimbal 316. Such movement may allow for controlled positioning of the non-contact boring element.

[0088] FIG. 4 illustrates a frontal portion of an example non-contact boring system, in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG. 4 illustrates non-contact boring system 400, which includes conical head 406 disposed around turbine 402 and afterburner 404 or portions thereof. As shown in FIG. 4, spoil removal opening 408 of conical head 406 may be an opening or slot disposed within the bottom quarter of conical head 406.

[0089] Conical head 406 may be a conical head disposed on an end of non-contact boring system 400. In various embodiments, conical head 406 may partially or fully shroud one or both of turbine 402 and afterburner 404. Conical head 406 may be a cone shaped shroud disposed around turbine 402 and/or afterburner 404 or portions thereof. Conical head 406 may be configured to be disposed proximate to a bore face of the borehole. [0090] In certain embodiments, spoil flow may be amplified by conical head 406. Conical head 406 may be configured to effect the airflow from turbine 402 and/or afterburner 404 in a manner that causes airflow conditions on the bore face to recirculate. Such airflow conditions may cause spoil to circulate within the airflow and may produce conditions similar to liquification of the spoil. Conical head 406 may be configured to cause spoil flow to recirculate and/or accelerate spoil flow. Spoil flow may then become airborne and circulate in a manner similar to that of a liquid. Furthermore, such circulation of spoil may prevent build-up of spoil on the various downhole portions of system non-contact boring system 400, such as the various sensors, turbine 402, afterburner 404, and/or other areas of system non-contact boring system 400. Thus, for example, without the airflow caused by conical head 406, spoil may collect in various parts of non-contact boring system 400 and affect operation of non-contact boring system 400.

[0091] Spoil flow may be evacuated from the bore face via spoil removal opening 408. Spoil removal opening 408 may be an opening within a portion of conical head 406, such as within the bottom half, third, quarter, or other portion of conical head 406. A vacuum may be generated within spoil removal opening 408 to suck out spoil from the bore face. Spoil that passes through spoil removal opening 408 may be removed via a spoil removal path. The spoil removal path may communicate spoil outside of the borehole, according to the configurations described herein.

[0092] FIG. 5A illustrates a side view of an example non-contact boring system, in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG. 5A illustrates system 500A includes portions disposed within the borehole as well as portions disposed outside of the borehole. Portions disposed within the borehole include turbine 502, afterburner 504, conical system head conical system head 506 with spoil removal opening 508, controller 542, and various sensors. Portions disposed outside of the borehole include operations 550, blower 552, water reservoir 554, fuel tank 556, fuel tank 558, and air compressor 540. Various circuitry, including data circuitry (configured to communicate signals and data) as well as mass flow circuitry (configured to allow the flow of mass, such as air or liquids) may couple together portions of system 500A.

[0093] Turbine 502 may be an type of thermal cutterhead as described herein. Turbine 502 may be utilized to perform thermal spallation techniques. Operation of turbine 502 may require a continuous flow of oxygen, which may be provided from outside of the borehole. For example, ambient air path 528 may communicate airflow into the downhole portions of system system 500A (e.g., chassis 110 as described herein) and such airflow may be utilized during operation of turbine 502. Furthermore, blower 552, which may be any type of fan or blower (e.g., centrifugal blower) may also provide airflow to the downhole portions of system 500A and turbine 502 may utilize such airflow from blower 552.

[0094] Airflow produced by blower 552 may be communicated via airflow circuit 516. Airflow circuit 516 may be any type of flow path, such as a duct, that may allow for airflow generated by blower 552 to pass to its destination, such as turbine 502 and other portions of system 500A. In certain embodiments, blower 552 may be configured to produce high volume airflow for system 500A while other air sources (e.g., ambient air path 528 and/or air compressor 540) may produce lower volume airflow. The high volume airflow may allow for operation of turbine 502. Variously, airflow from airflow circuit 516 may be utilized for additional purposes before powering turbine 502, such as cooling the electronics of controller 542.

[0095] Afterburner 504 may be disposed on an end of turbine 502. Afterburner 504 may be an afterburner that injects fuel to combust excess air flowing from turbine 502. Thus, afterburner 504 may also utilize the airflow produced by blower 552. In certain embodiments, afterburner 504 may produce additional thrust and/or heat that may be utilized for thermal spallation.

[0096] The systems described herein, such as system 500A, utilizes turbine 502 and/or afterburner 504 in a manner different from that of a normal thermal cutterhead. Thermal cutterheads normally operate in free space and not in a constricted environment (e.g., bore holes, mines, drifts in mines, tunnels, etc.) as that of system 500A. Such constricted environments may constrict airflow, leading to concentrated temperatures and high pressure. The high pressure may cause pressure that picks up and causes particulates, water, steam, and other matters to enter turbine 502.

[0097] Accordingly, system 500A includes air intake components for turbine 502 and/or afterburner 504, as well as active (e.g., blower 552 and/or air compressor 540, which may deliver additional cooling air) and passive (e.g., afterburner openings 510) cooling elements to lower the heat buildup and elements such as spoil removal opening 508 of conical system head 506 to evacuate spoil and reduce pressure / generate vacuum.

[0098] Conical system head 506 may be a conical head disposed on an end of system 500A. In various embodiments, conical system head 506 may partially or fully shroud one or both of turbine 502 and afterburner 504. Conical system head 506 may be configured to be disposed proximate to a bore face of the borehole. Conical system head 506 may be configured to effect the airflow from turbine 502 and/or afterburner 504 in a manner that causes airflow conditions on the bore face to recirculate. Such airflow conditions may cause spoil to circulate within the airflow and may produce conditions similar to liquification of the spoil. The spoil may then be more easily evacuated via spoil removal opening 508 of conical system head 506. Furthermore, such circulation of spoil may prevent build-up of spoil on the various downhole portions of system 500A, such as the various sensors, turbine 502, afterburner 504, and/or other areas of system 500A. Thus, for example, without the airflow caused by conical system head 506, spoil may collect in various parts of system 500A and affect operation of system 500A.

[0099] Conical system head 506 may be shaped in certain geometries/shapes. The geoimetry or shape of conical system head 506 may affect where the spoil collects or flows through and, thus, control where within conical system head 506 the spoils travels to within conical system head 506. Furthermore, the geometry or shape of conical system head 506 may affect the mass flow through the system (e.g., effect the volume of mass that flows through the system). Thus, the geometry or shape of conical system head 506 may affect the flow of spoil into spoil removal opening 508.

[00100] Spoil removal opening 508 may be an opening within conical system head 506. A vacuum may be generated within spoil removal opening 508 (e.g., by vacuum 598) to suck out spoil from the bore face. Spoil that passes through spoil removal opening 508 may be removed via spoil removal path 526. Spoil removal path 526 may communicate spoil outside of the borehole, according to the configurations described herein. Spoil within the systems described herein may be dry (e.g., not a slurry) or may have liquid, such as water or steam, added to the spoil for removal. Various embodiments of spoil removal path 526 may include one or more sensors, such as air flow sensors, temperature sensors, and/or other such sensors described herein. [00101] Vacuum 598 may be any type of component configured to generate vacuum and may be located on the chassis within the borehole or outside of the borehole (e.g., in an onsite facility or a vacuum truck). Vacuum 598 may be fluidically coupled to spoil removal opening 508 (e.g., by, for example, piping).

[00102] Conical system head 506 may include sensor 548, which may be mechanically and/or communicatively coupled to conical system head 506. Variously, sensor 548 may be, a LIDAR, radar, or visual sensor configured to determine conditions of a bore face. Alternatively or additionally, sensor 548 may be a displacement sensor (e.g., accelerometer, strain gauge, and/or other such sensor configured to detect movement) configured to detect movement of conical system head 506 indicating impacts of conical system head 506 with the bore, bore face, and/or overcut of the bore. Thus, sensor 548 allows for conical system head 506 to act as a diametric sensor, informing the condition of boring operations and adjustment of operations thereof. Thus, for example, if sensor 548 detects contact of conical system head 506, operation of system 500A may be adjusted (e.g., the direction of noncontact boring may be changed and/or other boring techniques may be utilized to eliminate the contact).

[00103] Operations 550 may be an onsite facility (e.g., onsite facility 170) or an offsite facility (e.g., offsite controller 172) that may provide instructions for operation of system 500A. Operations 550 may be communicatively coupled to various portions of system 500A via communication circuitry (e.g., communications circuitry 512 and communications circuitry 514). Such communications circuitry may be configured to transmit and receive signals and data, as described herein. For example, operations 550 may be communicatively coupled to portions of system 500A disposed outside of the borehole (e.g., blower 552, water reservoir 554, fuel tank 556, fuel tank 558, and/or air compressor 540) via communications circuitry 512. Operations 550 may be communicatively coupled to portions of system 500A disposed outside of the borehole (e.g., controller 542, which may control operation of the chassis within the borehole) via communications circuitry 514.

[00104] In certain embodiments, operations 550 may include power generation for powering the operations of system 500A. Such power generation may be, for example, via diesel generator, biodiesel generator, gasoline generator, solar panels, wind, connection to the power grid, and/or through other such techniques for providing power. Thus, for example, operations 550 may be powered by the electrical grid where available and by generators and/or other power sources if needed (e.g., if no electrical grid is available and/or for power surge requirements).

[00105] Furthermore, in various embodiments, the hydraulic flows for system 500A may be operated in different configurations (e.g., high thrust, low speed, high retract speed, lack of pushing force, etc.). The different hydraulic flows allow for the various configurations of operation of the various components of system 500A.

[00106] Controller 542 may be configured to control operation of portions of system 500A (e.g., the chassis within the borehole, which may include turbine 502, afterburner 504, conical system head 506, and various sensors, as shown in FIG. 5A). Controller 542 may be type of controller described herein and may be communicatively coupled with various systems of system 500A, such as operations 550 and the portions of system 500A that controller 542 is configured to provide instructions to.

[00107] In various embodiments, controller 542 may be configured to modulate boring operations in relation to detected mass flow of system 500A. For example, in a certain embodiment, non-contact boring operations may be operated in a first boring state with first mass flow parameters. Thus, the non-contact boring system (e.g., turbine 502 and/or afterburner 504) is operated in the first boring state to drive thermal spallation and thus excavation at the bore face. The thermal spallation produces a certain volume of spoil at a certain rate. The spoil removal systems of system 500A (e.g., conical system bend 506 and spoil removal opening 508) may be operated at a vacuum to evacuate spoil at an evacuation rate, which may substantially (e.g., +/- 0 to 50%) match the production rate of spoil. Accordingly, mass balance between excavation (e.g., spoil creation) and evacuation may be substantially achieved. Such mass balance may correlate to forward penetration rate and, thus, the production rate of boring. If the excavation rate is greater than the evacuation rate of spoil, then pressure will build up at the bore face, resulting in back pressure

[00108] Sensors (e.g., the sensors described herein or additional sensors configured to sense mass flow through certain portions of system 500A) may provide data to controller 542 to indicate mass flow within various portions of system 500A. Controller 542 may adjust operation of system 500A based on such sensor readings by, for example, adjusting the rate of spoil creation and/or evacuate, adjusting the rate of pressure created by turbine 502 and/or afterburner 504 as well as vacuum created by spoil removal opening 508, and/or adjusting other parameters to drive ideal mass flow (e.g., in order maintain stability of the cutterhead).

[00109] In certain situations (e.g., in mixed face and/or mixed boring situations, and/or where spoil may include particles of varying size, weight, hardness, abrasiveness, saturation, etc.), controller 542 may determine that data from sensors indicate a situation impossible to maintain sufficient mass flow (e.g., positive pressure at the bore face and negative pressure at the spoil removal system). Based on such a determination, controller 542 may switch to a contact boring technique. Such a situation may, for example, be present due to certain levels of ground pressure, the presence of water, the presence of underground gasses, and/or other such geological conditions (e.g., as described herein).

[00110] Water reservoir 554 may be configured to provide water (e.g., for cooling of turbine 502, afterburner 504, and/or other portions of system 500A) via one or more liquid circuits, such as liquid circuits 518 and 519. In certain embodiments, water reservoir 554, liquid circuit 319, and/or liquid circuit 518 may include one or more water pumps that may pump water into various portions of system 500A, such as into the afterburner or locations proximate to the afterburner (e.g., via spray cooling atomizers). In certain embodiments, water from water reservoir 554 may be communicated via liquid circuits 518. Liquid circuit 518 may include a water manifold for distributing the water and a water pressure sensor 544 to determine whether sufficient water pressure is being delivered. Detection of inappropriate water pressure may, for example, cause controller 542 to cease operation of afterburner 504. In certain embodiments, water from liquid circuit 318 may provide cooling to the thermal cutterhead (e.g., turbine 302 and/or afterburner 304) while water from liquid circuit 319 may provide cooling for the bore face and/or for exhaust generated by the thermal cutterhead.

[00111] Liquid circuits 518 and/or 519 may include a water manifold for distributing the water and water pressure sensors 544 and/or 545, respectively, to determine whether sufficient water pressure is being delivered. In certain embodiments, water from water reservoir 554 may be communicated via liquid circuit 518 to portions of turbine 502 and/or afterburner 504. Detection of inappropriate water pressure may, for example, cause controller 542 to cease operation of turbine 502, afterburner 504, and/or boring operations entirely.

[00112] In certain embodiments, water reservoir 554 may provide water for a water spray at the bore face. The water spray may be atomized at the bore face and reduce the temperature of exhaust gases from turbine 502 and/or afterburner 504. Steam may be produced from the water spray and may lead to volumetric expansion at the bore face. The vacuum from conical system head 506 may produce negative pressure to evacuate such steam and prevent back pressure at turbine 502 and/or afterburner 504.

[00113] Fuel tank 556 may be fuel configured to power afterburner 504. Such fuel may include, for example, jet fuel, diesel, kerosene, and/or another such appropriate fuel. In certain embodiments, fuel tank 556 and/or fuel circuit 520 may include a pump for delivery of fuel and/or a filter for removing impurities. Fuel circuit 520 may communicate fuel from fuel tank 556. Fuel circuit 520 may include a fuel pressure sensor 546 to determine whether there is appropriate fuel pressure to operate afterburner 504. Detection of inappropriate fuel pressure may, for example, cause controller 542 to cease operation of afterburner 504. Fuel from fuel circuit 520 may be delivered via, for example, capillary fuel manifolds into afterburner 504.

[00114] Fuel tank 558 may include fuel configured to be delivered to turbine 502. Such fuel may include any type of appropriate fuel, including jet fuel, diesel, kerosene, and/or another such appropriate fuel. Fuel from fuel tank 558 may be delivered via fuel circuit 522. In certain embodiments, fuel tank 558 and/or fuel circuit 522 may include a pump for delivery of fuel and/or lubrication (e.g., certain types of fuel may require lubrication, such as premix oil, with the fuel) and/or a filter for removing impurities. Certain embodiments may include one or a plurality of fuel lines within fuel circuit 522 (e.g., for redundancy reasons).

[00115] Air compressor 540 may be configured to deliver compressed air to various portions of system 500A (e.g., via air circuit 524). Such compressed air may be utilized to clean various components of system 500A, such as cleaning controller 542, the various sensors thereof (e.g., the lens of a LIDAR, radar, or sensor 548), the various fuel circuits, and/or other such components of system 500A (e.g., through air circuits 524A or 524B, which may be air circuits that split off of air circuit 524). Furthermore, air compressor 540 may be configured to provide air to afterburner 504 to, for example, provide compressed air start to ease the lighting and/or relighting of afterburner 504.

[00116] FIG. 5B illustrates a side view of an example non-contact boring system in operation, in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG. 5B illustrates system 500B that utilizes conical head 506 to determine the positioning of system 500B within the borehole. Conical head 506 may be configured to translate, rotate, and/or deflect upon contact with a portion of the borehole. Thus sensors 560, which may include one or more of load cells, accelerometers, position sensors, and/or other such sensors may be coupled to conical head 506, may detect such contact and provide data to controller 542. Controller 542 may receive data from such sensors via communications channel 524 and determine the position of system 500B relative to portions of the borehole.

[00117] As shown in FIG. 5B, the borehole may include wall 580 and bore face 584. In various embodiments, sensors 560 may be configured to determine contact of conical head 506 with a portion of the bore hole (e.g., based on localized deflection of a portion of conical head 506 if sensors 560 include load cells attached to conical head 506, relative movement of conical head conical head 506, such as translation or rotation, to other portions of system 500B for accelerometer or position sensors, and/or due to otherwise determined abnormal movement). In certain such embodiments, controller 542 may determine, based on such sensor readings, that portions of conical head 506 are contacting the borehole (e.g., contacting conical head 506 may be contacting bore face 584 at bore face point 582). For example, sensors 560 may be a sensor array, with a plurality of sensors disposed at respective different portions of conical head 506. Relative movement between different portions may be detected by the various sensors, indicating that certain portions may be contacting bore face 584 while other portions may not be contacting bore face 584.

[00118] Such contact may, for example, indicate the presence of an overcut. Controller 542 may then accordingly adjust operation of system 500B (e.g., by focusing boring operations on the contact point, moving system 500B within the borehole, and/or other such adjustments). Thus, for example, system 500B may be reversed and the diameter of the bore may be widened to eliminate such contact. In various embodiments, controller 542 may, for example, cease further forward movement of system 500B until conical head 506 is determined to not be contacting bore face 584. [00119] In certain embodiments, system 500B may communicate to other systems (as described herein) such contact and indicate that, for example, further advancement of system 500B cannot be performed. Thus, for example, system 500B may communicate to a jacking system that further advancement cannot be performed and instruct the jacking system to cease operation.

Networked System Example

[00120] FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of another example non-contact boring system, in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG. 6 illustrates system 600, which may be a boring system that includes on-site and off-site control. In various embodiments, system 600 may include boring system 610, auxiliary system 612, on-site control 670, VPN 690, API 692, apps 694, and off-site user 696. Boring system 610, auxiliary system 612, and on-site control 670 may be physically located on the jobsite and/or proximate the jobsite (e.g., within walking distance). VPN 690, API 692, and apps 694 may be contained within one or more computer systems, which may be located as appropriate. Various portions of system 600 may be communicatively coupled via communications channels 698. Communications channels 698 may be any type of wired or wireless communications channels described herein. Communications channels 698 may be configured to communicate various data and/or commands, according to the techniques described herein.

[00121] Off-site user 696 may be a user device (e.g., an electronic device such as a desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet, wearable electronic device, smartphone, and/or other such electronic device) of personnel associated with boring system 610. Variously, off-site user 696 may be a customer, service personnel, engineering personnel, operator (e.g., offsite operator), data analyst, and/or any other such user that may be associated with boring. System 600 may allow off-site user 696 to receive data and/or provide commands to boring system 610.

[00122] In various embodiments, telemetry from boring system 610 and/or auxiliary system 612 may be communicated to off-site user 696. While on-site personnel may be able to generally operate boring system 610 and/or auxiliary system 612, certain problems may require specialist knowledge to overcome. In such situations, telemetry may be communicated to off-site user 696, who may be such a specialist. Telemetry may be received by off-site user 696, who may then process the data communicated and provide solutions to overcome the problem. The solution may then be communicated, either in messages (e.g., e-mail, voice, electronic messages, and/or other such communications) or directly to boring system 610 and/or auxiliary system 612 (e.g., through remote operation of boring system 610 and/or auxiliary system 612 by off-site user 696). Furthermore, such data may result in the deployment of additional resources to the jobsite, such as technicians for maintenance or additional auxiliary systems.

[00123] In certain embodiments, off-site user 696 may be another job site. Thus, communications between on-site control 670 and off-site user 696 may allow for the coordination between a plurality of different jobsites. Such communication may allow for the coordination of logistics. Thus, for example, various jobsites may communicate in order to optimize the utilization of limited resources such as robotic equipment, which may be shared between jobsites. Services such as water refills, spoil haulage, and/or other such services may also be requested and/or coordinated between the jobsites.

[00124] In a certain example, the amount of spoil haulers may be less than the total number of job sites within a local area. Auxiliary system 612 may be such a spoil hauler. Auxiliary system 612 may communicate its location to off-site user 696 and its status (e.g., idle, in use, in queue). Based on such statuses, off-site user 696 may coordinate which sites receive spoil haulers, allowing for spoil haulers to be present at jobsites when needed and not present when not needed. Thus, system 600 allows for the coordination and optimization of logistics between jobsites.

[00125] Boring system 610 may be any boring system, such as a the non-contact boring systems described herein. Boring system 610 may, in certain embodiments, be currently boring portions of a borehole. In various embodiments, none, some, or all portions of operation of boring system 610 may be controlled by on-site control 670. In various embodiments, boring system 610 may include a plurality of systems (e.g., that are configured for different types of boring).

[00126] Auxiliary system 612 may be systems that are not utilized for boring. Such systems may include, for example, power generation, spoil removal, non-boring excavation, pipe positioning/pushing/jacking/laying/connecting/attaching/welding, dewatering, injection, communication, and other such systems. In various embodiments, auxiliary system 612 may be deployed within the bore hole along with or as a replacement for boring system 610. Thus, in certain such embodiments, in situations described herein, certain conditions within the bore hole may result in boring system 610 being removed from the bore hole and auxiliary system 612 being deployed within the bore hole.

[00127] In various embodiments, boring system 610 and auxiliary system 612 may be configured to collaborate to perform boring operations (e.g., automatically and/or with commands or feedback from on-site control 670 and/or off-site user 696). Thus, for example, embodiments of auxiliary system 612 may include a robotic pipe installer, a robotic pipe welder, a spoil hauler, an earth mover, and/or other such systems. In a certain embodiment, boring system 610 may be operated to bore a bore hole. The dewatering system may dewater the bore hole in the event of any inrushes of water or other liquid. The robotic pipe installer may then follow boring system 610 and lay pipes after the boring of the bore hole. The robotic pipe welder may weld the pipes after Installation of the pipes (e.g., by the robotic pipe installer). The spoil hauler may be configured to extract spoil (e.g., from by extracting spoil buckets from the bore hole once the spoil bins are full) and haul such spoil to the surface. At the surface, the earth hauler may then be configured to collect the spoil to a central location (e.g., an offsite location). Furthermore, tool changing machines may be utilized to replace or change any tools (e.g., for non-contact or contact boring). Auxiliary system 612 may, alternatively or additionally, include other systems, such as chemical injection systems (for stabilizing of the ground).

[00128] Variously, auxiliary system 612 may be disposed at the jobsite. Various auxiliary system 612 may be disposed at the surface or within the borehole, as appropriate. Thus, for example, earth moving, tool changing, and/or other such equipment may be disposed on the surface. Pipe positioning/pushing/jacking/laying/connecting/attaching/welding may be disposed on the surface or within the borehole, as needed.

[00129] Boring system 610 and/or auxiliary system 612 may be configured to operate while in the presence of human workers. Accordingly, boring system 610 and/or auxiliary system 612 may include sensors and controllers configured to determine the presence of on-site workers and/or receive commands from such workers. Thus, boring system 610 and/or auxiliary system 612 may be configured to interface with humans while on-site. [00130] On-site control 670 may be an onsite facility or controller (e.g., onsite facility 170) that may provide instructions for operation of boring system 610. Boring system 610 may communicate data (e.g., data sensed by during boring operations) to on-site control 670. On-site control 670 may be communicatively coupled to off-site user 696 via VPN 690. VPN 690 may allow for authentication and log-in of off-site user 696 to on-site control 670. Thus, off-site user 696 may log into on-site control 670 via VPN 690 to receive data (e.g., boring data) from on-site control 670 and/or provide instructions to on-site control 670 (e.g., to manipulate operation of boring system 610).

[00131] Log-in of off-site user 696 via VPN 690 may be through apps 694. Apps 694 may be an application installed or accessed by the electronic device of off-site user 696. Off-site user 696 may load apps 694 on the electronic device. In certain embodiments, apps 694 may call one or more API 692 that may allow apps 694 the ability to connect to VPN 690 and/or on-site control 670, but other embodiments may include a configuration where apps 694 may directly access VPN 690.

[00132]The configuration of system 600 may, variously, allow for off-site control and/or troubleshooting. Such a configuration may provide for both a local layer that may observe site performance and provide control instructions accordingly , as well as an off-site layer that may receive data from various sensors and provide for troubleshooting and operational suggestions based on such data. Thus, for example, real time information may be provided by on-site control 670 over communications channels 698 via VPN 690 to, for example, the electronic device of off-site user 696.

[00133] Such a configuration may allow, for example, off-site engineers to determine the system performance of boring system 610 (e.g., from data from the sensors) and perform troubleshooting, performance improvements of boring system 610 (e.g., from adjustment of settings) and/or development of boring system 610 (e.g., engineering development of future boring systems). Furthermore, off-site users (e.g., operators and/or customers) of boring system 610 may control certain aspects of boring system 610 off-site, reducing the logistical requirements of operating boring system 610. Alternatively or additionally, certain troubleshooting or adjustments may be performed by specialists, who may be limited in number. Specialists may perform such troubleshooting or adjustments off-site in the configuration of system 600, allowing for quicker turnaround time and conservation of resources.

[00134] Specialists, and/or other personnel, may also monitor data generated by boring system 610 and determine aspects of the operation of boring system 610 (e.g., detecting anomalies in the operation of boring system 610). Data communicated to off-site user 696 may also allow for determination of the geology of the job site (e.g., from the sensor data). The geological determinations may be stored within a database and may provide for improved forecasting of geological conditions.

[00135] Furthermore, operation of boring system 610 may require processing resources. The configuration of system 600 may allow for boring system 610 and/or on-site control 670 to utilize additional processing resources (e.g., of the electronic device of off-site user 696).

[00136] In various embodiments, data from operation of system 600 may be collected (e.g., by on-site control 670 and/or off-site user 696). Thus, for example, boring system 610 may communicate to a jacking system that boring system 610 is unable to advance further (e.g., due to contact between the bore hole and the conical head, sensed by the conical head). In another example, various controllers of boring system 610 may detect an unsafe condition (e.g., gases within the bore hole) and, accordingly, order a shut down of all systems within the bore hole).

[00137] In a further embodiment, auxiliary system 612 may be a spoil system configured to receive spoil excavated from the bore face. Auxiliary system 612 may, thus, receive spoil from boring system 610. Auxiliary system 612 may, in a certain example, communicate to on-site control 670 and/or off-site user 696 that the spoil bin for storing the spoil is full. Accordingly, a further auxiliary system may be deployed to retrieve, replace, and/or empty the spoil bin. Furthermore, off-site user 696 may coordinate to arrange for pick up of such spoil. Thus, in various embodiments, boring system 610, auxiliary system 612, on-site control 670, and/or off-site user 696 may be communicatively coupled and may collaborate and coordinate various logistics and robotic systems (e.g., boring system 610 and/or auxiliary system 612) on-site to perform various aspects of boring.

Operation Example [00138] FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart for a technique of operating a boring system, in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG. 7 illustrates technique 700 for operating a boring system with the various components described herein.

[00139] In 702, the global position of the boring system may be determined. The global position may be the position of the boring system in space, such as latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates, depth, orientation, velocity, and/or other such aspects of positioning. The global position of the boring system may be determined by various sensors such as global positioning, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetic sensors (e.g., for sensing the Earth's magnetic field), wires and other physical devices, other such sensors, and/or a combination thereof. In various embodiments, the boring system is, thus, configured to utilize such sensors to determine the position of the boring system in space and, accordingly, determine the subterranean location of the boring system. In certain embodiments, the global position of the boring system may be determined while the boring system is moving within a borehole.

[00140] Based on the global position, a determination is made as to whether boring operations should commence. Such a determination may be made based on, for example, determining whether the global position of the boring system indicates that it is at the bore face. In certain embodiments, sensors of the boring system may also be utilized to determine whether to commence boring. Thus, for example, the conical head of the boring system may sense contact with the bore face. If a determination is made that the boring system is at the bore face, boring operations may commence in 706. Otherwise, the technique may return to 702.

[00141] In 706, boring systems may be started up. Thus, the thermal cutterhead, sensors, positioning elements, and/or other components of the boring system may be initialized. Such initialization may include, for example, determining a sequence of how non-contact boring will be performed. In certain embodiments, for example, the thermal cutterhead may be automatically started (e.g., without human intervention) either at start-up or in case of a shutdown (e.g., due to a momentary lack of oxygen within the borehole). In other embodiments, the sensors of the boring system may determine the geometry of the bore face and/or the portions of the borehole proximate to the boring system. The boring system may then orient the non-contact boring element according to the features of the bore face and/or borehole.

[00142] In 708, the boring system may be operated for boring operations, as described herein. Thus, for example, non-contact boring operations may be performed by the thermal cutterhead. In various embodiments, the non-contact boring element may perform thermal spallation at a plurality of locations of the bore face. The non-contact boring element may be accordingly articulated and adjusted for such operations (e.g., the angle, stand-off distance, and output properties of the non-contact boring element may be adjusted). Additionally, the zone of excavation, flame front, and other such aspects may also be controlled.

[00143] While operating boring system 708, the global position of the boring system may be continuously determined, to determine the position of the boring system within the bore hole. Such a determination aids in the operation of the boring system.

[00144] In 710, sensor data from the various sensors of the boring system may be received. The sensor data may allow for a determination of whether adjustment is needed in 712. Thus, for example, the sensor data may indicate that geological conditions have changed and, thus, non-contact boring aspects need to be adjusted and/or another type of boring should be utilized. In another example, certain portions of the bore face may be determined to be different from other portions and, thus, non-contact boring may first be concentrated on one portion before adjusting certain parameters for non-contact boring on the other portion. In a further example, the conical head of the boring system may determine that the boring system has contacted a portion of the bore face. Operation of the non-contact boring system may be accordingly adjusted and/or another type of boring may be utilized.

[00145] If adjustments are needed, such adjustments may be performed in 714. Adjustment of the non-contact boring system may be any adjustment described herein. Otherwise, operation of the boring systems may continue.

[00146] FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an example boring network, in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG. 9 illustrates system 900 that includes control system 902 and one or more jobsites 908. In various embodiments, jobsites 908 may be jobsites where one or more aspects are controlled and/or controlled (e.g., via override as necessary) by control system 902. [00147] Control system 902 may be located onsite or offsite of one or more jobsites 908. Each of jobsites 908 may be a site where excavation is performed and where one or more systems (e.g., similar to system 100) may be operated and/or located. Operation of such systems may generate data (e.g., from one or more sensors of the system) that may be communicated to control system 902. Such data may include sensor data, aggregated data (e.g., spatial maps constructed from sensor data), data produced by operations (e.g., change orders), and/or other such data. Communication of such data may be according to any of the techniques described herein. Data received by control system 902 may be stored, analyzed, and/or communicated to third parties (e.g., customers).

[00148] In certain embodiments, jobsites 908 and control system 902 may include their own separate controllers. System 900 may be of a hierarchical architecture where certain controllers may have the ability to override instructions of other controllers. Thus, for example, system 100 may include automated excavation systems, which may include any automated or semi-automated contact and non-contact boring tools. Operation of such excavation systems may be overriden through remote operators (e.g., operating control system 902) and/or by operators local to the jobsite. The relationship between the jobsite and the control system may also be hierarchical. That is, in certain embodiments, the local operators may be able to override the instructions of remote operators, or vice versa. The operators may provide such instructions through user devices. The user devices may include graphical user interfaces or human machine interfaces (e.g., dials, levers, and/or other such interfaces).

[00149] Control system 902 may include data curator 904 and machine learning system 906. Data received by control system 902 from jobsites 908 may be provided to data curator 904 and/or machine learning system 906. In certain embodiments, data curator 904 may receive such data and analyze and/or prepare such data for machine learning system 906. Data provided from jobsites 908 may include certain data signatures that are indicative of the sensor, location (e.g., where within a borehole it is generated, such as at the bore face or further up hole), condition (e.g., conditions of the bore face), tool operation, and/or other aspects of excavation.

[00150] Data curator 904 may classify the data based on such data signatures. For example, the data may indicate which aspect of the excavation operation it is directed towards (e.g., there may be metadata indicating that, for example, the data is directed to temperature measurements of the bore face). Additionally or alternatively, the data may indicate the units of measurement. A temperature sensor may indicate that the data is provided in Celsius, Kelvin, Fahrenheit, or another unit of measurement. Sensor data indicating a flow rate may indicate a volumetric rate. Sensor data associated with the speed of a contact boring structure may be identified based on the magnitude of the rotational speed measured. Certain data may also be manually manipulated by a user. For example, a user may provide data indicating that an excavation system has failed after a certain operation. Data curator 904 may then tag the data received prior to failure of the system or for the life of the system, as data associated with a system failure. Thus, data curator 904 may classify the data received from jobsites 908 into one or more categories based on aspects of the data.

[00151] Machine learning system 906 may receive the curated data and perform machine learning based on the curated data. The data received from one or more jobsites allows for machine learning system 906 to make one or more determinations from the curated data. For example, machine learning system 906 may analyze the data curated by data curator 904 and determine when certain data conditions (e.g., indicated by data provided by one or more sensors) may indicate an unsafe condition, imminent failure, conditions unsuitable for the current excavation technique, poor performance, good performance, and/or other aspect of excavation. Based on such determinations, adjustments can be determined, whether manually or also by machine learning system 906.

[00152] Examples of data utilized for machine learning (which may be continuously or automatically collected, provided by user command, and/or obtained from other sources such as third party sources) include time-series sensor data, time-series command data (e.g., commands from a controller or user for various aspects of operation of the system, such as throttle settings, fuel settings, air and/or water settings, and/or articulation settings), timeseries articulation position data of various robotic arms, time-series warning and error data, time-series drill bit data for contact boring, time-series position and/or steering data, afterburner power output, bore length and distance bored (which may be manually provided and/or automatically measured by an automatic measurement device), boring duration (e.g., total boring and/or duration of boring for each tool), bore shape (whether determined manually or determined from sensor data), geology data (manually observed, via survey data, from spoil analysis, from sensor readings, and/or from any other such techniques), and/or observations from users, such as operating condition, tool operation observations (e.g., vibrations), smoke, dust, and/or other such observations. Such data may be curated as various categories of data and provided to machine learning system 906.

[00153] From such data, machine learning system 906 may determine various aspects of excavation operations and/or how to operate the systems described herein. For example, from data provided for operation of an afterburner/torch and data indicating the performance of spallation from the afterburner/torch, a model of the efficiency of the afterburner/torch, based on various factors, may be determined. The model may allow for real-time manual and/or automatic tuning of the operation of the afterburner/torch to optimize non-contact boring (e.g., for fine-tuning of operation of the afterburner/torch to maintain stability as conditions change within a borehole and/or for real-time adjustments to maintain a desired temperature at the bore face). As another example, machine learning system 906 may be trained to create models, based on time-series data and/or manual observations about geology, to allow for determination of changes in geology and/or accurately determine or verdict upcoming geology when excavation operations are performed. Furthermore, machine learning system 906 may provide a technique to automatically detect impending problems and/or that system maintenance is required for the systems described herein.

[00154] FIG. 10 illustrates a diagram illustrating operation of a robotic excavation system, in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG. 10 illustrates a robotic exacavation system 1000 where guidance of the chassis and excavation of the borehole may be robotically automated. In various embodiments, guidance and excavation may be robotically operated by a single controller or controller group (e.g., controllers that communicate with each other) or may be robotically operated by a plurality of controllers or controller groups (e.g., controllers that do not communicate with each other). FIG. 10 separately illustrates operation of the excavation and guidance systems.

[00155] In 1002, first sensor data may be received by a controller or control system (e.g., a controller or control system as described herein). First sensor data may be sensor data from one or more sensors described herein. Based on the sensor data received, first excavation conditions may be determined in 1004. Such determination may include, for example, the geological conditions of the borehole and/or bore face, the performance of one or more excavation systems (e.g., non-contact or contact boring systems), the environmental conditions or the borehole and/or bore face or portion thereof (e.g., a temperature gradient for the entirety of the bore face based on thermal imagery of the bore face), and/or other such determinations. In various embodiments, such sensor data may allow for a determination of the bore profile, bore shape, geology, and/or other aspects of excavation.

[00156] Based on such determinations, a first excavation configuration may be determined in 1006. The first excavation configuration may include, for example, selection of a tool that is utilized to perform excavation (e.g., a non-contact or contact tool), the operational details for operating the tool (e.g., fuel and airflow rates, operating speed, coolant flow rate, and/or other details), potential cut off conditions (e.g., conditions to cease excavation), and/or other such operational details. Based on such operational details, excavation may be performed.

[00157] The excavation configurations may be directed to various stages and/or operations of excavation or operation of the excavation tool. For example, a certain excavation configuration may be directed to a start-up sequence for the thermal cutterhead. The startup sequence for the thermal cutterhead (as well as other excavation configurations) may include management of a plurality of parameters, such one or more fuel flows, air flows, and/or throttle parameters. Such elements may be interconnected. That is, adjustment of one parameter may require the corresponding adjustment of other parameters to continue excavation.

[00158] For example, in certain embodiments, start-up sequences may be performed via one or more "recipes" where an operator may set parameters for each step of a startup process that includes a plurality of steps. A sequence of steps may be executed during the start-up sequence. Each step may be set to automatically execute when a particular condition or a plurality of conditions are met (e.g., when a time condition and/or threshold sensor reading, such as a temperature sensor reading, is met). Such conditions may be one condition, a combination of different conditions, or if one or a subset of a plurality of conditions are met.

[00159] In certain embodiments, a plurality of recipes may be provided to the system and the appropriate recipe may be selected based on determined conditions and/or operating preferences (e.g., for a cold start or a warm start, for boring within certain ambient conditions, for boring with certain configurations of support equipment, etc.). In various embodiments, the controller may select the appropriate recipe based on determined conditions (e.g., sensor readings) as well as allow an operator to manually guide the startup process (e.g., manual override). Furthermore, the operator and/or controller may tweak each such recipe in real time.

[00160] In addition to start-up of the thermal cutterhead, boring operations may also be controlled by recipes. Such boring operations may be performed according to the techniques described herein. Various operational parameters of the boring operations may be monitored (e.g., via one or more sensors, in 1002 and 1012). Thus, for example, data from such sensors may be received by one or more controllers of the system. Such data may allow the controllers to determine the operational condition of certain aspects of the system (e.g., the rate of mass flow entering or exiting from the bore face).

[00161] First data associated with the first excavation conditions (e.g., performed in 1006) may be communicated and/or received by the system in 1008. Such data may include sensor data and data from the excavation operation (e.g., distance excavated), spoil data, and/or data provided by an operator. Additionally or alternatively, data from a remote control system or operator may be received in 1008. Such data may adjust and/or override certain operational parameters (e.g., allow for a remote user to operate the excavation or aspects thereof).

[00162] In various embodiments, aspects of the excavation operation may be changed based on determined conditions. For example, based on borehole and/or bore face conditions determined by various sensors, a new tool may be selected and/or operational aspects of the tool being used may be varied. Such changing of configurations is performed in 1012- 1018, which may be similar to operations performed in 1002-1008. 1002-1008 may be associated with a first time period while 1012-1018 may be associated with a second time period different from the first time period (e.g., later than the first time period).

[00163] Based on the sensor data received and the conditions determined, the operational parameters of boring operations may be adjusted in 1016. Such adjustments may include adjusting the overall rate of mass flow, adjusting one or more mass flow parameters such as the rate of air provided by the air compressor, the volume of fuel flow, the operating speed of a turbine, the amount of vacuum created for spoil removal, and/or other such parameters. Such parameters may affect excavation and/or operation of the system. Such changes may result in steady state or transient changes, which may require further adjustment. For example, changes in total mass flow may be a steady state change until other operational parameters are changed while, in certain conditions, a transient increase in pressure (e.g., through increased air compressor volume) or vacuum (e.g., through increased vacuum for spoil removal) may be imparted at the bore face. Both steady state and transient changes may affect operation of boring operations, such as through affecting operation of the thermal cutterhead and/or conditions at the bore face.

[00164] In certain embodiments, examples of operational parameters that may be adjusted include: (1) throttle for the combuster of a thermal cutter (e.g., control of one or more inlets controlling mass air flow); (2) cooling airflow volumetric flow (e.g., airflow from air mass flow controls, such as from a blower or compressed air valve); (3) fuel delivery rate (as fuel is a very small percentage of the total mass flow, the effect of fuel delivery rate is more on control of the spallation process via combustion and temperature control and, thus, the characteristics of spallation); (4) water cooling flow (e.g., flow rate of liquid water that is converted to steam during the spallation process); (5) vacuum generated (to affect the remove of mass from the exit of the system - the vacuum rate can be varied to result in intentional or unintentional transient vacuum or pressure within the bore hole).

[00165] In various embodiments, characteristics of (1) to (4) may be determined from monitoring sensor data. (5) may be determined through operation of vacuum generating equipment, such operation of a vacuum truck. In various embodiments, such adjustments may be automatically performed by a controller (with or without human contributions or override) based on data received from the sensors.

[00166] In various embodiments, conditions associated with the non-contact boring techniques described herein may be difficult to determine when operating the non-contact boring techniques. As non-contact boring techniques tend to generate a high amount of heat (which may introduce a large amount of error to thermal sensors) and thrust (which may obscure visual sensors, cause mass flow sensors in such an environment to be inaccurate, and/or provide other challenges), the techniques described herein may alternate between non-contact and contact boring techniques. [00167] Therefore, in a first example, non-contact boring techniques may be utilized for boring portions of the bore face where precision is less important (e.g., the middle 2/3rds portion of the bore face or another portion of the bore face, which may include the center of the bore face). Once sensors indicate that the tool is boring portions of the bore face where precision is important (e.g., the outer 2/3rds portion of the bore face), the system may select a contact boring tool that may allow for better determination of bore face conditions by the sensors of the system and, thus, better precision. Other embodiments may alternate between contact and non-contact boring based on other aspects, such as geology, safety, and/or other considerations described herein.

[00168] As the excavation system is performing boring operations, the guidance system may perform guidance operations. In 1010, guidance data is received by the guidance platform (e.g., the chassis and/or a controller associated with the chassis). Guidance data may include, for example, laser tracking data, beacon data, optical data, accelerometer or gyroscope data, wheel speed data, and/or other such data that may allow for a determination of the positioning of the chassis within the borehole. Thus, for example, guidance data may be generated by a theodolite to determine angles between various point (e.g., designated by beacons) and/or through spatial data for triangulating the position of the platform between various beacons (e.g., emitter beacons and/or LED beacons).

[00169]The guidance data may be utilized to determine an accurate orientation and/or position of the platform and guide and/or orient the platform in 1020. Thus, movement, leveling, and/or positioning of various elements of the system or operation may be automatically performed in 1020. Accordingly, for example, certain operations may include disposition of pipes into a borehole and guidance may include automatically orienting the pipes in the correct orientation. Once correctly oriented, operations may be performed (e.g., by the excavation system) for processing of such elements, such as the automatic welding of those pipes.

[00170] Guidance of the platform may be performed regardless of whether excavation operations are being performed or not. In certain embodiments, guidance (e.g., movement) of the platform may be synced to operation of the excavation system. That is, for example, the platform may not move when there is no further progress in boring. [00171] FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchat for operating a robotic excavation system, in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG. 11 illustrates technique 1100, which may be a technique for automatically or semi-automatically operating a robotic excavation system. In technique 1100, the controller may be configured to separately determine operational and safety aspects of the system, as illustrated in FIG. 11.

[00172] In 1102, sensor data may be received by the sensor. The type of sensor data, and the technique for receiving the data, may be according to any of the techniques described herein. Based on the sensor data, operational conditions may be determined in 1104. Such operational conditions may indicate the conditions of the borehole and tool and may include, for example, a determination as to whether excavation should be performed and aspects for performing the excavation (e.g., tool selected and operation of the tool), as described herein.

[00173] Based on such a determination, the controller may determine whether to perform excavation in 1106. If excavation is to be performed, the technique may perform excavation and continue to receive sensor data in 1102. If excavation is not to be performed, the technique may continue to 1118. Various embodiments may perform 1104 and 1106 as excavation is ongoing. In such an embodiment, excavation that is being performed may cease in 1118 upon a determination that excavation is not to be performed.

[00174] Furthermore, safety aspects of operation of the system may be determined. In 1108, based on the sensor data, safety related conditions may be determined. Such safety related conditions include, for example, borehole or bore face temperature, mass flow within the system, pressure or vacuum experienced within the borehole, the volume of spall being generated, the presence or moisture and/or steam within the borehole, and/or other such determinations.

[00175] In 1110, a determination may be made as to whether the conditions are unsafe. For example, a determination may be made that temperatures at the bore face is hotter than a threshold temperature. Such a determination may be made in consideration of other determinations. For example, a determination of the type of geology of the bore face may inform the threshold temperature (e.g., there may be different threshold temperatures for different geologies). In another example, humidity or moisture greater than or below a threshold limit may be considered unsafe. Generation of spoil past a threshold size may also be considered unsafe as well as unexpected contact that is detected.

[00176] In various embodiments, such determinations may be configured through machine learning or based on user input. That is, thresholds may be set and/or changed and may, in certain embodiments, be dynamically changed by the user or a controller (e.g., from machine learning) based on currently detected conditions. Such thresholds may be set onsite or off-site. Threshold set off-site may be downloaded to controllers on-site.

[00177] If conditions are not considered to be unsafe, the operation may continue and data may continue to be received in 1102. If conditions are determined to be unsafe, the technique may proceed to 1112 and the controller may determine whether the condition determined is a condition that should be output to the user. For example, certain conditions may be so unsafe that an automatic shutdown of the system may be required. Such conditions may proceed to 1118 from 1112 and lead to automatic cessation of excavation. For example, if a current greater than a threshold current is being used to operate an actuator, such a condition may be considered unsafe and operation may automatically cease. Other examples include, for example, fuel levels below a threshold level for a set amount of time, temperature of a portion of the thermal cutterhead (e.g., the afterburner or torch) or the exhaust above a threshold temperature (e.g., for an average of one or more thermocouple readings and/or threshold for each individual reading of a thermocouple) for a set amount of time, and/or fuel pressure below a threshold level for a set amount of time.

[00178] Other conditions may be output to a user, such as a remote user. In various embodiments, different condition types and/or detection of conditions past a certain threshold level (e.g. various temperature thresholds) may lead to a determination of whether to cease excavation automatically or output the condition to the user. Such output may include, for example, a message or other indication that an unsafe condition may be experienced. The output may include a request for user input. The output may be presented to the user via a graphical user interface (GUI) presented on a user device and may include an option for the user to provide a command to cease excavation operations.

[00179]A user input, in response to the output, may be received in 1114. In 1116, a determination may be made as to whether the user input includes an instruction to cease excavation. If the user has provided an instruction to cease excavation, the technique may proceed to 1118 and excavation may cease. Otherwise, the technique may continue receiving sensor data in 1102.

Computing System Examples

[00180] FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an example computing system, in accordance with certain embodiments. According to various embodiments, a system 800 suitable for implementing embodiments described herein includes a processor 802, a memory module 804, a storage device 806, an interface 812, and a bus 816 (e.g., a PCI bus or other interconnection fabric.) System 800 may operate as a variety of devices such as a server system such as an application server and a database server, a client system such as a laptop, desktop, smartphone, tablet, wearable device, set top box, etc., or any other device or service described herein.

[00181] Although a particular configuration is described, a variety of alternative configurations are possible. The processor 802 may perform operations such as those described herein. Instructions for performing such operations may be embodied in the memory 804, on one or more non-transitory computer readable media, or on some other storage device. Various specially configured devices can also be used in place of or in addition to the processor 802. The interface 812 may be configured to send and receive data packets over a network. Examples of supported interfaces include, but are not limited to: Ethernet, fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, frame relay, cable, digital subscriber line (DSL), token ring, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), High-Speed Serial Interface (HSSI), and Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI). These interfaces may include ports appropriate for communication with the appropriate media. They may also include an independent processor and/or volatile RAM. A computer system or computing device may include or communicate with a monitor, printer, or other suitable display for providing any of the results mentioned herein to a user.

Conclusion

[00182] Although the foregoing concepts have been described in some detail for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the scope of the appended claims. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing the processes, systems, and apparatuses. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to be considered illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising a chassis, configured to perform excavation operations within a borehole, the chassis comprising: a non-contact boring element, configured to perform a boring process comprising thermal spallation within the borehole; a conical head; a first sensor, coupled to conical head; and a controller, communicatively coupled to the first sensor and configured to receive first data from the first sensor and determine, from the first data, that the conical head is contacting a portion of a borehole.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first sensor is a deflection sensor.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first sensor is an accelerometer.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a second sensor, configured to sense an aspect of the boring process, wherein the thermal spallation is one of a plurality of processes of the boring process.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the controller is further configured to: receive second data associated with a first time period from the second sensor; operate the non-contact boring element in a first configuration; receive second data associated with a second time period from the second sensor; and operate the non-contact boring element in a second configuration.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the non-contact boring element comprises a turbine with an afterburner, and wherein the second configuration comprises adjustment of a flame front of the turbine and/or the afterburner in comparison to the first configuration.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein adjusting the flame front comprises adjusting a length, a diameter, and/or a temperature of the flame front.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the adjusting the flame front comprises adjusting a fuel flow or airflow into the turbine and/or the afterburner.

9. The system of claim 4, further comprising: a contact boring element, configured to perform contact boring within the borehole, wherein the controller is further configured to: receive second data associated with a first time period from the second sensor; operate the non-contact boring element; receive second data associated with a second time period from the second sensor; and operate the contact boring element.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the second data associated with the first time period indicates that excavation operations is being performed on a first portion of a bore face of the borehole, and wherein the second data associated with the second time period indicates that excavation operations is being performed on a second portion of the bore face.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the chassis is further configured to travel within the borehole.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the chassis further comprises: a guidance sensor, and wherein the controller is further configured to: receive guidance data from the guidance sensor; and cause the chassis to travel within the borehole based on the guidance data.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising a second sensor coupled to the conical head, wherein first sensor is coupled to a first portion of the conical head and the second sensor is coupled to a second portion of the conical head, wherein the controller is further configured to receive second data from the second sensor and determine, based on relative readings of the first data and the second data, that the first portion of the conical head is contacting the portion of the borehole.

14. The system of claim 1, further comprising a non-contact boring positioning element, coupled to the non-contact boring element and configured to position the non-contact boring element.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the non-contact boring positioning element is configured to adjust a stand-off distance of the non-contact boring element, rotate the noncontact boring element, and/or cause the non-contact boring positioning element to move the non-contact boring element in a first pattern.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the controller is further configured to cause the non-contact boring positioning element to move the non-contact boring element to perform the boring process on the portion of the borehole contacting the conical head.

17. The system of claim 15, further comprising: a third sensor, configured to generate data directed to geological conditions of the borehole, wherein the controller is further configured to: determine that a first portion of a bore face of the borehole is a first geological condition; and cause the non-contact boring positioning element to move the non-contact boring element to perform the boring process on the first portion of the bore face.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the controller is further configured to: determine that a second portion of the bore face of the borehole is a second geological condition; and cause the non-contact boring positioning element to adjust a stand-off distance of the non-contact boring element; and cause the non-contact boring positioning element to move the non-contact boring element to perform the boring process on the second portion of the bore face.

19. The system of claim 1, further comprising: an on-site control communicatively coupled to the controller; and an auxiliary system, communicatively coupled to the controller and/or the on-site control, wherein the controller is further configured to: determine that a condition of the borehole indicates unsuitability for noncontact boring; and provide a request to the on-site control and/or the auxiliary system for auxiliary operations.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the on-site control is communicatively coupled to an off-site user and configured to receive operating instructions from the off-site user.