TY - JOUR
T1 - A Silent Microwave Drill for Deep Holes in Concrete
AU - Jerby, Eli
AU - Nerovny, Yuri
AU - Meir, Yehuda
AU - Korin, Or
AU - Peleg, Ron
AU - Shamir, Yariv
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 IEEE.
PY - 2018/1
Y1 - 2018/1
N2 - This paper presents a mechanically assisted microwave drill (MWD) capable of drilling 26-cm-deep 12-mm-diameter holes in concrete. This record significantly extends the inherent λ-depth capability (∼1.5 cm at 2.45 GHz) of the basic MWD scheme. Compared with conventional mechanical drills, this MWD is characterized by a relatively silent and vibration-free operation, but its drilling speed is yet slower than 1 cm/min. This paper reviews the fundamental MWD mechanism (utilizing localized microwave heating and thermal-runaway instability), and extends it for deeper holes by also using the coaxial applicator as a slowly rotating hollow reamer to remove the debris. The MWD prototype is introduced, including its adaptive impedance matching and remote-operation features, and its experimental results are presented. Theoretical and practical MWD aspects are discussed, and potential developments are indicated (e.g., for faster drilling and iron-rebar cutting). The present MWD performance can be useful for specific applications which critically require silent drilling operations in concrete.
AB - This paper presents a mechanically assisted microwave drill (MWD) capable of drilling 26-cm-deep 12-mm-diameter holes in concrete. This record significantly extends the inherent λ-depth capability (∼1.5 cm at 2.45 GHz) of the basic MWD scheme. Compared with conventional mechanical drills, this MWD is characterized by a relatively silent and vibration-free operation, but its drilling speed is yet slower than 1 cm/min. This paper reviews the fundamental MWD mechanism (utilizing localized microwave heating and thermal-runaway instability), and extends it for deeper holes by also using the coaxial applicator as a slowly rotating hollow reamer to remove the debris. The MWD prototype is introduced, including its adaptive impedance matching and remote-operation features, and its experimental results are presented. Theoretical and practical MWD aspects are discussed, and potential developments are indicated (e.g., for faster drilling and iron-rebar cutting). The present MWD performance can be useful for specific applications which critically require silent drilling operations in concrete.
KW - Autotuner
KW - concrete
KW - construction tools
KW - hotspot
KW - localized microwave heating
KW - microwave drill (MWD)
KW - thermal drilling
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85028926069&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/TMTT.2017.2729509
DO - 10.1109/TMTT.2017.2729509
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AN - SCOPUS:85028926069
SN - 0018-9480
VL - 66
SP - 522
EP - 529
JO - IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques
JF - IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques
IS - 1
M1 - 8003291
ER -